What to factor in when making an offer?

acemacool

I am considering making an offer on a property that is for sale at £119,000. It needs a lot of work and I am not sure what to factor in when making an offer. It has:

Old Bathroom
Old Kitchen
Utility room with no plumbing
Only partial double glazing
Hideous old carpets
Chipboard wallpaper
No fencing in garden

What I need to know is how much of this is negotiable and what would have been taken into account on the original estimation by the vendors estate agent?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

lush_walrus

All of the things you can see, the EA valuing the property will have seen too and will have valued the property taking all of the items you have listed into account.

If you want to work out what the property is worth to you then try to find a comparable property in the same street or very simular one with all of the things listed above in better condition and you will see the price difference between a house in good condition and one in need of work such as the one you have found, then work out how much it will cost you to carry out the work etc and then yu will see if it is worth going for or not.

On property details the EA will normally state in need of work or something to that effect, and mention if it is double glazed or not etc, so a quick visit to all local agents to find comparables and you should find the price of a better condition house.

GDB2222

As Walrus says, the classic equation is:

Price of wreck = Price of perfect house - cost of works

That needs some modification in practice, because in all cases I have seen the price of the wreck that is actually achieved is much higher than this formula suggests.

Clearly, people are undervaluing the cost of the works, or they are placing a premium price on the finished house because it will be the way they want it. There may be good reasons to undervalue the cost of the work, for example because the buyers can do it themselves. Or they will just live with it as it is - just like the vendors have been!

acemacool

thanks for your help guys!