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Diary of a house purchase


Sasquatch

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13 minutes ago, Sasquatch said:

Totally agree. We are offering this morning. Based upon a cash offer (no mortgage), no survey required, a quick conveyance and simultaneous exchange/completion. 

I watched a property auction yesterday. A fairly non-descript house in the Lake District sold for £400,000 and requiring stacks of work (guide of £250,000!). You could see the auctioneer working the bidders. Total emotional heart over head stuff. 

I would agree about auctions. I've watched a few auctions recently that have gone for seriously kite flying prices for detached with large plots. Best avoided. Now is probably a great time for an online auction (as a seller not a buyer). As a buyer youre better of going in low ball take it or leave it offer, its unlikly youll get entertained as the sellers know the market is slow at the moment over winter. But you might get lucky if its an estate sale and there are no other offers.

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2 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Totally agree. We are offering this morning. Based upon a cash offer (no mortgage), no survey required, a quick conveyance and simultaneous exchange/completion. 

I watched a property auction yesterday. A fairly non-descript house in the Lake District sold for £400,000 and requiring stacks of work (guide of £250,000!). You could see the auctioneer working the bidders. Total emotional heart over head stuff. 

Agree, auctioneers are just middle class estate agents...spivs, the lot of them!

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2 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Offer in.

I'm 95% sure it will be rejected.

:D

Well you've 'Done the sums' so if they bounce it you haven't lost anything, as to pay higher would be uneconomical!

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Offer has been rejected but with a very pleasant email response. Apparently another party is interested although they have yet to offer.

We've not counter offered but simply responded that we remain interested.

I think the property is now borderline unmortgageable. This might catch out people later. 

If there is someone out there prepared to go large then good luck to them.

Our offer plus repair/upgrade costs would match the most expensive selling price in the village (for a similar equally nice historic house sold in 2018). 

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1 hour ago, Sasquatch said:

Offer has been rejected but with a very pleasant email response. Apparently another party is interested although they have yet to offer.

We've not counter offered but simply responded that we remain interested.

I think the property is now borderline unmortgageable. This might catch out people later. 

If there is someone out there prepared to go large then good luck to them.

Our offer plus repair/upgrade costs would match the most expensive selling price in the village (for a similar equally nice historic house sold in 2018). 

They won't accept anything while they're interested parties. Now they have your unrealistic offer they'll go back to the other party and say, we have other interested parties but will accept X. 😂 Easy when you can see both sides of the negotiation 😂 I'd just wait now. If they come back asking for more, you know the other parties have been exhausted 😉 so stick to your guns and wait. 

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15 hours ago, Green Devil said:

They won't accept anything while they're interested parties. Now they have your unrealistic offer they'll go back to the other party and say, we have other interested parties but will accept X. 😂 Easy when you can see both sides of the negotiation 😂 I'd just wait now. If they come back asking for more, you know the other parties have been exhausted 😉 so stick to your guns and wait. 

Agree, and the "other interest party" may just be BS to see if you had a knee-jerk reaction and upped your offer; this will be apparent if they come back in a week or so with them thinking "They will stew over the weekend and reoffer on Monday"...as you say, you have done the sums and to offer more would be silly/uneconomical.

If they come back in a month or so the other offer was genuine but fell through. At this stage you are in a stronger position and may like to `reevaluate` your offer if market circumstances have changed.

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9 hours ago, MrXxxx said:

Agree, and the "other interest party" may just be BS to see if you had a knee-jerk reaction and upped your offer; this will be apparent if they come back in a week or so with them thinking "They will stew over the weekend and reoffer on Monday"...as you say, you have done the sums and to offer more would be silly/uneconomical.

If they come back in a month or so the other offer was genuine but fell through. At this stage you are in a stronger position and may like to `reevaluate` your offer if market circumstances have changed.

I actually think they were telling the truth. The agent who showed us round was very pleasant and very candid. We know that about 6 or 7 parties viewed the house last week. 5 of these were not interested but one is as well as us. I'm not sure if Christmas/stronger lock downs will slow everything up now and the vendors will seek a quick resolution.

We will move up £25,000 but that's it. However we've decided to play it cool and wait to be contacted.

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22 minutes ago, Sasquatch said:

I actually think they were telling the truth. The agent who showed us round was very pleasant and very candid. We know that about 6 or 7 parties viewed the house last week. 5 of these were not interested but one is as well as us. I'm not sure if Christmas/stronger lock downs will slow everything up now and the vendors will seek a quick resolution.

We will move up £25,000 but that's it. However we've decided to play it cool and wait to be contacted.

If they come back to you after the weekend they are looking for your £25k....if they come back at the end of the week the other party has said "Forget it"...If you have gone through the 'sums' why raise another £25k?

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3 hours ago, MrXxxx said:

If they come back to you after the weekend they are looking for your £25k....if they come back at the end of the week the other party has said "Forget it"...If you have gone through the 'sums' why raise another £25k?

No intention of raising our offer. However, if it's necessary to sweeten the deal then we will do it as long as it's on our terms. I actually think some lunatic out there will pay far too much for the property. 

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9 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

I actually think they were telling the truth. The agent who showed us round was very pleasant and very candid. We know that about 6 or 7 parties viewed the house last week. 5 of these were not interested but one is as well as us. I'm not sure if Christmas/stronger lock downs will slow everything up now and the vendors will seek a quick resolution.

We will move up £25,000 but that's it. However we've decided to play it cool and wait to be contacted.

I've posted on here before but every single time I put an offer in on a place in the UK, a higher offer amazingly appeared from nowhere.

I would start with the assumption the estate agent is a lying cunt and move down from there.

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8 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

No intention of raising our offer. However, if it's necessary to sweeten the deal then we will do it as long as it's on our terms. I actually think some lunatic out there will pay far too much for the property. 

It’s the joint most expensive house in the village aready

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sleepwello'nights
8 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

No intention of raising our offer. However, if it's necessary to sweeten the deal then we will do it as long as it's on our terms. I actually think some lunatic out there will pay far too much for the property. 

The ability to proceed promptly always gives you a strong hand. In the end though I always fall for the Henry Royce quote "the quality remains when the price is forgotten".

I suspect £25k is neither here nor there in terms of the asking price and refurbishment costs. From what you've said you're not letting your heart rule your head and justifying your decision rationally. All too often the art of salesmanship is to insinuate the decision into the potential buyers emotions.

A house purchase can get very emotional, as I recently found. The mantra Location, location, location is very telling. I'm now rationalising the extra I paid as a price well worth paying for the glorious views over the Cornish countryside as one of several positive aspects. 

Did you leave a business card or two around, if nothing else it might drum up some work for your business.

Only you can decide on whether the positive attributes of the property are worth the price you will have to pay to get it. As always another one will turn up. 

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8 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

No intention of raising our offer. However, if it's necessary to sweeten the deal then we will do it as long as it's on our terms. I actually think some lunatic out there will pay far too much for the property. 

Well I don't know where you are based in the UK but with the `about face` by Boris yesterday may help your case...if I was the EA I would want to get the sale confirmed ASAP not knowing when I would next be able to offer a viewing on it, as no one will buy without....But then im not a greedy mofo.

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35 minutes ago, MrXxxx said:

Well I don't know where you are based in the UK but with the `about face` by Boris yesterday may help your case...if I was the EA I would want to get the sale confirmed ASAP not knowing when I would next be able to offer a viewing on it, as no one will buy without....But then im not a greedy mofo.

Viewings are still allowed, even in tier 4.

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On 18/12/2020 at 12:03, Sasquatch said:

Our business specialises in the repair and restoration of old buildings

you obviously know what you're doing but genuinely interested in how you deal with the base of a what 5/6 meter brick wall where the mortar has been 'washed out' the bottom?

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8 hours ago, 5min OCD speculator said:

you obviously know what you're doing but genuinely interested in how you deal with the base of a what 5/6 meter brick wall where the mortar has been 'washed out' the bottom?

75% of our business is related to the repair and restoration of historic buildings (including plenty of grade I) and I've now got 30 years under my belt. I'm not an engineer but I have a pretty good idea regarding the structural integrity of a building. The brickwork does look pretty cruddy in the photo I uploaded but the building is absolutely fine. No signs of structural movement or internal/external cracks. I have seen a lot worse!

The cloakroom is the only room where the floor is missing. My hunch is a leaking soil pipe rather than rainwater getting in. The toilet has been removed (not quite picked up in my photo). 

The property looks terrible internally because of the sodden carpets, mouldy timber work and belongings strewn all over the place. The garden is turning into a jungle as well. However, we can look beyond these things. The water ingress is a  concern but can be dealt with as long as the roof is repaired asap.

We've offered based upon no requirement for a survey. I was hoping this would be seen as a positive as well.

It will be interesting to see if we are contacted before the christmas break.

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9 hours ago, sleepwello'nights said:

The ability to proceed promptly always gives you a strong hand. In the end though I always fall for the Henry Royce quote "the quality remains when the price is forgotten".

I suspect £25k is neither here nor there in terms of the asking price and refurbishment costs. From what you've said you're not letting your heart rule your head and justifying your decision rationally. All too often the art of salesmanship is to insinuate the decision into the potential buyers emotions.

A house purchase can get very emotional, as I recently found. The mantra Location, location, location is very telling. I'm now rationalising the extra I paid as a price well worth paying for the glorious views over the Cornish countryside as one of several positive aspects. 

Did you leave a business card or two around, if nothing else it might drum up some work for your business.

Only you can decide on whether the positive attributes of the property are worth the price you will have to pay to get it. As always another one will turn up. 

Congratulations on the house move. If not for distance from family and work, Cornwall would be near the top of our list.

On the business card front, no. We've got plenty of work (and we don't work for domestic clients these days - they are invariably a PITA!)

 

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Just for info, an EA rang me yesterday to see if I was still looking to buy and had I thought any more about a property I viewed with them.

My life got hectic late 2019 so my viewing must have been at least 12 months ago (very likely August), I've just checked online - the advert still has the same photos it had more than a year ago, price is unchanged O.o 

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On 20/12/2020 at 21:36, Andersen said:

Just for info, an EA rang me yesterday to see if I was still looking to buy and had I thought any more about a property I viewed with them.

My life got hectic late 2019 so my viewing must have been at least 12 months ago (very likely August), I've just checked online - the advert still has the same photos it had more than a year ago, price is unchanged O.o 

Well they're "not going to give it away!"....well, not in their lifetime anyway.

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Democorruptcy
On 20/12/2020 at 21:36, Andersen said:

Just for info, an EA rang me yesterday to see if I was still looking to buy and had I thought any more about a property I viewed with them.

My life got hectic late 2019 so my viewing must have been at least 12 months ago (very likely August), I've just checked online - the advert still has the same photos it had more than a year ago, price is unchanged O.o 

That kite must have a long string.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Lined up an interesting looking viewing next week. Not specifically in our target area but it would be ok. One of those listings that looks a bit half baked and went on at too high a price. Only a few photos and a poor plan. House has been on the market for a year and was reduced back in September. It's come down 15% so far. Apparently now empty and the owners are 'overseas'. Therefore I'm sure it will be looking a lot sadder in the flesh than in the photos. However the house looks fundamentally sound and just needs an internal refurb (bathrooms, kitchen, decs, carpets). Nice garden as well and it also has a small annexe and large garage. 

When the agent found out we were a cash buyer and in rented, she was super keen to talk. Apparently the owner is prepared to negotiate. I do wonder if the market is coming off the boil, especially up here in near northern parts? The market might temporarily brighten up in the spring so we're keen to pounce now if we can negotiate a decent figure. Even better is the fact it's not too far away and we could continue to rent whilst getting it refurbed. Much nicer not to have to live in all the mess (done that quite a few times now)

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Oh, and assuming we could knock off a few more % points from the asking price, we could buy and refurb without any borrowing* 

It's very tempting.

 

* but with 5 year fixes down at 1.4% we would still take on a smallish mortgage. 

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21 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Lined up an interesting looking viewing next week. Not specifically in our target area but it would be ok. One of those listings that looks a bit half baked and went on at too high a price. Only a few photos and a poor plan. House has been on the market for a year and was reduced back in September. It's come down 15% so far. Apparently now empty and the owners are 'overseas'. Therefore I'm sure it will be looking a lot sadder in the flesh than in the photos. However the house looks fundamentally sound and just needs an internal refurb (bathrooms, kitchen, decs, carpets). Nice garden as well and it also has a small annexe and large garage. 

When the agent found out we were a cash buyer and in rented, she was super keen to talk. Apparently the owner is prepared to negotiate. I do wonder if the market is coming off the boil, especially up here in near northern parts? The market might temporarily brighten up in the spring so we're keen to pounce now if we can negotiate a decent figure. Even better is the fact it's not too far away and we could continue to rent whilst getting it refurbed. Much nicer not to have to live in all the mess (done that quite a few times now)

The number of houses transacting the North is tiny.

EA is a part time job these days.

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Drove up to take a look at the house today and a quick peer through the windows. 

As usual the estate agent's photos are vastly superior to the actuality. I think one of the windows was so rotten that we could probably have lifted the pane out. Therefore more of a refurb project than one would expect from the details. If it was in Ambleside or some other hyped up place then an EA/owmer can perhaps get away with it. Otherwise, it just a huge disappointment for the house viewer. We can now see why it hasn't sold. 

Great potential though. Lovely spot, proper 4 bed with 3 receptions, 1/2 acre garden, big garage. Small annexe. 

Pretty sure we'll put in an offer this week. We're keen to get settled.

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