Buying a House

Thanks! It's a very small kitchen in a very small house, so it wasn't terribly expensive. But the original oven was so small that a regular sized cookie sheet wouldn't allow the oven door to close and the countertops had wide gaps on the back so that crumbs and splashes went into the lower cabinets. :rolleyes: We knew when we bought the place that we'd have to redo several things.
 
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Things are still ticking along for us. Lots of paperwork!

We do want to change a few things in the house, but only eventually - it's fine to move into, nothing completely awful/broken.

Keep looking, Karl! You'll get there eventually. I lost count of how many houses we saw in the end, but each one narrowed something else down or taught us something else to look for until we were only viewing houses which were strong contenders.
 
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Booked a Homebuyers Report - £265, but definitely worth doing because it'll tell us whether we're paying a fair price, the cost and urgency of any repairs, and if the house is likely to turn into a money pit. Also looked into buildings insurance.

And we have the contracts in our possession! Once those are signed and returned, there's not much else to do!
 
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So exciting, AF! It's smart to do the report. :yes:
 
We went to look at another house today. It's a 2-bedroom freehold semi-detached house from the 1950s in walking distance from where we're currently renting. While we really like this neighbourhood and the house wasn't a complete disaster zone, it's clear that it needs considerable fixing up:
  • The shed had what appeared to be an asbestos roof, so that would have to go. However, it was sharing the roof and one wall with the neighbours, so that could complicate matters.
  • The water heater needs replacing.
  • There were no appliances or shelves or anything at all in the kitchen.
  • The floors in the entrance hall and kitchen had vinyl with patches here and there. It was old and just not very nice. Also felt a little bumpy here and there.
  • The stairs and bedrooms had psychedelic 70s/80s carpets, so we would want to replace that as well.
  • The bathroom was perhaps the best room in the whole house. A couple of tiles were loose, but nothing we couldn't live with.
The estate agent had an 'open day' for this house today, and there were quite a lot of people there to view it.

I'm concerned that the price we'll have to pay for it + stamp duty and moving costs etc will make it impossible for us to afford the necessary repairs.

Edit: Meanwhile, we are also considering a similar house for the same asking price in a town closer to my job where there were no necessary repairs ... I think I know which of the two options I'm leaning against!
 
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Good luck to everyone!

Indian Summer, since the house you're looking at has so much that needs to be done on it (asbestos, missing appliances, etc), the seller ought to give you a good price on it. If they don't, maybe they'll be stuck with it. Their problem- not yours.
 
Tom said:
Indian Summer, since the house you're looking at has so much that needs to be done on it (asbestos, missing appliances, etc), the seller ought to give you a good price on it. If they don't, maybe they'll be stuck with it. Their problem- not yours.
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In a saner, fairer world / market, this would probably be the case. As it is, though, it's sellers' market, and they can charge ridiculous sums for old fixer-uppers like this one.

We're going back and forth on what to do. At the moment, it looks like we might end up somewhere further away from my work, which means a longer commute by car for me, but it will hopefully also mean an area with more green space and a bigger house with 3 bedrooms instead of a crowded area with little green space and a small house with just 2 bedrooms.

My sanity is suffering badly at the moment.
 
Indian Summer said:
In a saner, fairer world / market, this would probably be the case. As it is, though, it's sellers' market, and they can charge ridiculous sums for old fixer-uppers like this one.

We're going back and forth on what to do. At the moment, it looks like we might end up somewhere further away from my work, which means a longer commute by car for me, but it will hopefully also mean an area with more green space and a bigger house with 3 bedrooms instead of a crowded area with little green space and a small house with just 2 bedrooms.

My sanity is suffering badly at the moment.
Click to expand...
Are they building anything nearby? Usually with new construction, the prices of the existing houses drops when construction is nearly finished. Buying in a sellers' market is dangerous.
 
A little update:

Homebuyer's reports are terrifying :P They tell you absolutely everything that could potentially go wrong, and make your lovely house sound like a deathtrap. They have to be extra cautious because you can sue them if they miss something, so I'm taking it all with a pinch of salt. But still, at first glance, I was about ready to hide in rented accommodation forever.

The mortgage is the only thing causing a hold-up now. I wish it would hurry up, I wanna move already! And buy this sofa and dining room table I have my eye on while they're in the sales :P
 
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Mortgage still causing a hold-up, it's been two months now! Gahhh. Seller is getting antsy, wants to exchange soon (as do we). Contacting my broker every day now, trying to push things along.
 

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