offer on house on market for 1 year and insulation Q.

[Janeom]

Hi,

We are currently interested in buying a house which seems to be in a good location, nice estate etc. However its been on the market for 1 year so we are a bit concerned about the lack of interest…Could be the fact that the décor needs some modernisation but it’s a good size detached house with a nice private garden and I don’t really understand why it has n’t been sold sooner. (By the way this is in Northern Ireland..about 20 minutes from Belfast).
We have given the matter some thought and think we will put in an offer …He is looking for approx 250 K euros(165 stg)and I am I wondering how low an offer we could make without being unreasonable. We are first time buyers so this is all new to us……How much do people initially offer under the asking price….I know it’s a "how long is a piece of string" type question but considering the house has been on the market for 1 year I think we should be able to offer a good deal les than the asking price.

Anyway it was built in 1988 and when we asked the owner about insulation he did n’t know anything about what the walls etc. even though he has been living there since 1990 (the attic is insulated). Generally are houses built in the 1980s built with cavity walls and insulation? We rented previously in Galway in a house that was only 10 years old and it was always freezing even when heating on full blast so want to avoid buying a house like that…..

I know a surveyor should be able to tell us all this but just want to try find out as much before we decide to make an offer and incur the expense of a surveyor.
Cheers,
Janeom

 

[pennypincher]

My parents had a similar issue,house was cold and very high heating bills to make it comfortable.You can get out any cavity wall insulation company for a free valuation.That's what they did,he looked in behind the ESB meter and in the attic and could tell it had no insulation.They insulated a 4 bed detached bungalow for around 2K Euro,and went from filling their oil tank 4 times a year to twice a year with the same level of comfort.

 

[efm]

Janeom,

If you are interested in the house you should get a surveyors report done - usual cost around €300 I think (not sure what the usual cost is in Belfast). It may seem like a lot to pay out particularly if you end up not buying the house but the report should show the level of insulation in the house and might show up why it has been on the market for over a year.

With regard to putting in an offer; do you know what equivalent size houses are selling for in the area? Do you now has the price been the same for the full year the house has been on the market or has it dropped over the 12 months?

Without knowing the house, area or history I would put in an initial offer of £150,000 stg and see what response you get - it doesn't cost you anything to put in an offer and it makes no difference to you if the seller doesn't accept you can put in a higher offer.

In my opinion it might be better to wait until after a surveyors report before putting in a bid as the report could possibly give you ammunition to support your lower bid. Also, don't be surprised if "another bidder" suddenly and surprisingly emerges out of nowhere just as you put in your bid - it has been reported on this forum that this tactic may used by estate agents in the south from time to time to try and get higher bids out of people.

Let us know how you get on

efm

 

[States]

Just and aside on house insulation, I did read that for all new houses from next year on (I think) they will be a certificate issued stating the insulation level of the house. It's an EU based directive to make new houses more energy effecient.

 

[Janeom]

Hi guys,

thanks for your replies but we have decided against the house. We went back for a second viewing and got a bad vibe about the place. The owner had incense burning so thats the only smell you get over the whole house....getting a bit suspicious that he is trying to hide a smell of damp or something especially since he had it burning on both viewings

. Anyway up here in NI its the owners who show your around the house and during the viewing he said he was n't accepting less than 165 K (he said he got an offer of 158 K which he refused). Since we could n't afford to do any renovations if we paid 165 K we are going to look for something else.

Janeom