What price to offer for a 90k fixer-upper?

up4it

I recently viewed a fixer-upper property on a couple of acres that is priced at 90k Euros.

It is habitable but needs a new kitchen, bathroom, probably windows, heating system, hot water tank, roof leak fixed, insulation, decorating, new driveway, outbuildings repaired. But the structure of the 1960s style house seems OK.

This property has been empty for a few years now and on the market for 10 months. The agent said the sellers were trying to hold out for 85K euros.

I do not want to pay too much as I could buy a newly built property instead that just needs finishing off (ie. kitchen.bathroom/etc.) and it would be better insulated too for not much more.

Originally priced at 125k euros. The property is now priced at 90k euros.
Agent says seller hoping for 85K which seems a little optimistic to me.

I am thinking of making a bid so what do you think is a reasonable offer in the current market? How low should I go? Thanks for any responses.

Penguino

Where is it located? Have you looked at comparables in the area?

PM me if you prefer

ShadowHearth

i checked a few properties like this myself.

example: 3 bedrooms,livingroom,batroom,diningroom. 1 acre of land ( looks more ) old cottage house, no carpets in living room and no tiles in bathroom. needs usuall painting plastering there and there, tidy up enviroment. has solid fuel heating, would need oil heating installed i guess. dunno about isloation, but from personal experience i see old houses have better heating isolation then polish ( no offence lads,i am foreinger myself ) biuld legoland houses. house felt really warm withouth even heating in it for ages. no black mucroom on walls.

i presume sort out bathroom, put carpet in living room, then just paint it inside and you can live in it.

price listed: 95k, EA told me i would get that for 65k.

where is the property based, that you are checking m8?

up4it

Shadow: I agree, I like these older properties and with a little work they can become good homes again. I did discuss a figure similar to 65K with the agent and he said I had no chance. But with the amount of work required I did not think it unreasonable myself.

But I think some of the agents and sellers have not yet quite come to terms with the current market and economic climate.

With regard to location, all I can say is that it is not commutable to Dublin or Cork.

D3PO

the cost of you doing up the driveway, outbuildings and decoration refurbing of rooms has no bearing on what the house is worth.

Its impossible to say if its good value or not without knowing location how many acres of land are with it, location etc. The fact the vendors have dropped 25% off the price in 10 months would indicate they have a fairly realistic approach to the house price and sale value.

so without knowing more detial sounds like they are perhaps asking a reasonable price.

the_syco

up4it wrote: »

This property has been empty for a few years now and on the market for 10 months. The agent said the sellers were trying to hold out for 85K euros.

What's "a few years"? I'd check the attic for any signs of leaks, any damage done in the attic from leaks, etc. There's a "fix it upper", and then there's walls with a roof that needs replacing, and an entire house that needs to be redone - it may end up costing you more than a new "2nd fixer" or a "builders finish" (oh, I hate that phrase so much) house. I know you said you saw a roof leak, but how many leaks are there there, and a few house that has been empty for a few years could get a rather large puddle.

Had a look at the areas you were looking at, for €90,000 and most are small. I saw one or two mention "great views", but great views equals lots of wind, so unless the outside is sturdy, and the inside well insulated, you'll get a hefty draught. If you do decide to get the house, I'd pay a few hundred for a professional engineer to look at it. No offence to yourself, but get one whose job is to look for holes, as he may see some thing you don't, and save you quite a bit.

If it's empty for a few years, and on the market for "a few months", I'm thinking it has bad internal damage, and they've been drying it out?

/edit
A bit outside your budget, but maybe http://www.daft.ie/1395050 ? It needs most of what you'll be putting into the other house, but as it's a bit newer, there's more chance of not needing a new roof. Maybe see will they take a bit less than asking?

up4it

Syco: The roof leak is pretty minor but is still a roof leak after all. Like you say, although minor that can lead to bigger problems including dry rot which can affect wood through-out the whole house if it has a water source to feed it.

Agreed, I would never buy a house without a full structural survey. Even a new house needs a full survey.

ricman

Property is priced based on location,Also how far to motorway,roads, distance to a large town or city.Its hard to give advice without knowing location,eg ten miles from galway city.There are new 3bed houses in the country ,cheaper than a 2bed house in dublin.also many countys had new estates built with no obvious demand ,result ghost estates.
Look on daft ie, how much is a similar house in good condition with 3 acres going for .a good structural survey will give an idea of what basic repairs will cost.
you can buy a mansion in detroit usa for the price of a 1bed apartment in dublin.You may not wanna name the town,area , if you are wary of attracting competing buyers before you put in a bid.

up4it

Thanks for any responses.

We have been keeping an eye on the property market for a long time now.

This property has a couple of acres of good land with it which is what we are looking for. The house itself needs some work on it but nothing structural as far as we know.

Like many others, we just didn't want to pay too much in the current property market and dire economic situation and outlook in the country.

Jo King

Work out the cost of doing the works. Check what you would have to pay for comparable finished houses in similar locations. You should thus be able to estimate what the finished house will be worth. Subtract the cost of the renovations erring on the generous side for the cost of renovations. That is your ballpark figure.

RasTa

Since you're not telling us much, offer them €20k