Buying a house from landlord

cutehoore

We live in a rented house, the owner does not live in the country and has no ties to the area only he grew up in the house but has been gone 30 years.

We would like to approach him to buy the house, a few questions.

Should we get it valued first?
Would we do this solicitor to solicitor or do we need to involve an estate agent?
Would we need to move out when sale is going through if it did?

Retrovertigo

Ask him first, your other questions are redundant otherwise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAVr0mKFoeE

dashoonage

Approach the LL directly
No need to get it valued but have a look at the prices locally. The LL may get it valued.
No need to move out

Just dont try and be a cute hoore about it.

cutehoore

Thanks, We know the prices 3 houses in the neighborhood sold for in the last few years.

Our house would need a lot of work done that these houses wouldnt, should we approach with a mid way figure or just say we are interested in doing it.

Cathmandooo

cutehoore wrote: »

Should we get it valued first?

It depends, if it's in an estate with similar houses where some have sold in the last year then you can approach with a realistic market value yourself. If little has sold in the area in the last year or your house is quite different to others nearby then you'll need a valuation, or multiple valuations to get a realistic figure.

cutehoore wrote: »

Would we do this solicitor to solicitor or do we need to involve an estate agent?

If the landlord is willing to sell it directly to you then you can avoid having an estate agent involved. This can be a bargaining chip in your favour as it's less cost for the landlord.

cutehoore wrote: »

Would we need to move out when sale is going through if it did?

I don't see why you'd move out, you'd keep paying rent until the sale completes.

Retrovertigo

cutehoore wrote: »

Thanks, We know the prices 3 houses in the neighborhood sold for in the last few years.

Our house would need a lot of work done that these houses wouldnt, should we approach with a mid way figure or just say we are interested in doing it.

Just ask him if he wants to sell and then take the next step if he does, It ain't rocket science, you seem to be jumping the gun a little.

cutehoore

Thanks that is a great help.

All houses in the area are the same 3 bed ex council nothing fancy but we love the area

From a mortgage point of view we would prob need to have their valuer take a look before making any offers in case they think it is worth less.

We rent through an EA so i will comb the contract to make sure he hasnt anything in about been involved in future sales

cutehoore

I am a person who likes to be prepared, it is not jumping the gun if you want to put a plan in place, or try to get a clue of what you are doing.

Retrovertigo

To follow up on that, should the landlord want to sell he should pay for everything that would make the buyer happy and meet regulations.

A solicitor should only ever be involved at the contract stage. IE: Money down for a deposit

cutehoore

youve lost me now, why would he have to pay for everything... ps i am a first time buyer

Retrovertigo

If you like the house you need to make sure it's in order. But from what you have said you're in early days looking for something. For your own interest it would be better you don't rush it. Forget the solicitor until you are sure.

cutehoore

Thanks for the feedback, we wont be rushing. We just know we want to live in this area so it seems like a great fit and who dosn't hate moving

pilly

If it were me I'd get a valuation to be honest, it will cost about €120. Couple of reasons for this, you'll know if you can afford it and if you contact the LL directly and ask him if he's prepared to sell the first thing he's going to ask is how much are you willing to pay.

As a matter of interest if the LL hasn't lived there for 30 years I wonder why he's holding on to the house. Does he intend on retiring to it I wonder?

murphaph

I expect the LL will decline (for the reason above...30 years gone and hasn't sold up yet). But best of luck and he can only say no. He does hold all the cards though...he knows it's much easier for you if you buy it. To him it's irrelevant really who buys it. I was asked by a tenant to sell a house to them and I declined. Even if I was in the market to sell I would not sell without letting the market decide the price. The tenants could bid like anyone else but I would want to know I had secured the best price possible for the property.

the_syco

How long was the house empty before you moved in, and how much of a demand is there from rentals in your area?

utmbuilder

one small little thing to watch out for here, it may not even be relevant but just mentioning it to be safe

tenants are liable for tax on the rent if the landlord is out of the country not many know this, be careful if you are not sending the revenue money every month that they cant come back if you buy the place and prove you lived and rented it for years, cos then if you owned it, they could put a lean against you

to be honest i dont even know if the revenue are that active in pursuing such cases but its something to check out

the_syco

utmbuilder wrote: »

one small little thing to watch out for here, it may not even be relevant but just mentioning it to be safe

tenants are liable for tax on the rent if the landlord is out of the country

This only matters if the OP is paying rent direct to the LL. If the OP is paying rent via an Irish based person/agency, they don't need to keep a portion of the rent.

Millem

We bought our house from our LL. We approached him, he got out an estate agent to value it (for free) we agreed a price with LL and we bought it!
We lived in the house the whole time paying rent. We picked a closing date on a day rent would of been due. Everything was very very quick and smooth. Maybe only 3 weeks.
We had to pay for a bank valuation for our mortgage.

You will know yourself from the Ppr roughly the price he is looking for!

cutehoore

the_syco wrote: »

How long was the house empty before you moved in, and how much of a demand is there from rentals in your area?

The house was empty for about a month. The landlord is very choosy who he lets to as the neighbours are all old and he respects them as this was his parents house before they died.

Demand is ok, but the house is need of renovation very old fashioned 1960s council house needs an extension, you wouldn't really get a family with more than one kid in here.

cutehoore

Millem wrote: »

We bought our house from our LL. We approached him, he got out an estate agent to value it (for free) we agreed a price with LL and we bought it!
We lived in the house the whole time paying rent. We picked a closing date on a day rent would of been due. Everything was very very quick and smooth. Maybe only 3 weeks.
We had to pay for a bank valuation for our mortgage.

You will know yourself from the Ppr roughly the price he is looking for!

Thank you this has given me good hope for if he agrees that it can close quickly

cutehoore

the_syco wrote: »

This only matters if the OP is paying rent direct to the LL. If the OP is paying rent via an Irish based person/agency, they don't need to keep a portion of the rent.

Paying via estate agent, thanks for the heads up

cutehoore

murphaph wrote: »

I expect the LL will decline (for the reason above...30 years gone and hasn't sold up yet). But best of luck and he can only say no. He does hold all the cards though...he knows it's much easier for you if you buy it. To him it's irrelevant really who buys it. I was asked by a tenant to sell a house to them and I declined. Even if I was in the market to sell I would not sell without letting the market decide the price. The tenants could bid like anyone else but I would want to know I had secured the best price possible for the property.

Sorry, I wan't clear. It is his parents old house he was left when they died. He had been gone since he was 18.

pilly

cutehoore wrote: »

Sorry, I wan't clear. It is his parents old house he was left when they died. He had been gone since he was 18.

He could still hope to live there when he's older maybe.

Anyway, as lots of people have said you won't know until you ask.

Start the conversation would be my advice.

cutehoore

pilly wrote: »

He could still hope to live there when he's older maybe.

Anyway, as lots of people have said you won't know until you ask.

Start the conversation would be my advice.

Have applied for mortgage approval, if it comes trough this week we hope to have him over for tea if not we will do it next month when he is home fingers crossed

pilly

cutehoore wrote: »

Have applied for mortgage approval, if it comes trough this week we hope to have him over for tea if not we will do it next month when he is home fingers crossed

Yeah, best of luck. What you will have in your favour is that if he is interested in selling then he knows that you get on with the neighbours.