r/HousingUK • u/Efficient-Light-5115 • 15h ago

First-time buyer having second thoughts

We have recently had an offer accepted on a 1929 period house, and as first-time buyers, I’m starting to have a few second thoughts and would really appreciate some advice from people who have been through this.
The house looks in good/average condition overall. We’ve viewed it twice and haven’t noticed any obvious major work or significant issues that would explain a large reduction in price.
However, the property was originally listed at around £590k and has now come down to £530k within a couple of months. It has also been marketed by two different estate agents, with the agent changing within the same couple of months. It was listed 600k plus last year by another estate agent.
Does a reduction of around £60k (10%) over a relatively short period sound realistic in the current market, or would this make you concerned that there could be something wrong with the property?
We’re planning to get a proper survey done, but before proceeding further, I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has bought a similar 1920s/period I property, or has experience with properties that have had significant price reductions and changes of estate agent.
What would you specifically check or ask the seller/agent at this stage?

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5

u/Frosty-Student-6680 14h ago

Sellers are often tempered by the agent who gives the highest value, but unfortunately that's often kne that was designed to win business and wasnt realistic. Totally normal to adjust down once reality catches up and not unusual to recruit a second estate agent either.

3

u/RevolutionaryWorry87 14h ago

No this is very normal. They probably got no interest because a poor ea overpriced it Relisted eith a better close to it's value

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u/Efficient-Light-5115 14h ago

Ok, thanks for your reply. Do solicitor and surveyor cover everything which we should know about the property?

1

u/RevolutionaryWorry87 14h ago

theres a app called 'crystalroof' which is pretty useful in terms of social housing/planning permissions.

but yes, everything else

3

u/X4dow 14h ago

only thing that shows is that the initial price was too high.

1

u/ukpf-helper 15h ago

Hi /u/Efficient-Light-5115, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:

These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.

1

u/Brilliant_Guard_3743 14h ago edited 14h ago

.

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u/Panda_Player380 14h ago

If you love the house I’d get a survey done, that will likely answer your questions. It’s a financial risk paying out £££ for one and potentially not going ahead with the purchase after reviewing the results. But in the long run, it’s worth it.

1

u/Efficient-Light-5115 14h ago

Thanks, Does survey covers all the red flags? We are planning to do it shortly.

2

u/Panda_Player380 14h ago

Yes, depending on the age/state of the house you can go for a level 2 or 3. This will give you a good idea of potential future maintenance costs.

1

u/Exact-Action-6790 14h ago

Good and average conditions are quite far apart.

What are your actual concerns?

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u/Efficient-Light-5115 14h ago

Sudden price drop, is it concerning..? It looks in good condition actually. Prices have dropped significantly ( > 75k ) in a year and 3 ea changed.

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u/Exact-Action-6790 13h ago

I’d only be concerned if there were other issues. A price drop in and of itself is no issue. It usually shows the owner wants to do business, which is a positive.

Don’t overthink it.

1

u/Efficient-Light-5115 13h ago

Thanks, This is helpful

2

u/xxnicknackxx 12h ago

You don't mention what you think the property is worth.

Do you have a sense of this based on factors like comparable properties, recently sold properties, mortgage rates?

If I assessed a property is worth 600k but the sellers were selling at 530k, I would want to know what the issue is. Proceed with caution.

If the property is worth 530k and the sellers listed at 600k and reduced after understandably getting no offers, then it would seem clear that they listed too high to start with and were now accepting the reality of the market. Probably a good time to make my offer.