Bidding on a house

Wesser

I am trying to bid on houses at the moment. The problem that I have encountered is that I do not know where to stop bidding as I do not know how much renovations would cost. Does anyone know how i can overcome this problem?
For example lets talk round figures. My total budget is 330.
House asking is 275. The price slowly rises as the bids come in. It's now at 310. It needs renovations but I don't know how much they would cost. Maybe 10k maybe 30. I can't get a structural survey on every house I see!!! price slow rises but I don't know where to stop coz I don't know how much to leave over in my budget. Should I stop at 300? Or 320?

I can't get a quotation in every house I see and therefore I don't know where to stop bidding! Do i just estimate?

SB_Part2

Why don't you contact a local builder to get a ballpark figure?

The builder I went with doesn't charge for the quotation if you go with him for the renovation works.

Wesser

But do I have to do that for every house I see? Surely every house is different,,, might need steel beam? Might need rad moved, might need plumbing done....I don't know how much each individual thing costs. Some houses I could not even move into without new kitchen.....

SB_Part2

Wesser wrote: »

But do I have to do that for every house I see? Surely every house is different,,, might need steel beam? Might need rad moved, might need plumbing done....I don't know how much each individual thing costs. Some houses I could not even move into without new kitchen.....

Does every house you see need renovations? From your first post I gathered that you are already bidding on a house and it's at 310k? Bring the builder to that house.

Are all the houses you are bidding on in the same area?

Wesser

No, not all
Of them....

So should I just get a builder in once and then try my best to reapply that knowledge to other houses?

SB_Part2

Have you got a bid on a house already?

Wesser

Yes I have bid 285 on the above house and been outbid. I don't know if I can go to 315.
I have also viewed approx 8 houses in the same area in varying States of disrepair.

SB_Part2

Ok well I've given you all the advice I can give you. Maybe someone else can give you better advice.

Wesser

Thanks! I have read your posts and taken it in.

bmwguy

Why are all the houses you are bidding on in disrepair? If you can't figure out a ballpark cost buying such a house might not be for you, it could end up a costly mistake

Estrellita

If your buying power means you are mostly looking at houses that need some kind of repairs, then I think you would be mad not to get surveys on them, unless you have knowledge or experience of renovations yourself. Its also a good idea to bring someone with you that would know what to look for if you don't.

We are in the market to buy ourselves, and any house we have taken very seriously we have surveyed. Its worth every cent of it, because one we surveyed last week totally bombed. Things that 'needed attention' as per the EA turned out to be serious issues and additions to the building werent in line with regulations. I know it's a lot of money to have to pay each time, but you could be saving yourself a far more expensive mistake in the long run.

Estrellita

Sorry I forgot to mention that you can make your offers subject to survey. If worms come out of the wood work in the survey you could potentially use the results as a bargaining tool, if you were to proceed with the purchase.

slingerz

Estrellita wrote: »

Sorry I forgot to mention that you can make your offers subject to survey. If worms come out of the wood work in the survey you could potentially use the results as a bargaining tool, if you were to proceed with the purchase.

do you specify this at time of offer?

Estrellita

slingerz wrote: »

do you specify this at time of offer?

You need to say to your agent that your offers are all subject to survey. If you win the final bid, you advise them you would like to send in your surveyor, and at that point you could leave your booking deposit with your agent. This is refundable if you decide not to go ahead with the sale based on survey results.

bleary

You should be able to come up with a rough costing yourself, rough estimate I think is 150 per sq ft for renovation 200 per sq ft for an extension
There is a costing section on boards , have a look through for similar work
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1245
Write down everything you think needs to be done and whether it needs to be done straight away
Then bid on that basis , if you go sale agreed get a survey and follow up with a builder, then as long as there are no surprises you should be fine . If not renegotiate or pull out.

Henry Ford III

Estrellita wrote: »

You need to say to your agent that your offers are all subject to survey. If you win the final bid, you advise them you would like to send in your surveyor, and at that point you could leave your booking deposit with your agent. This is refundable if you decide not to go ahead with the sale based on survey results.

All offers are not binding until contracts are signed. There's no need to mention "subject to" anything when bidding.

Estrellita

Henry Ford III wrote: »

All offers are not binding until contracts are signed. There's no need to mention "subject to" anything when bidding.

Perhaps it is stating the obvious to you, but not everyone starting out buying a home realised this.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

TENHNY

Estimate more, you be surprised how much even little things costs,

Maybe when viewing consider, how much would need to do done immediately before you more in,
Myself and the other half are also on the search, we are looking for house that we can move into as soon as sale goes through cause we cant afford rent & mortgage for any longer period of time plus we both work full time and have little time to spend on renovations, and we are the type who are not diy people so would have to pay for everything!
Maybe widen your search, Include house at higher end of budget that may not need renovations or try a different area