The property the couple bought in Norwich wasn't strictly "City Centre" as stated in the programme. The main road at the end of this road is the dividing line (Ashby Street is just beyond this southwards) but nevertheless in a very sought after area. I think £160k was an OK price for the area but I would want off street parking for that kind of money. the road they bought literally a 5 minute walk to their office so I think it was worth every penny for them.
Can anyone remind me of the situation re: the crack down the side of the wall? Will the insurance company foot the bill to have this sorted out?
I bow to your superior knowledge of the Norwich Area Matt but I don't think the property was that great. These 2 people having rejected 3 properties for failing surveys go and buy a house with an obvious defect apparent by way of a large crack running up the wall with clear evidence that the crack is running through the previous repair! No off street parking. Side alley-way to property....avoid these properties if you can...noise, security risks. Inherent defects in the structure. Overpriced. Is that the best that £160,000 for a 2 Bedder EOT will buy you in Norwich then? Mel.
The crack up the gable end was worrying because it was still moving. It usually means a blocked drain or similar. Normally you'd have to take insurance through the original company in that scenario. It makes it easier if the current owner makes the claim and has the work done.
Buying in a boom leads to these kind of compromise decisions.
The guy works for the insurance company the vendor has insured the house with. If that makes any sense.
There are plenty of 2/3 bed houses in Norwich for £160,000 but again its where you want to be the closer you get to the centre the more you have to pay. Yet they could have got a brand spanking new flat near NCFC for that.
Would like them to try to find a place for £160,000 where i live (only 30 miles north west of Norwich).
The second house they viewed (with the kitchen extension to the side) looked nice enough... wonder why they didn't go for that rather than the one with an obvious structural defect?
Well the woman fell in love with the walk in wardrobey dressing room thingy and the guy loved the den. It had basically been done up just to their taste and she couldn't see the benefit in buying another one and having to do any work.
It's cos people want to have everything perfect, from an interior point of view, straight away without having to put any effort themselves into it.
I can see the logic in that, especially if you literally would have had no money or time to do any work whatsoever, but that big crack and the history of the place would have put me off. The vendors needed to have a pristine interior for people to not be bothered by that. Especially as there has been more movement since the work was previously carried out on it.
*It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. -- Pierre De Beaumarchais
Originally posted by Josie7176: The second house they viewed (with the kitchen extension to the side) looked nice enough... wonder why they didn't go for that rather than the one with an obvious structural defect?
Yeah I didn't get that either. The girl just about wept with joy when she saw that sidey-kitchen - well, it was quite stylish wasn't it.
Well the woman fell in love with the walk in wardrobey dressing room thingy and the guy loved the den. It had basically been done up just to their taste and she couldn't see the benefit in buying another one and having to do any work.
Apart from remedying the huge structural defect? yeah that makes sense
Exactly decca. Decor being more of a sway than anything else. Also richy, they are going to have to keep right on top of maintaining the interior look because nothing they do to the house can make them any money, and who knows what the housing market will do. So blinkered were they that they didn't even so much as consider negotiating on price cos unfortunately there are more people just like them who would have paid the price too.
Not the best advice from K & P if you ask me, but then again if the insurers had no problem with it? Of course, were the insurers merely going on the fact that they were already insuring it after work was carried out a few years ago? Were they aware that there was more movement going on since that work was carried out?
*It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. -- Pierre De Beaumarchais
I fidn it odd because that is the ONE thing that would stop me buying a house. Anything else can be remedied fairly cheaply and easily - but any sign the place is moving- fuhgeddaboutit.
I've said it before but I thank the lord for ppl like this. If everybody was capable of seeing through the decor and buying the house for it's potential, I wouldn't now be the owner of a lovely flat in a super area.
When we bought our flat it had been rented for ten years and looked grim. Three months and a few K's later we had a flat to die for, that we could simply never have afforded to buy. I know I couldn't afford to buy the same house again, if you know what i mean.
Exactly, and they'd let 3 houses go before that because of things that came up on the survey. Blinded by previous disappointments and the fact that they were being told by K & P that it wasn't a problem I guess.
*It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. -- Pierre De Beaumarchais
Phil trained as a Surveyor so it has to be said that Phil probably knows what he is talking about and I think I am quoting him nearly correctly when he had spotted the crack up the wall he said "There is a worrying crack in the brickwork which they will not like hearing about" (or words to that effect! )
Now, if my Surveyor had said that to me my next step would to have brought in my very experienced Bricky to suss out what the repair would involve and to hear his comments on it. If the outer brick-skin is stress cracking then you need to check the inner wall to see if that is on the move (if it was a cavity wall?). Has a good dollop of Polyfilla been applied to the inner leaf of the wall to cover up cracking ?? I assume they took independent professional advice before proceeding with the purchase 'cos you can bet your last penny on the fact that if and when they ever come to sell the property the viewing Public won't see the wall cracking as an easy problem to overcome as these two did.
Originally posted by MELBOY: Is that the best that £160,000 for a 2 Bedder EOT will buy you in Norwich then? Mel.
As far as Victorian type houses go, the cheapest ones that don't need any work go for £119k or thereabouts in the not-so-great areas North & north-west of the city. Theres really no price differentials between end-terraces and terraced houses around here.
I've recorded the programme so I would like to review it. I think the 2nd or 3rd house they viewed (west of the city) might even have been on my friends' street (street with the trees growing out of the pavement).
I couldn't catch the house number of the property they bought so I can't research it (although I do drive past it almost daily )
You could have told her there was an unexploded WWII dodlebug under the foundations and she would still have bought it!
The structural issue would have been enough to put me off buying it. It did look like a nice house, but the garden shed will not be as pretty as that forever, they tend to need replacing.
I think she would have paid £165k for it, so good job they were not buying with an EA, because an unscrupulous one would have let on to the seller. They would have asked her for offers over, no doubt about it. Worrying isn't it!
It was weird wasn't it, the way they picked up on the fact the repair had cracked, and then said the only issue was whether they would be able to get insurance. Surely before they worried about insurance, they should have been worrying about what's actually going to happen to the house!
I couldn't believe that they rejected the earlier - not at all done up house. You know the one that had all the original fireplaces, floorboards, beautiful picture rails, lovely panelled doors - but actually had heating and probably only needed updating to wiring and a new boiler etc. I am sure it was quite a lot below budget and bigger than the one that they picked.
As soon as she screwed up her ickle face and started to cry I knew the bloke was going to let her have the house no matter what. Stupid people.
All the houses looked the bloody same to me except the not done up one. There are only so many cream walls and beige carpets I can take but I suppose these two are a prime example of what a bit of paint can achieve.
Absolutely tiny garden too with the big shed there!
Can't wait for next week and the next pair of muppets - sorry but they really annoyed me!
the only issue was whether they would be able to get insurance. Surely before they worried about insurance, they should have been worrying about what's actually going to happen to the house!
Yeah, because the obvious question is then WHY can't we get insurance? Since insurance companies are generally fairly happy to take your cash off you, the fact they are dodgy about it suggests a major structural problem.
I was disappointed at the casual attitude shown by Phil & Kirsty to what could be a massive problem. I'm sure that would have been walk-away number 4 for that couple if they hadn't been there, and rightly so. They wanted a place which didn't need lots of work, and yet they were willing to buy somewhere that could need subsidence fixing. Hmmm... anyway, I hope it worked out okay for them in the end.
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