How should i proceed?

[LouiseB]

Hello!

Ok, so i have made a rookie mistake and fallen for a property over the internet.

In short, i have a £275k deposit, willing to go upto £350k and am looking for a 4 bed house with over an acre with stunning views in the Peak District and a garage - impossible with my budget, or so i thought...

I found such a property on at £300k that i am viewing tomorrow BUT some bugger has gone and put an offer on it and i have a weeks grace before it is accepted.

I don't know if the property is even worth £300k.

The house needs a lot of work and i'm thinking i'll need the £50k i'd have left in my budget to bring it up to scratch...

It is a really ugly 5 bed, lots of dodging looking extention work, on a slope, no garden just a scruffy acre of land, wedged between a busy road and a rail line with what seems to be a huge really cheap (£70k) residential area of 3 bed semis for first time buyers across the road.

But it has stunning views and a nice rural location.

So, presuming i love it as much after viewing it, i don't know what kind of offer to put in to attempt to avoid a bidding war that i don't think i can afford.

The seller has made it clear they don't want to take it off the market until the contracts are actually exchanged - which i don't like.

I'm trying to guess what the other offer might be for, if it was full asking price surely they would have insisted it came off the market anyway?

What i think i'll do is presume they offered about £285 for it, which is what i would have done, and tell them that i will either offer £290k, OR £300k if they take it off the market now.

Does this seem like a smart way to play it because i am just a complete novice who has watched too many episodes Location Location Location...

How else might i play it?

Thanks

[brian]

It is sooo easy to fall in love with a property on the internet - but so easy to fall out of love with it again once you actually view it.

I've long since learned to treat any internet details/offline brochures with a pinch of salt - they merely offer guidance, and *never* tell the full story.

I suspect that, if you did view the property, you may not have thought so well of it at all, and your expectations were not met.

Also, visiting the area allows you to discover other properties for sale that you might have missed, either because they were advertised on different websites, or even a private sale.