Britain's cheapest house!

If you're buying in Burnley, it may not cost as much as you'd think.

£10,000 wouldn’t be enough for a deposit on most properties in the UK, but it’s all it cost to buy a two bedroom home in Burnley last week, making it Britain’s cheapest home.

The property, in Pritchard Street, Burnley, originally went onto the market with an asking price of £15,000, with the estate agent admitting it was in need of ‘comprehensive repair and renovation’. However, the builder who bought it managed to knock a third off the asking price.

Burnley is clearly a cheap place to buy a home anyway – earlier this year a list of the 20 cheapest streets to buy a property, by Mouseprice.com, featured 12 different streets in the town. But £10,000 is an extraordinary price to pay for a property – it’s nearer the price of a car!

While buying a property for such a small amount may set off a few alarm bells about the area you’re buying in, the fact is that there are bargains to be had at the moment.

A market moving sideways

Be flexible

Being able to move quickly can make a huge difference. If the vendor wants a quick sale – perhaps because then they can complete on the property they are buying – then that’s a great opportunity to negotiate the asking price down.

I speak from experience. We managed to get the best part of £10,000 off of the asking price of our maisonette, simply because we were able to complete within a fortnight. So if you’re in a position to move quickly – you already have the deposit and mortgage in place and aren’t waiting on selling a property yourself – then you’re a very appealing buyer.

Get the back story

There’s more to a property, and how much you end up paying for it, than how many bedrooms it has, or whether the bathroom is en suite.

Just as important is the back story. Why is the property on the market? How long has it been on for? Are there other interested parties? Have previous negotiations fallen through?

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All of these factors will play a big part in influencing the vendor’s mood, and what they are likely to accept for the property. If it’s been on the market for a long time, then chances are it is simply overpriced. Use this to your advantage, and try to drum down the price. Similarly, if the vendor is desperate to sell, then you can also use this to try and get a few quid knocked off the price.

Do some research

Don’t just leave it to the estate agent to tell you about property sales in the area. They have a vested interest, so you may not get the full picture.

There are tons of online resources at your fingertips that can come in very useful. The Land Registry is a good place to start, as it has a record of all property sales, so be sure to check out how much similar properties in the area were worth. But there are plenty of others that can come in useful, like Zoopla and Upmystreet.

Take charge!

It would be lovely if the hard work was all done and dusted once the vendor accepts your bid. Sadly that’s really not the case – there’s still plenty for you to do to ensure the deal goes through on time, and a big part of that is ensuring it never goes quiet.

John Fitzsimons looks at the dos and don’ts of arranging a mortgage over the internet.

Sadly, certain elements of the sales process – yes solicitors, I’m talking about you – are known for dragging their feet a touch when it comes to a property sale. And this can lead to the whole sale coming to a shuddering halt.

A friend of mine got his move all finalised within a couple of weeks, simply by being a pain. He phoned all of the involved parties a couple of times a day to find out what was happening, and to ensure everything was going through as quickly as possible. It may not be part of your usual personality to be so pushy, but in this situation it can really make all the difference. Until those keys are in your hand, you haven’t sealed the deal on your bargain home, so don’t let a meandering solicitor snatch them away from you!

Read the survey

Another area which offers the potential for negotiation is the work that is needed on the property. It’s always a good idea to get a proper report on the property, rather than just going along with the lender’s valuation, as the valuation will not uncover some of the deep-rooted problems that may lay hidden within the property.

And if work is needed, be sure to negotiate the cost of that work off the asking price! For more, have a read of The property report you can't afford to ignore.

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