What to Offer

Firsttimehousebuyer · 13 June 2017 at 1:59PM

We are first time buyers and have found a place we like. It's not an absolute must but we do like it. It's on offer for £290,000 (it's a 2 bed flat - welcome to the South ) and an identical place went for £265,000 in March 2016. It's been on the market for 7 weeks and I am pretty sure no one is as interested as we are (yet). I have also noticed that the market is slowing down - at least in terms of what is coming on for sale. But the sellers are not in a rush either. I have two concerns - are we buying at the top of the market and how much do we offer? I do not want to annoy the EA but this is also at the top of our range so want to get a good deal! How much negotiating do you do and how many "counter-offers" is the norm? I feel at such a disadvantage with the EA being on the sellers side and being first time buyer.

Crashy_Time · 13 June 2017 at 2:05PM

Firsttimehousebuyer wrote: »

We are first time buyers and have found a place we like. It's not an absolute must but we do like it. It's on offer for £290,000 (it's a 2 bed flat - welcome to the South ) and an identical place went for £265,000 in March 2016. It's been on the market for 7 weeks and I am pretty sure no one is as interested as we are (yet). I have also noticed that the market is slowing down - at least in terms of what is coming on for sale. But the sellers are not in a rush either. I have two concerns - are we buying at the top of the market and how much do we offer? I do not want to annoy the EA but this is also at the top of our range so want to get a good deal! How much negotiating do you do and how many "counter-offers" is the norm? I feel at such a disadvantage with the EA being on the sellers side and being first time buyer.

If you don`t mind negative equity go in firmly at 300k, but don`t budge from that.

abbieJ · 13 June 2017 at 2:10PM

If you are ok with 300k offer, I would go for 290k at first, so that I can negotiate later if needed.

Good luck!

mouthscradle · 13 June 2017 at 2:22PM

I'm confused, why would they go in at £300k? The OP doesn't say it's on "offers over" £290k. I'd be going in at £270k if nobody else is interested, then £280k if rejected. Some would probably say go lower, if it's been on the market a while.

Surrey_EA · 13 June 2017 at 2:25PM

Crashy_Time wrote: »

If you don`t mind negative equity go in firmly at 300k, but don`t budge from that.

I'm intrigued how you are aware of the op's mortgage requirements, or do you not know what negative equity means?

LdnFtB · 13 June 2017 at 2:25PM

I think crashy is making a joke along the lines of how Kirsty and Phil used to 'negotiate' on behalf of their tv clients

Surrey_EA · 13 June 2017 at 2:29PM

Firsttimehousebuyer wrote: »

We are first time buyers and have found a place we like. It's not an absolute must but we do like it. It's on offer for £290,000 (it's a 2 bed flat - welcome to the South ) and an identical place went for £265,000 in March 2016. It's been on the market for 7 weeks and I am pretty sure no one is as interested as we are (yet). I have also noticed that the market is slowing down - at least in terms of what is coming on for sale. But the sellers are not in a rush either. I have two concerns - are we buying at the top of the market and how much do we offer? I do not want to annoy the EA but this is also at the top of our range so want to get a good deal! How much negotiating do you do and how many "counter-offers" is the norm? I feel at such a disadvantage with the EA being on the sellers side and being first time buyer.

It is sometimes said that if your first offer doesn't embarrass you, then it is too high! However, it is also wise not to leave the vendor feeling insulted which can get negotiations off to a bad start.

What are the circumstances of the seller? Are they in a hurry to move quickly?

How does the price compare to other properties currently on the market?

Are there any obvious differences in condition between this property and the one that sold last year for £265k?

Firsttimehousebuyer · 13 June 2017 at 3:47PM

Thanks for the advice - that is similar to what I was thinking - to offer £270,000 but be willing to negotiate up. The seller is not in a hurry unfortunately and the place is almost identical to the one sold a year ago (it is in a new-ish development). It is quite hard to price because it is in an area with very few flats although I did find a similar spec house for sale close by for £300,000. The house does come with a garage and small garden but will probably have a lot of road noise in comparison to the place we are interested in (it's almost on a main dual carriageway). My other concerns with the flat are the lease is only 96 years and services charges are quite expensive

GingerFurball_2 · 13 June 2017 at 4:11PM

Have you tried asking the seller what they want?

If it's been on the market for 7 weeks then it's unlikely to get into a bidding war. Why is the seller looking to sell, can they afford to have it on the market for much longer,is there a pressing deadline they need to meet?

Once you've got all that answered, you know where you stand. From there, can you negotiate the seller downwards?

aneary · 13 June 2017 at 4:33PM

Firsttimehousebuyer wrote: »

Thanks for the advice - that is similar to what I was thinking - to offer £270,000 but be willing to negotiate up. The seller is not in a hurry unfortunately and the place is almost identical to the one sold a year ago (it is in a new-ish development). It is quite hard to price because it is in an area with very few flats although I did find a similar spec house for sale close by for £300,000. The house does come with a garage and small garden but will probably have a lot of road noise in comparison to the place we are interested in (it's almost on a main dual carriageway). My other concerns with the flat are the lease is only 96 years and services charges are quite expensive

If it is at the top of your price range and the service charge is high I would check you can get a mortgage, the service charge and ground rent will be taken into account when applying.

Tiners · 13 June 2017 at 6:50PM

I'd definitely go in at £300k... just think of the prestige you could bestow upon yourselves by setting a new price ceiling for the street.

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