FTB - geek !!! what have we done?

gastroboy

Well done!...me and my other half have been trying to get 15% off the asking price in London since March and keep getting told to F-off!...so frustrating....as these properties are STILL on the market (even after 6 months!). Given that 15% looks like a given now, I'll try for 25%....i'll even settle for 20%! :-)

swingjune

gastroboy wrote: »

Given that 15% looks like a given now, I'll try for 25%....i'll even settle for 20%! :-)

That's the way to go.:T Be BRAVE and be PERSISTENCE.
Good Luck and All The Best :beer:

dag_2

Well done!...me and my other half have been trying to get 15% off the asking price in London since March and keep getting told to F-off!...so frustrating....as these properties are STILL on the market (even after 6 months!). Given that 15% looks like a given now, I'll try for 25%....i'll even settle for 20%! :-)

Yeah - being told to F-off has obviously been a blessing in disguise.

House prices are coming down - but rents are coming down even faster.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/aug/19/renting.property
Even if you can pay cash and don't need a mortgage, the after-tax savings interest on the amount of many of the asking prices out there is still somewhat more than you would expect to pay to rent a similar property. But that might change in the future. And you can always haggle.

kunekune

Well done (even if like others, I don't think FTB fits except in the most literal way).

We were less lucky. The house we wanted went on the market in March at 199,950. We made an offer of 170,000 in May, that's a 15% reduction. It was rejected with no counter offer. Last week, house still unsold, still at the same price. I think our price turned out to be quite realistic. But ... It's now been removed from the market. Some sellers just don't want to reduce.

Davesnave

If I can just inject a word of reason in here.......I think it is probably a good thing that some sellers have refused to drop their prices much, if only because they have helped maintain some semblance of stability in what is a very troubled market. They also help me to make my house look cheap!

If the market were falling any faster, it is pretty obvious that all the non-distressed sellers like myself would just pull their properties and sit tight. A total free for all would result in very little being available. As it is, things are scary.

Incidentally, what do you all want prices to do now? Now let me guess.....

gastroboy

I guess the main problem here is that sellers think that if they can't get their price now, they wait until next year when the market recovers and it goes back to increasing 10% each year and they are become gazillionaires.

Given that it looks like the entire property market bubble was fueled by cheap "imaginary" money, I seriously doubt that the lending will be so lax in future. Sure property will rise, but not by giddying amounts that it did for the last few years.

The market needs to correct and wipe off all the froth from the last few years and go back to what it should have been. When that level is reached, people can afford to buy again because banks will be happy that the housing market has stablised and start lending sensible amounts again.

GDB2222

gastroboy wrote: »

The market needs to correct and wipe off all the froth from the last few years and go back to what it should have been. When that level is reached, people can afford to buy again because banks will be happy that the housing market has stablised and start lending sensible amounts again.

The question, though, is how much froth is still left to get rid of? Quite a lot by my reckoning.

Kez100

Don't forget that property inheritances may have tax to pay. By dropping £20,000, they may only actually lose out by £12,000 because the other £8,000 would have been tax anyway. Not saying that is the case, but it possibly could be.

I am really pleased you got what you see as a bargain and you have a lot of equity to help toward greater falls.

We managed a reduction of 37.5% in 1994, so I know how it feels!

gastroboy

GDB2222 wrote: »

The question, though, is how much froth is still left to get rid of? Quite a lot by my reckoning.

That's the big question. No one really knows so its a huge gamble to buy now....i want to get a place but i just don't know how much i should pay for it....and since I am a bit of a tight wad, its even harder to know!:o but 20-25% off seems fairly good at this time (but if the 30-40% falls happen...then...no...not so good.)

Stevie1

swingjune wrote: »

We are so determined to save as much as we could, the costs of our wedding is less than 500 quid. I do not have a wedding dress and we did not go for honeymoon. After signing the marriage cert, we invite families, colleagues and friends to our rental for buffet prepared by a family friend

I understand where you're coming from, we are also prudent with what we buy despite being able to afford what we want very easily. However, it has to be said that there is a negative extreme to this too. After all, life should be enjoyable and what you describe above sounds very punishing and miserable to me - no holiday, no honeymoon (ever?)…