Offer tactics: advice wanted on how long to wait before putting in a second offer

bryanb

mrstinchcombe wrote: »

30% below asking price is what you should be asking IMHO.

Forget about previous asking prices, offer 30% below what its on for now!

Hold tight-here we go

slummymummyof3

Of course there is also the option of sitting tight for a few days, afterall, the EA was going back to the other person who had put in a lower offer than yours. Presumably that means they will also come back to you in the event of the other person increasing their offer.

mrstinchcombe

Sorry I got lost in your OP and didn't answer your question.

Don't leave the second offer (of 20% below asking) until 2-3 days after rejection

lonestar1

Offer 135,750 tell them its you best and final offer (Having an odd number may make them think that thats the most you can stretch to) I would take what the EA said about another offer with a pinch of salt TBH

RabbitMad

lonestar1 wrote: »

Offer 135,750 tell them its you best and final offer (Having an odd number may make them think that thats the most you can stretch to) I would take what the EA said about another offer with a pinch of salt TBH

I was going to suggest ending in an "odd" number but I'd have gone to £135,180, just over the £135K is psychologically good as people round numbers mentally down to the next significant digit - e.g. prices ending in 99p or something being £99 - its just sounds less

chewmylegoff

lfc321 wrote: »

My inclination is to offer £135,000 tomorrow and if that isn't accepted then leave it a few weeks and see what happens. Maybe also arrange to look at some other things with the same agent to ram the message home.

you have no idea what the other person has offered and whether they are in a strong position to buy or not (e.g. they might be in a chain which makes them unattractive compared to you).

if the other people come back in with another offer the estate agent will give you a chance to make another bid anyway so you are not going to miss out on the chance to put in a £135k bid at a later point if you really want to.

personally i would leave it. no need for you to drive the price up yourself, only to react if someone else does. if they go for a couple more weeks with no other offers they will start to come around to the realisation that no-one is going to offer more.

GDB2222

First of all, although the EA told you that someone else has made a bid, that may not be entirely true. I certainly would not get into a bidding war. Instead, i would point out that you are proceedable, etc, as mentioned above, and wait for the vendors to get back to you.

Second, you said:

[P.S. please don't reply saying "don't buy now", "it will be worth 20% less in a year", "we're all doomed" etc etc. We're buying somewhere for our family to live not an investment. We've got a decent deposit (mortgage will be about 60% LTV) and we plan to live there for the next 4-5 years. So we're not too worried about what happens to prices over the next 18 months.]

I'd just point out that you are interested in what house prices do over the next 4-5 years. If prices are significantly lower then, it will destroy your equity, which might make it difficult to move in 5 years time.

jswaminathanuk

I don't have much experience but I would say.
use the tactics like price will fall off in next 12 months.
you have 40% deposit so you will definately get mortgage
I know you liked the property but use tit for tat means show EA that you are looking property from another EA as well and you find some other property.
All this will add some pressure on EA. They know that if theer is any party (if there is) you still have better chance and play according to your cards not EA's.
If EA come back to you with rejection and no idea of Seller's mind (which is impossible) tell him that you are not interested as seller is not serious in selling .(If he is serious he would give an estimate on his expectation). this will put pressure on EA to get more positive response.
As I said pretend that you are considering putting offer on another house if this doesn't materialise in next 2 days.
Hope it helps

Gangstabird

To be honest the poor estate agent probably feels torn (oh well). He will have a person on one hand who has said they will accept offers. From vendors, this usually means 2500 below the asking price and no more. On the other he will have the best buyers possible, FTB's with a deposit and arranged mortgage who he is aware are in a fantastic (can't express that enough) position. The EA is only worried about their commission which, at this point, they know isn't going to happen until the vendor gets real.

Wait.