Making our offer

myhooose

The seller may be releluctant to take the house off the market in case the sale falls through. This will mean they will have to get a Hips if the house is then put back on the market.

Last year we were in a similar position, the house was taken off Rightmove and only advertised in the estate agents window.

nementai

eep, that hadn't occurred to me...
Will push for it anyway but thanks for pointing out it's potentially an issue.

hethmar

I think youll find they would be happier once you spent some money - ie the surveyor has been and okayed the valuation. You can ask your solicitor to make a "time is of the essence" clause in the contract so that you have a deadline they have to meet.

nementai

Well the offer went in, no comment on the conditions, but apparently the offer was 'much too low'.
Meh, you don't ask, you don't get.
Have asked the EA if the vendors had given him an idea of what they were looking for, and will go from there I think.
As they were asking £175k in Sept 07, they're probably mourning their losses more than most!
Still, my crazy fantasy of getting the house for stupid money has been shattered.

nementai

So, can someone just give me a reality check?

House sold to current owners in 2002 for £87k
House next door sold in Aug 2008 for £158k :eek:
There's been no work done on the house since at least 2002, and it needs around £5k of work just to put right the obvious stuff, that's before I even think about redecorating, new kitchen etc.
They had it on for £175k in Oct 2007, 9 months with no viewings, then changed agent and dropped to £150k. In Jan they dropped again to £129,950.
Zoopla says it's worth £117-£128k and our top, absolute max budget for a perfect house is £120k.
We offered £105,250 and were regected. Not really too surprised, but the comments we've had back make us think they're not going to accept much under asking price.
Are we dreaming, or are they? We don't feel it's worth much over £115k at the highest, and I'm tempted to raise our offer today. OH wants to wait till Monday and go in at £110k on the dot.
Am I just being impatient?

ginvzt

Wait till Monday - it is not easy, I know, but give time to the vendors to 'mull' over the decision they made and do some sums as to what is the lowest they would accept.

Then Monday morning, call EA and put another offer. It will also make it look like you had to stretch your budget/talk with mortgage company, ask extra money from relatives/etc.

shirlgirl2004

I don't think it matters which you do but I'd make it clear that your revised offer is the max you can afford. You may have to sit back and wait. A friend had an offer on her house and the next day it was withdrawn. Why? because the buyers had offered on another house and not heard back after a week. They buyers assumed the other sellers weren't interested but they came back after a week and accepted.

QTPie

nementai wrote: »

Am I just being impatient?

Probably... (don't worry, I am the same too!).

It is just really hard to tell...

If next door sold for £158k in Aug 2008, then (assuming there are no obvious differences in size, plot size, condition etc) I can see why they would not be keen to £105,250. House prices have not dropped 33% since this past August :eek: . Ok if the people were absolutely DESPERATE to sell (as in Bailiffs at the door), maybe, but otherwise no. We are coming into Spring now and there is a DEFINITE increase in interest. If I was them, then nothing much outside of 10% less than the asking price would interest me at all (so about £117k).

Our house just went under offer yesterday (fingers crossed!). A virtually identical house in the same development sold for £460/£465k in October 2008 (although went under offer in July). Our initial asking price (beginning of November) was £459k - so JUST undercutting what the last one had sold for (taking into account falling market, but looking for some serious interest). We accepted an offer of £420k (90% asking price) in early December, which later fell through. House went back on the market a couple of weeks ago for £449k (to bring it under the next rightmove search band down). Yesterday we received a cash offer of £420k (90% of the original asking price, 93% of the revised asking price).

It sounds as though the house that you are looking at is "priced to sell" and I can REALLY understand them wanting an offer around the asking price. It really depends how much they need/want to sell, BUT there is a (albeit maybe very small) blip in the market right now: Spring is springing, viewing are up and there are people out there ready and able to commit money to a purchase. It is still a buyer's market, BUT I think that sellers (IF they are reasonably priced) and expect reasonable offers.

That doesn't help a lot. If I was you, I would try to wait until Monday until you make a revised offer and think LONG and HARD about it over the weekend. You could put a "do or die" "last and final offer" on the table, but if you do that then you need to stick to it. But it is up to you. Very much depends how you feel about the house: do you really really want it or are there plenty more out there that you could be interested in?

Good luck
QT

nementai

Thanks all.
You know I used to read these boards and the strings of 'what do I offer' posts and wonder what the fuss was all about! :rolleyes:

I do want the house, it's a bargin and would last us the next 10 years. Plus, stupid me has started imaginary decorating the rooms, planning where to put our little cat bed, holding dinner parties... Stupid brain!

I shall do as you all say, and wait.

Dammit!

QTPie

nementai wrote: »

Thanks all.
You know I used to read these boards and the strings of 'what do I offer' posts and wonder what the fuss was all about! :rolleyes:

I do want the house, it's a bargin and would last us the next 10 years. Plus, stupid me has started imaginary decorating the rooms, planning where to put our little cat bed, holding dinner parties... Stupid brain!

I shall do as you all say, and wait.

Dammit!

People buy with a mixture of heart and brain: the people who buy with just brain will tell the hearts off for buying now at all.

If you are sure that it is the house for you for 10 years, then that is great: I think that people buying now have to be sure that it is going to work out for the medium/longer term.

Offering on a house is always a personal thing and you will get 100 different replies: so in the end you have to make the right decision for you.

There is always a risk that someone could view the house tomorrow, offer on the spot and it be accepted. You always take a risk . Personally I would wait, but that is me.

Be careful with your love for the house, though, since you cannot get as far up as their asking price, you might be disappointed. Fingers crossed for you though - let us know how it develops.

QT