When to make that second offer?

beckstrous

Sorry to keep harping on at you all, but I have received some great advice so far and there are clearly some very experienced people on this forum.

I wanted to start a new thread because I am not sure how to proceed with upping our offer on a property we have seen (I posted about this below). It is a newish house (7 years old) on a development on the outskirts of a nice village. It is on for £182,950. The vendor had two offers previously but they both fell through due to chain problems. One was for full asking price and one was for £181,000.

We are first-time buyers with a good deposit and we won't have a problem getting a mortgage (we know how much we can borrow and that the max is more than what we would need for this place - not that we would go to the max...we want to be sensible). Because two sales had fallen through already we offered £178,500 on the basis of our strong position. That was rejected and the EA said the vendor ideally wants £181k but "may" drop to £180k (another person at the same office has already told me they're looking for £180k. I was thinking of offering £179,500 for our next offer.

Although it's a new house, what we really like are the older-style Victorian houses. However, they do not come up that often in our budget, or if they do, there seems to be a drawback. There's one in a nearby town we are viewing, for example. It has a VERY small lounge, but this isn't necessarily an issue because it has a good-sized dining room which is separate, and the bedrooms are also a good size. The problem with it is that there's no parking - all these older "character" places seem to have an issue unless you go to a less desirable area, which we won't do.

We are seeing the older house tomorrow at 5pm. We were going to ring the EA for the new property tomorrow am and say we are interested and ask to be kept informed, then make another offer later that day depending on what we thought of the older house.

However, having driven down that road, and seen the (non) parking, I don't know how suitable it would be. I know the newer property won't hang around for long and that first-time buyers cannot expect their dream house. I also have the benefit of knowing the person who lived next door to the newer house and they gave a generally very positive report on the houses and the area, though they were honest about the downsides too so I feel we have an informed idea of the place.

I am just wondering what others would do in our situation. My folks (who have bought and sold several properties) reckon it's a very good example of houses of its type and would be a very good first house. I am inclined to agree but don't want to seem over-keen to the EA. We definitely won't pay more than £180k for it.

Do you think it is better to make another offer tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon? And should we mention the other property we are viewing? I was all set for waiting til late afternoon to make the second offer but now that I have seen the parking situation at the other place I am not so sure.

At the end of the day we're not in a hurry and only want to get the RIGHT place, but at the same time we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot, so advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks :-)

LeanneF

"That was rejected and the EA said the vendor ideally wants £181k but "may" drop to £180k (another person at the same office has already told me they're looking for £180k. I was thinking of offering £179,500 for our next offer."

If you do decide you want this house I'd offer 180k. It sounds like the EA will only play mindgames to get you to at least 180k anyhow, it's likely to be a psychological barrier for the vendors. Is it really worth the sleepless nights to save 0.27%?

Regarding parking in the other place, this will only ever get worse. The number of cars on the road never, ever goes down, only up. Thus, car parking facilities will likely get more valuable as time goes by.

Finally, I get the impression you're trying to talk yourself into liking the new place. If you're really not in a hurry then why not wait for the right place. I've fallen for 3 places & was convinced on each of the first 2 that we'd never find anything as good.

Best of luck, Leanne

Doozergirl

I think you should wait until you have seen the 2nd property and are sure that you don't want it before upping your offer. It will be a courtesy to the vendor if you do love the 2nd property after all (you've said before you don't want to upset people) and it will also make them sweat a little. No-one's realistically going to put in another offer in that time (even if they did, your offer wouldn't stop them offering would it?) and you will be sure it's the house for you.

I think it's okay to make your second offer quickly, though I think the words 'final offer' should be in there to ensure they don't push for any more. With a drop of £500 from the price they really want you should be able to secure the house for £179,500. They won't let a third sale slip for £500; there's a much bigger difference between £179,500 and £0 isn't there?

beckstrous

Thanks very much.

I found out last night that the second property is round the corner from an abbatoir and that residents have campaigned to have it removed for years! It was due to move elsewhere and then planning permission fell through, meaning it is now likely to stay where it is permanently (it's been there since Victorian times). The residents complain of noise from the lorries and cattle and terrible smells in the summer. So no matter how nice that house is, it's a no-no...!!!

I have slept on it and definitely want the first house. We're going to offer the £179,500 this morning. I am going to try not to pin all my hopes on it in case they reject it, although the difference of £500 is really minimal so fingers crossed.

claz

If they do reject the offer don't be to disheartened just make sure its clear this is your final offer this is all that you think the property is worth, say that in the meantime you will look at other properties and make sure you get particulars from the agent their selling with this will show that you are serious and want to buy somewhere but won't be boxed into a corner

the best thing i can recommend you to do though is to relax, if it doesn't work out then the house wasn't for you, and another one will come along soon

beckstrous

Thanks Claz

[Deleted User]

beckstrous wrote:

Thanks very much.

I have slept on it and definitely want the first house. We're going to offer the £179,500 this morning. I am going to try not to pin all my hopes on it in case they reject it, although the difference of £500 is really minimal so fingers crossed.

As you say, there is only £500.00 difference between your offer and what you think the vendor will accept. Is it worth the bother of £500.00? If you want this house, you will either lose it for good, or you have to eat humble pie if you increase your offer again, thereby weakening your bargaining position even further. I always believe that the art of negotiation is to achieve a win/win result. Ask yourself - who's likely to win this time? Certainly not you if you really want the property. And all for £500.00. Think again my friend...

beckstrous

Yes, we want the house, but there will be others. We're in absolutely no hurry to move whatsoever and under no pressure and therefore we're going to act in our best interests to get the best deal for us. If we get it, then great - and if we don't, never mind - we'll sit tight and continue to look at houses and save. What I'm saying is that we'd love to get it, but we can happily walk away from it too. They've had another offer significantly below ours so obviously not everyone wants to pay the full asking price.

I know £500 isn't much when you're talking houses but then again, it would pay for the new fridge freezer that we need.

Meeten

you clearly like the house, and have done (it appears) the necessary research (asking neighbours, etc)

but is it worth NOT getting for £500??

I know that this is MSE, and £500 is £500, but unless yout think that there will be a slump in the house prices, it is a piddly ammount .....

However, if you're offer of £179.5k is accepted, then happy days .... good on you.

I hope that the verdict from the vendor is prompt ... it is the waiting that I hate.

Good luck

beckstrous

Sorry, I should also have added that we will pay the extra £500 and go to £180k (no more) but thought it was worth trying a lower offer first.

LeanneF

"I know £500 isn't much when you're talking houses but then again, it would pay for the new fridge freezer that we need."

I presume you'll be borrowing this £500 on the mortgage, so it won't be available for fridges etc.