Asking Prices and your offers.

Davesnave

Here's one that went the other way:
Property details: 4 bed house, 4 bed barn conversion + 22 acres land.
Loation: West Wales.
Asking Price: Offers around £395k
Your Offer: £380k (would have been)
Accepted? No
Date: April 09

Comment: Vendor received offer at full asking price and we were asked to submit ours. We decided not to start a bidding war, as at least £30k was needed for refurbishment, possibly more, taking us beyond our comfort zone, bearing in mind rental returns etc.

sysadmin

Property Details: 1930's 3 bed semi, Needed kitchen extension, new boiler and total re decoration throughout.
Asking price: £150k
Original Asking Price £170k
Your offer: £143k
Accepted: Yes
Date: Auagust 08
On Market Since: March 2007
Location: Midlands

bobmoo79

Property Details: 1950's 2 bed semi, very tidy condition. Refitted kitchen & Bathroom.
Asking price: £174,950
Original Asking Price As above.
Your 1st offer: £155k (yes, a bit cheeky but thought we’d try it)
Accepted: No
Your 2nd offer: £162.5k
Accepted: No
Date: April 09
On Market Since: March 2009
Location: South East


Initially the EA told us (at the 1st viewing) that the property is ‘very popular’ but at the 2nd viewing he told us that it had had no offers. Strange contradiction if you ask me. He also said that the vendors had found a property they liked but hadn’t yet put in an offer, a fact that the vendor himself seemed to play down when we met.
The EA has said the reason the offers have been rejected is that the vendor wants the asking price (“within a few hundred quid”). With that we ‘walked away’, saying that we wouldn’t be prepared to pay that amount and that our offer still stands if the vendor changes his mind, BUT have managed to find out that a similar one on the same road has recently sold for just under 175k with a different agent. I played dumb and phoned the other agent, asking to view it knowing full well it was already sold and he let slip during our conversation that the seller got just under the asking price. Now my dilemma is do I go back and submit a 3rd offer very near the asking price to secure the proprty, or do I stick to my guns and wait a bit longer, hoping that this ‘very popular’ property isn’t snapped up by somebody else. My wife and I do like the property and can (just) afford it, but are hesitant to stretch at the moment because neither of us is confident that the market isn’t going to continue it’s downward spiral, and we are not sure if 174k is too much or not.

Not many properties have been sold in this road over the past few years, but an almost identical house sold for 201k in October 2007. Assuming that this area has followed the national average trend that a sale price of £170k (15% off 201k) should be reasonable.

Can anyone give any guidance?


Many thanks,

Entertainer

bobmoo79 wrote: »

Property Details: 1950's 2 bed semi, very tidy condition. Refitted kitchen & Bathroom.
Asking price: £174,950
Original Asking Price As above.
Your 1st offer: £155k (yes, a bit cheeky but thought we’d try it)
Accepted: No
Your 2nd offer: £162.5k
Accepted: No
Date: April 09
On Market Since: March 2009
Location: South East


Initially the EA told us (at the 1st viewing) that the property is ‘very popular’ but at the 2nd viewing he told us that it had had no offers. Strange contradiction if you ask me. He also said that the vendors had found a property they liked but hadn’t yet put in an offer, a fact that the vendor himself seemed to play down when we met.
The EA has said the reason the offers have been rejected is that the vendor wants the asking price (“within a few hundred quid”). With that we ‘walked away’, saying that we wouldn’t be prepared to pay that amount and that our offer still stands if the vendor changes his mind, BUT have managed to find out that a similar one on the same road has recently sold for just under 175k with a different agent. I played dumb and phoned the other agent, asking to view it knowing full well it was already sold and he let slip during our conversation that the seller got just under the asking price. Now my dilemma is do I go back and submit a 3rd offer very near the asking price to secure the proprty, or do I stick to my guns and wait a bit longer, hoping that this ‘very popular’ property isn’t snapped up by somebody else. My wife and I do like the property and can (just) afford it, but are hesitant to stretch at the moment because neither of us is confident that the market isn’t going to continue it’s downward spiral, and we are not sure if 174k is too much or not.

Not many properties have been sold in this road over the past few years, but an almost identical house sold for 201k in October 2007. Assuming that this area has followed the national average trend that a sale price of £170k (15% off 201k) should be reasonable.

Can anyone give any guidance?


Many thanks,

Where in the south east? Where I am, prices are down 25%+ already so 15% is not much to shout about.

What I've highlighted worries me. Ultimately, it's your decision but if you want my opinion, I would wait. There will plenty of other houses of this type in the next two years. You have to be prepared to walk away when both buying and selling (at different points in the cycle), you mustn't become a slave to the other party.

In other words, find the dignity that comes from being able to say "go to hell".:D

bobmoo79

It's on the Surrey/Hampshire border and from what I have gathered using online data, houseprices have fallen about 15-17% here from the peak.

Not as great a drop as some other areas, but I'm convinced that London commuters who could not afford property closer to the capital are propping the prices up in this area.

It's a case of keeping our nerve and gambling I suppose. A short while ago buying wasn't an option as our deposit wasn't really large enough, but now we have been loaned some extra funds from a family member and so are able to buy. TBH, it was easier when we didn't have the option because we didn't have the option of making the wrong move. LOL

bob79

bobmoo79 wrote: »

Asking price: £174,950

The EA has said the reason the offers have been rejected is that the vendor wants the asking price (“within a few hundred quid”).

That's what you often get with properties priced just under stamp duty: asking price is really the price that they want. It's not been on the market for very long, so the vendor seems to be holding out. I would walk away if I were you.

Lunar_Eclipse

themanbearpig wrote: »

and actually agreed to renegotiate, UPWARDS?!!?

Unbelievable. You cant make this stuff up..

No, they got 4k off their agreed purchase price, which was higher than the valuation.

ahusband

Property Details: 3 bed terraced, completely renovated.
Asking price: £105000
Your offer: £90000, 92500 and 94000(accepted)
Accepted: yes
Date: April 09

Was on market 2 weeks.

alexlyne

Property Details: SE Wales, 3 bed semi, large (new)kitchen and lounge, conservatory. garage, off road parking.
Asking price: £150000
Your offer: £142000, 147500
Accepted: no
Date: April 09

Cash buyer went in originally at 147, then upped to 149.

Was told the house was on the market 18 months ago for 165.
Was on market this time around for 3 weeks.

listerofsmeg_2

Property Details: East Sussex, Edwardian, terraced (one house on each side) 5/6 bedrooms (one leads onto another), ensuite, kitchen/breakfast room (good size, you can fit a big table in comfortably), 2nd kitchen, drawing room, living room, 2 shower rooms, another ensuite, good sized cellar, parking space for two cars, small garden. Needs a little redecoration/updating, but not too much. Kitchen is lovely.

Asking price: £325000
Your offer: 310,000 (not accepted), 315,000
Accepted: yes
Date: April 09

Cash buyer, very realistically priced to start with, hence the offer being quite near the asking price.