what should i offer ?

alanco15

hi guys ,thought i would pick your brains ,

we have seen a house up for 242,000. thinking of making an offer but where do you think we should start, what is reasonable these days.

I know they paid 237,000 for it in 2003 but how does that price compare to todays market. i cant remember how good it was then .

any advice much appreciated.

cheers.

pawpurrs

Seems to be on at a very reasonable price then!

princessamy86

Up for £242,000? What do you think it's worth? Does it need any work doing? What are houses selling for in that area? You need to do some serious research, then you make an informed decision on what it's worth. For what it's worth, I would offer waaaay lower than that, but I'm in the north and that amount would buy me a whole lotta house. Depends what area you're in as well!

alanco15

i'm guessing it would probably cost about £5000 to do the work that needs doing,
i heard that people are dropping by about 6% on the news today, which would mean 227500, which seems a big drop.

princessamy86

Well I've seen people put offers in a lot lower than that! Some as low as 15-20%. Has it been on the market long? I definitely think the trick is to start low, then gradually negotiate up to the top price you are willing to pay.

Cannon_Fodder

what part of the country?

alanco15

its in suffolk in a small village.

Cannon_Fodder

Looks like Suffolk as a whole is back to late 2004, so far.

This will vary within Suffolk and for the type of property. Try with the house's own postcode, it might give an closer indication. http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/

But factor in that these are Feb 09 figures, lagging behind a bit, so another couple of months would be -2% or -3%, perhaps.

You might find good villages have not yet dropped as much as average villages, which in turn may be ahead of towns.


[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=Suffolk&s=01 January 2003&e=01 February 2009&t=1[/IMG]

alanco15

cheers for that , the graph was really helpful :T, seems pretty accurate for round here.

we need to make our minds up now !

alanco15

just a quick update, went in at 225000 finally settled at 230000, we are happy with this, still doubt about house values etc but we love the house and am sure that in the future value will go up again .
so we are pleased and looking forward to moving in and starting the decorating

thanks all for input, im sure i will have some new questions soon , solicitors :mad: etc

alfie.

poppysarah

What if the value stayed the same forever? how would you feel? Gutted? or happy to have a great house to live in?
It's not always about money - it's about being happy and secure.

Solics: get several quotes from local solicitors. Ask for them in writing so you can compare properly.
Make notes about how slow they are to deal with your basic enquiry.