FTB Foolishness?

High_Roller_2

Evening all,

I'm living and working in London and am getting tired of house-sharing so looking to buy my first property. I'm fortunate to have a decent deposit and mortgage AIP.

I've looked at several properties and recently found one I really like... I put in an offer (10% below asking price) which was instantly rejected. A few days later I came back with a new offer (6% below AP) which was again rejected.

Judging by the house price indexes, the property is worth 25% less than the asking price so I already feel that my offers are quite generous (not much has been improved on the property). Should I be tough and risk someone coming in above me? Or pay over the odds for something I really want?

If you've been in a similar position then I'd love to hear your advice (whichever choice you made).

Thanks,

(Not such a) High Roller

charliee_3

anything is only worth what someone will pay for it.. i dont think you can say its worth x% below the asking price, maybe its really worth the asking price? the real question is what is it worth to you and how much can you afford? how will you feel if you walk away? how much will you need to spend on it to get it the way you want it (bearing in mind the survey will pretty much always find other things you hadnt thought about)

cattie

Some area's of London haven't been hit quite so much by the fall in house prices.

Ignore the online indexes as I've found they are way out as far as my area of outer London goes. The average 3 bed houses here are fetching around £25/£30k more than these indexes suggest.

Check out what similar properties are up for, how quickly they are (or are not) selling will give you an idea of whether price is unreasonable, & check out Rightmove to see what actual prices have been achieved in the last quarter in your chosen area.

wheresmydoshat

i doubt anyone is going to come in with a larger offer, at least for a while.

find yourself somewhere else if i were you. the vendor is obviously not that bothered about selling.

Treadmill

If you want the property you'll have to offer more, the indexes etc you have read are only relevant if the vendor is selling his property based on them, which it doesn't sound like they are, don't pay any more than you think it is worth.

PasturesNew

Y ou say you want a place ... and only put in offers on ONE and are already doubting yourself/the market etc??

Have patience, there'll be others. Don't over-stretch yourself, prices won't be rocketing up again.

mustang1

Whereabouts in London are you buying? Some parts have incredibly short supply of decent properties so any good properties are generally selling for the asking price, regardless of what their true value should be.

There may always be somebody who is willing to pay over the odds for a property but don't let this be you if you don't think it is worth it for what you want.

hamblettamaud

you have to remember that nowadays estate agents are tending to value houses at today's prices, not last year's - so maybe the asking price really is a good reflection of the property's value.

still, as everyone else will say, the real value is what you are prepared to pay for it.