The EA knows how much we can spend

alexlyne

After looking at loads of houses (not quite 30...), me and the future missus have picked a house we really like. We were lucky that the EA told us about the property before it was properly on the market. We had a second viewing today, but it only appeared on RM yesterday.

Anyways, it's a lovely house, with an asking price of 162. We have intimated to the EA in the past that our maximum was 160, and this assumes an impeccable house that we can move straight into without needing any work. Which this house is.

We want to make an offer on Monday. The thing is, if we offered anything lower than 160, would the EA tell the vendor that we are able to go up to 160, and therefore tell them (with a wink and a nudge) to reject our first offer?
I would like us to go in at 158 with a view to going to 160 only if we really have to.

Oh, and btw, in this area, houses are going for very close to asking prices... going 5k below asking is a long shot anyways.

Thanks for any thoughts
Alex
:j

PasturesNew

He'd know ... and he'd squeeze the extra out of you, even if it was over your budget.

Ever notice how you go into an EA saying "we have £X" and all the details they give you are up to £20k more?? It's what they do .. squeeeeezing every last ounce out of you.

1echidna

There are plenty of people around who buy houses and have additional resources over and above the price they pay. Don't go above what is a reasonable price to you and be prepared to walk away. It isn't necessary for you to justify not spending up to your maximum.

shirlgirl2004

I don't know what the answer is as we're in the same position. The house isn't ideal but it is a VERY sought after location. It came on the market Thursday and we viewed today. With so little on the market in our chosen area of a similar size, location, price I don't think we have much/any room to maneuver. I think if we want it we will have to pay asking which I'm loath to do.

thriftymomma

Why not try it at 158, you never know. Good luck.

alexlyne

Well I'm hoping that the worst that'll happen is that we go in at 158, they reject, so we up to 160, stating that it's our absolute max. At least it's only 2K, and not more.

Georgie4

You have to remember that the EA is working for the sellers and for himself - the more it goes for the more he gets paid. If you make an offer on a house that has just gone on the market in the last day or two and you were so eager that you viewed it before it went on the market they are very unlikely to accept an offer lower than the asking price - I know I wouldn't

superfran_uk

I'd go in slightly lower, to offer 4 grand from asking price is very generous even if the market is stable! Particulalry as it's not on the market yet, they're likely to turn it doen anyway.

alexlyne

alas fran of the other houses we looked at, one went 1k under, the other went no more than 4k under (our limit was 160, with the house priced at 164, and on asking the EA she said we it went higher than 160 to a cash buyer).
As for our keenness, I hope that a couple of K, which is only a couple of % would not automatically have the vendors reject it.. we will see.

googler

Georgie4 wrote: »

You have to remember that the EA is working for the sellers and for himself - the more it goes for the more he gets paid.

Let's assume the agent is on 1.50% of the sale price. If he squeezes an extra £2,000 out of the buyer, then the advantage to him is 1.50% of that £2,000, i.e.

£30.

Barely a tank of fuel's worth, and still subject to deduction of tax, expenses, etc the same as the rest of the fee......

Doozergirl

It's not about how much you can afford, it's about what you feel the house is worth.

If you want the house for less then i really suggest going in lower to start with. If you offered me £158k I'd think you were game, to be honest and I'd push you hard to come up to asking price.

I should think however that with an asking price of £162k that £160k would be acceptable to them.

Start at £155k - that's fine even for a nervous buyer. And come up slowly. When they reject the first offer, ask what the lowest is that they will accept people generally don't say unless you ask. And when they tell you, try and meet them halfway between your offer and their lowest price. Barter properly, don't just throw offers at them.