How much should I offer??

Jazzie99

ok, this is my first thread here so please be gentle....

We went to see a house for sale today. Its 3 bedrooms, on the market for £400k. However, the vendors are an elderly couple who have lived there for 30 years and have made no improvements during that time. The house is very dilapidated. Everything needs doing... new radiators, doors, walls, windows, kitchen, bathroom etc

Houses on that street have sold for £390k in Feb09 (and they have been in good nick). In fact, i am shocked that the EA has put it on the market for £400k.

So my question is what should I offer ... I suspect renovations would cost in the region of £40k-50k.... is an offer of £340k too low????

JoannaA_2

The market is better now than it was in Feb which may account for the difference, also you don't necessarily know the asking price for the ones that sold in Feb. However, if it needs a lot doing to it then you should take that into account when making offer. Are you in a position to proceed, ie no house to sell, because it will make your offer much more acceptable if you are in a position to proceed immediately.

thriftymomma

No harm going in at that level. Sometimes a cheeky offer is accepted leaving you quids in so go for it. Let us know how you get on.

LilacPixie

Offer what you think the house is worth to you. If you feel its worth 340k offer 340k.

hundredk

If the vendors have been there for 30 yrs they probably perceive their house is in good condition when actually it's dilapidated, yet assume it's as saleable as one in good condition.

It is worth what it's worth to you but of course if you offered the asking price you'd be paying that + the repairs to get a house in similar condition to others on the street.

Based on what you have said £340k is about right IMO - tell the vendor you estimate cost of renovations are £xxx and this is reflected in the offer.

Georgie4

Depends on how much you want this house and how much of a mortgage you need to have it - in my experience EA's will not put a house up that they think is very overpriced as they simply won't sell it. You have said there is 40k - 50k worth of work to be done - is that a guess or do you have experience of renovating? If you are serious I would get as accurate an idea of what it will really cost to do and make an offer based on that. You just need to be aware that it is VERY unlikely they have a mortgage to repay so it comes down to how much they actually want / need to move or whether they can ride out the downturn and wait until things improve - by which time you may not be able to afford it

Blacksheep1979

JoannaA wrote: »

The market is better now than it was in Feb which may account for the difference,

Rubbish - that's what estate agents are telling everyone trying to hike prices back up and get people rushing in incase prices surge again. Everything is still in a downward trend and the majority of price changes by nationwide et al this year have been negative price changes.

JoannaA_2

Actually its not rubbish in the part of the world in which I live- I see the prices and sales that are actually taking place, not what the agents are saying- I am not an estate agent- the market is much better than it was six months ago.

Jazzie99

Well I did my sums and put in an offer yesterday of £310k (£30k less than what I said originally!) Anyway, EA came back today and said "to make it fair to all bidders we are asking everyone to put their FINAL offer in writing by Friday"....... I take it that means my offer hasnt been rejected and that everyone else was more or less around that mark ???
Anyway, I'm putting the same offer in writing - I know my budget so wont go above that!

Apparently, 24 people viewed it at the open day - very popular estate ... I'm not holding my breath but you never know.

pawpurrs

I doubt everyone would offer around the same amount. So called dilapadated houses tend to sell for far more than they should, as everyones seems to like the idea of a doer upper these days. All you can do is put in an offer of what you are willing to pay, but if there is that much interest and you are offering so much less than the asking price, I would be suprised if you get it.

Hintza

Can you not do a serach through nethouseprices and get a better figure. Also expand your search to cover more homes in that area.

Decide how much it is all going to cost to renovate then work out your final offer add on your lucky odd number say £1,111 or something to your offer.

Do you really want the house or are you happy to continue hunting this should also have a bearing on your final offer.