How much would you offer?

movingon

Have received survey report today which says house I have put offer on needs loads of non decorative work. Am fed up. Dont fancy the work and believe vendors will not accpet lower offer anyway as my offer is already £20K less than they wanted, which was based on obvious internal refurbishment.

Kirstie and Phil say always have a back up and we do. However house we like is only just on the market and is up for £265K. The house next door has apparently been up since July 2005 and has recently gone on offer. It was up for £250K and the agent todl me it started in July at £259k, then went up to £280K, and then they reduced the price to £265K to £250K.

My buyers are pushing me to move out and this house I like would be no chain. It would be an answer but i dont want to pay over the odds. This house has a newer kitchen and bathroom than the £250K one, but not to the tune of £15K.

I have already lost money on survey and work Solicitor has done already. Any advice on a reasonable offer would be welcome. Vendor says to talk to him directly, but is this a good negotiating start?

NervousYetFeisty

I suppose it depends on the work the survey says needs doing. From what I gather here, they tend to be quite over-cautious.

cruyff73

Agree with above. Surveyors always go over-board to cover their back.
If you have time, find out how much this additional work would cost and talk to your EA. I wouldn't go direct to the vendor though.

robwend

unless the surveyer says it need emidiate attention i think you could end up with burnt fingers on this one sorry to say, if you really like it regarding of the work dont shoot yourself in the foot with the owner

Ian_W

movingon wrote: This house has a newer kitchen and bathroom than the £250K one, but not to the tune of £15K.

It's £20K when you take into account the Stamp Duty - i.e. SDLT on £250K = £2.5K, on £265K = £7,950. Houses priced just over the 1 to 3% threshold are difficult to shift but factored against that is the fact it's newly on the market so their expectations are going to be of an offer fairly close to the AP.
A lot will depend on how quickly you feel houses are moving in the area you live, if it's fairly brisk you'll need to be close but work on the SD angle, if property is moving slowly then a lower starting point, perhaps at, or even below the threshold might work.
Bottom line IMO is how much is it worth to you?