First Time Buyer - Offer Advice

dan_l

Hi,

Me and my girlfiriend looked at 3 houses today, one of which we really liked and we are wanting to put an offer in. We are first time buyers so no chain obviously and we are ready to move. The owners weren't in when we looked around but there is no chain and the agent thought they were emigrating.
The house has been up since Febuary and was originally up for £177,995 and reduced to £175k in May.
There hasn't been many sales around that area in the last year or so to compare but what I have found is:
One property sold for £180k Jan 07
One property sold for £175k Jun 08
One property sold for £159k Jun 09

Ideally I'd like to get it for £160k and I think that is a fair price especially with the uncertainty of the market at the moment.

Do you think going in at £150k is insulting and then working from there? My girlfiend is a bit worried it might put us on the wrong foot with them from the start.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers,
Dan

Beardmidget

dan_l wrote: »

Do you think going in at £150k is insulting and then working from there? My girlfiend is a bit worried it might put us on the wrong foot with them from the start.

You're buying a house, not making friends... so no, I don't think going in at 150k is a bad idea.

If they have emigrated, then they will be looking for release of their money from the property- this puts you in a strong position. Also bear in mind that people expect offers to come in below asking price, and they've not dropped price much, so you've got room to play with.

Best of luck