1st Offer?

loftus

Saw a house today I like the look of. Ticks most of my boxes. I could move straight in although the kitchen is a bit tired and replacing that is the first thing I would want to do. I am moving from rented accomodation so have no chain and vendor is moving to rented accomodation so no onward chain.
Property is up for £146,995 which looks at the top end of the price range to me. I really don't want to go over £145k if I can help it.
So where should I pitch a first offer? I was thinking around £141,500 - £142k. Does this sound about right?
Ta.

mystic_trev

To high start at £139,500 you can always negotiate upwards - that's what the EA's for!

firstfootontheladder

me & gf put an offer in on a 2 bed house going at £129950 for £125000 & got the offer accepted within 3 mins :j , just goes to show never go near the full asking price on your first offer or indeed your personal limit.

Ian_W

Both the above posts are on the mark. Offering just under £140K is over 95% of the AP so it's a serious offer. Other things that might influence whether it's accepted or not are:
1. How long has it been on the market?
2. Is the market moving fast where you are or is it fairly slow?
If it's new to the market, first few days/couple of weeks, the vendor is more likely to to be reluctant to accept a lower offer. If it's been on a while and things are slow you've a much better chance. Either way you can up your offer easier than reducing it.
When you make the offer you should be able to show the EA you're a credible purchaser, that means being able to show you've a deposit, mortgage agreed in principle and if poss a solicitor already appointed. Show that to the EA and they're much more likely to push your offer with the vendor. Most important to them is that they get a sale, a few grand below makes precious little difference to their commission.

HTH & BoL.

kit

I saw the house i wanted just 1 day after it went on the market. It was up for £134,950. I offered £128,000 straight away which was refused the next day so I then offered £130,000 which was accepted after 2 days of them thinking about it (and taking a few more viewings!!).

In my area, houses aren't moving very fast so everyone is accepting offers just to sell.

AndrewSmith

The other thing to remember when you make the offer is that it is subject to the conditions that suit you such as:

The property comes off the market.
All future booked viewings are cancelled and no further offers
Sold board up ASAP to stop telephone enquiries and an 'accidental' viewing being booked

Put the offer across confidently and express the positive points of the position you are in.

Tell the agent you are ready to begin proceedings straight away and have the mortgage already in hand and can instruct a solicitor imminently.

Best of luck

Andy

loftus

Thanks for the advice guys and gals. Settled on £142k.

Property_Magnate

I am astounded by the naivety of some on this forum!!

Sounds like you made a terrible deal to me! According to "Hometrack" the average price paid is around 93% of the asking price. To me, that is still way too much but it gives one an idea what the average punter pays.

Your first offer should be well below 93% to achieve that final figure.

So you paid 97% of the asking price. If Hometrack's statistics are correct then with numpties like you around many are paying far less to achieve the 93% average!

Doozergirl

PM, It's been 93% forever. I put a house on the market at the appropriate price to gain proper interest and entice offers. Anyone offering 93% because that's what you told them to offer will get short shrift.

If crazy people want to value their own properties without researching the market properly or listening to a sensible EA, they deserve to sell at 93% and less.

I'm sure the OP has made the correct decision and given the fact they were considering a first offer of £142k, they've probably saved a little bit by asking for advice on this forum as they may have ended up paying more.

It's virtually impossible to convince a FTB to make a low offer on this forum - they will only go with what they feel comfortable with. I've tried!

Property_Magnate

Doozer? Are you an Estate Agent? You sound far too intelligent!

I have been known to pay well over the asking price for property. But, that depended on the potential for capital growth. In this market I'd be more concerned with damage limitation if you know what I mean!!

Doozergirl

lol, no I'm not!

My first posts here were all about cheeky offers, but it falls on deaf ears when people are nervous. The best we can do is try to be as specific as we can with the info we're given by the OP and make suggestions that they can relate to; check their market and be sure of the value. Not everyone is looking for investment potential; most are looking with their hearts.

There's only a certain amount of guidance that will register before they do their own thing anyway!

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams, kind of thing.