How much to offer below asking price?

bigchri9

Hi,

I'm just about to put an offer in on a terraced house I like in macclesfield.
The asking price is £129,950 and the house has been on the market for over 6 months and the vendor is the daughter of the previous owner so its not clear if shes passed on. After seeing numerous houses in the area i think this is over priced. how much below the asking price is it realistic to offer?

I have a mortgage agreement in principle and can proceed quickly if necessary. The agent has intimated that they turned down an offer of around £120,000 when the house first went on the market but have had no concrete interest since. There are a lot of other houses on in this area (none with the character of this one) and i can bide my time if required.

I am thinking of offering £115,000 but part of me thinks i should go in even lower than this. Is this unrealistic?

Thanks

rsykes2000

If you think it is overpriced, offer what you think it's worth. Only you can say this, as you know your finances, the state of the local market and what comparable properties have been going for. I have seen written 'If you aren't embarrassed by your offer, it's too high' but if you want to go along with that, then it's your choice.
I think personally I would check what comparable houses have gone for in the last year (using something like nethouseprices.com) and go in under that with room to move upwards if necessary. I certainly wouldn't be embarrassed if I offered 115

andrewmp

Has the house sold recently or houses in the same street.

check www.nethouseprices.com

How much did they sell for circa 2003? Offer that much at most.

bigchri9

It went for £60,000 in 2000. There are only 3 houses in that terrace as it is off the main road so there is nothing else to compare it with apart from that.

Milliewilly

andrewmp wrote: »

Has the house sold recently or houses in the same street.

check www.nethouseprices.com

How much did they sell for circa 2003? Offer that much at most.

??? On that basis all the houses that have sold on my old street (sold in Feb) in Sheffield this year have all gone for £100K too much compared to 2003 (when I bought)!!

pawpurrs

If the Ea is to telling the truth a higher offer has allready been refused, however that was some time ago, and the seller may be regretting that now, so I wouldnt worry about that too much, although it could mean they are not open to another offer at the same level, you never know. Do your home work, and then make an intial low offer to see where the land lies, there are the odd vendor that you will annoy if you go in very low, if they think that their house is allready on at a realistic level, its very difficult to say in percentage terms, as its dependant on so many variables. Let us know how you get on. Good luck.
I have just had an offer accepted thats a lot lower than than 10% off asking, you can allways go up.

bigchri9

Just offered £112,500, so fingers crossed!

Doozergirl

Presumably they would have already dropped the price if they were thinking of accepting that little. You never know though.

Milliewilly

They will inevitably reject your first offer as its a sign of weakness on their part to accept the first offer unless you offered asking so no harm in going in low first. Let us know how you get on!

goldbyron

andrewmp wrote: »

Has the house sold recently or houses in the same street.

check www.nethouseprices.com

How much did they sell for circa 2003? Offer that much at most.

I would say it would be more fair to offer at 2005/06 levels if you want to guarantee a bargain. 2003 is a long time in the housing market and almost 50% lower than a lot of flats round here (E London) which would sell for no problem.

thriftyamy

rsykes2000 wrote: »

... I have seen written 'If you aren't embarrassed by your offer, it's too high' ...

what a great quote! I'm dying to know who said it first!