First time buyers- advice on property price

adbee

Hiya,

There is a house I have put an offer on which has been on the market for over a year. It is a 3 bed detached and it is on the market for £159, 950.

I have looked the property up, and they bought it for £131, 500 in 2005.

The property is very nice inside and am sure they have spent a few quid on the property since buying it. Looks like the bathroom and kitchen have both been done recently for starters. No building work though.

I have made several offers on this property and they have said they wont even begin to consider a negotiation untill we offer £148, 000. We cant go this high, and feel they are being greedy.

The house location isnt great either, has no front garden and one side of the house and whole back garden runs along a main road.

The house has no onward chain, and they are moving in to one of there parents old house. So deal could go through very quickly.

I am about to phone up and make a final offer, does anyone else think they are asking too much for it?

Snippa

It's totally impossible to say. A house is worth whatever it's worth to a particular buyer. If it's been on the market for a year, and it's not worth that price to anyone so far, it's possibly too high. But tomorrow someone who thinks it is worth that amount, to them, might turn up.

If it's not worth that to you, or you can't pay what they want, walk away and look for something else. For all you know, they might not need to sell, or might have to get at least £148K to pay off debts or whatever. It's up to them to drop the price or accept a lower offer or whatever.

It may be that they're being daft not accepting an offer while it's on the table, and that they're asking too much, but that's their look out.

adbee

So you think we should work out most we can afford and tell them this is our last offer, and if they dont accept just walk away?

Snippa

That would be my advice. You don't want to over-stretch yourself, especially if you don't think the house is worth it. So put in what you think it's worth, and what you can afford as a final offer. If they say no, walk away.
The ball's in their court then.

Running_Horse

adbee wrote: »

The house location isnt great either, has no front garden and one side of the house and whole back garden runs along a main road.

So you have made several unsuccessful offers for a house you don't think much of, have been told what to bid, and want us to tell you how unreasonable they are for not accepting your lower offers? Did I get that right? What exactly do you want? Either meet their expectations, or find another house. You can't force someone to accept your offer.

adbee

Running_Horse wrote: »

So you have made several unsuccessful offers for a house you don't think much of, have been told what to bid, and want us to tell you how unreasonable they are for not accepting your lower offers? Did I get that right? What exactly do you want? Either meet their expectations, or find another house. You can't force someone to accept your offer.

I obviously like the house, but was trying to get across the fact they have added £30, 000 to the price of the property in a recession. Other houses in 2005 in the area were going for more than they are now. It has also been on the market for 14 months.

As I am a first time buyer I am obviously not very experienced, just wanted to know if others thought they were asking too much for it!

phlash

No-one can really advise, although you've given details, 'worth' is a relative term.

It might be worth it to you, but not to Bob, Bill or Bendy Wendy.

Sit down, work out you maximum based on *sensible* lending criteria, stress test it by seeing how you would manage if you lost your job for three months, or interest rates went up. Now you have your maximum, put it on the table and say it is your final offer, then walk away until you hear from them.

david29dpo

What they paid is irrelevant. It could have been a bomb site when they bought it.

nollag2006

Sounds like you are bidding against yourself. I wouldn't go much higher than you already have done. As a FTB, you are (or should be) gold dust to the vendor.

Good advice here from chickmug and others on how much to bid:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1907059

I'd check that out before going much higher.

Don't be afraid to walk away. There will be other houses

poppysarah

adbee wrote: »

Hiya,

The house location isnt great either, has no front garden and one side of the house and whole back garden runs along a main road.

If you don't like it 110% then don't buy it.

Pleaase don't rush into buying a house.

delmar39

You have to accept that the property is being marketed at what it is worth in todays market, give or take. Any valuation you have done if you proceed will confirm this either way. We've just sold our house. Once we had the first offer in from someone (a rediculous offer) we went back to them and told them we wouldn't accept anything less than x. We told them this simply because we needed a certain amount to afford our next house. So, we weren't being funny, just honest about what we needed. If they won't accept anything less than £148k then that's that. Offer this if you want it stating your strong position as a FTB (with a mortgage offer I presume?). Leave it on the table if they decline and carry on looking. If they don't accept then they could well get a higher offer, or end up accepting less if they don't sell. They won't be in a hurry to sell if they are going into a family house. Good luck with it.