First time buyers- advice on property price

adbee

nollag2006 wrote: »

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:

I'd check that out before going much higher.

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

Yes I have read that, I used the house price calculator and the house price dropped nearly 10% on one of them from when they bought it compared to now.

I know the house could of been in bad condition when they bought it, but the previous owner did a 100% extension on the property in 1997, cant see them doing that then leaving the rest of the house to go down the pan.

How much true value can you add to her house by decorating it and putting in a new bathroom and kitchen? I know I probably dont know what am talking about, but it doesnt add up to me lol

I inherited a house in the same small town and my sister bought my half out in 2005. She put in a new bathroom and modernised the living room and decorated through out. She then sold it for £15,000 less last year.

I do really like the house, and the flaw I mentioned wouldnt bother me. But I know it would make it more difficult to sell on. I am going to put in my last offer of £143, 500 and then walk away from it if they dont accept. There is plenty other houses out there, and I dont want to be ripped off when am in such a good position, I am a ftb looking to put down a 40% deposit.

Running_Horse

adbee wrote: »

I dont want to be ripped off when am in such a good position, I am a ftb looking to put down a 40% deposit.

Nobody is trying to rip you off. The seller wants to get as much as they can, you want to pay as little as you can. Somewhere between these positions you either can or cannot find common ground. You are a FTB, not a deity to be grovelled to. Either buy the house or don't.

adbee

Running_Horse wrote: »

Nobody is trying to rip you off. The seller wants to get as much as they can, you want to pay as little as you can. Somewhere between these positions you either can or cannot find common ground. You are a FTB, not a deity to be grovelled to. Either buy the house or don't.

So estate agents never over value there property towards the high end? I should just take there word for it that the house has gone up in value by 30 grand in a recession?

You just read the post and looked at it from the worst possible angle. As a ftb with a large deposit I have more chance of getting a better deal on certain properties. Might of worded the "ripped off" wrongly, I meant I didnt want to struggle to meet there asking price which is in my opinion too high, when there could be an other property around the corner where I would have more chance of getting a bargain.

I am not in anyway arrogant nor am I being disrespectful towards the seller. Its obvious I cant force them to take a lower offer, but I can educate myself on whether it is a good idea to meet there valuation or not.

pawpurrs

Things to think about, getting a bargain and being ripped off are two opposite sides of the spectrum, and in between is paying a fair price for the house. As has been said, these people seem to need want a price, that they wont sell below, and you need to accept that or move on, however dont go above what you are willing to pay for the property.
Yes there has been a recession, but unfortunetly house prices in a lot of areas have now been rising for a whole year, a year ago there was prob more bargains about (if you could call them that then, still all way overpriced in my opinion)
My experience is that also unfortunely FTB dont tend to get the best deals, cash rich people who can complete quickly do, although you have no chain, ftbers are notorious for holding up chains, despite them having no chain, and for most people they need to achieve a certain price to be able to move on. There are however allways houses that may go for less, auctions, empty properties that have been on the market a long time, and people who are in debt.
Good luck and hope you can find what you are looking for at a price you are willing to pay for it.
House buying eh!

laughingcow81

adbee wrote: »

So estate agents never over value there property towards the high end? I should just take there word for it that the house has gone up in value by 30 grand in a recession?

EAs will always over value houses. But at the same time, sellers always have a figure they have in their minds about what they will accept. Sometimes it's a figure that they have to accept (i.e. otherwise they will be in negative equity) or a figure they see the property being "worth" in their minds.

It is about striking a balance between what you want to pay for a certain property, and what the seller wants for that same property.

adbee

Well I am very pleased to tell you all, that the estate agents just phoned me then and they have accepted my offer of £143, 500.

Now I am worried I was too eager on that, because it was a big increase from my offer of £138, 000. But cant complain, got just over 10% off the asking price.

Thanks for all your advice.

laughingcow81

Congratulations, now the hard work begins!

pawpurrs

Congratulations, dont worry theres allways a doubt that you could have got it cheaper, if only you hadnt increased so quickly, started lower etc.
Just look forward to your first home, I hope you will be very happy there.

LadyC

Congratulations! We have our house on the market for a similar asking price, and there's no way we'd accept as little as your vendor has, so I suspect if it is comparable to similar houses with similar asking prices in the area, then you have probably grabbed yourself a bargain.

Now make sure you get on and organise your solicitor/survey etc. We recently accepted an offer from a FTB, and subsequently put in an offer on another house that we loved, only for the FTB to pull out over a week later because they felt 'under-prepared for the process' :mad: why put in a bl**dy offer and insist we take it off the market then?!!!!! As a result, we have lost the house we love and have also lost valuable marketing time (albeit only a week which is extremely lucky in the whole scheme of things, but annoying for us, none the less)

nollag2006

Great news adbee !! Well done. Hope you've got your decorators' brushes ready.

I wouldn't worry if you think you've overpaid by a grand or two. When you come to sell it in 5 - 10 years time, you'll have made a pretty penny on it, with a bit of luck