Would you pay more than a house is 'worth' if you loved it?

Norma_Desmond

We did .....

But it was the best thing we've ever done, and it was *only* by 5K.
This was a few years ago just before prices hit the roof - surveyor valued the house at £5,000 less than the asking price, but we wanted it so much that we offered the full price immediately.
The vendor knew we were serious, we didn't want any messing around, so bingo!
If we'd waited we would never have got our 'dream house' - and very likely have been priced out of the market anyway.
Good luck.

RacyRed

Yes, for a home I planned to stay in long term and it ticked almost all of my boxes.

But I agree with Firefox that paying over the odds for a one bedroomed home is a bit more of a gamble. It is amazing how restrictive a one bed place can become, even if it is your idea of heaven at first.

Might you be able to extend or convert the loft at some point in the future if you choose to? If you do have that level of flexibility then it may be worth paying the extra.

charliee_3

the house we bought was advertised for £145-150k.. we offered £146k to secure it with the shed included. When the survey came back surveyor said IHO it was worth £138k so we split the difference and offered £142.. so i suppose we did pay more than its 'worth' but i loved it and i think we got a bargain! lol

TOBRUK

Have you looked at the sale history of the property, what was the sale figure when it was sold last, at a time before property prices slumped.

I know you have fallen in love with the property but try looking at it objectively. What if you want to sell in the future, what are the amenities like in the area, transport links, are there any developments planned in the area, employment, access to shops, banks, post office nearby. I may be wrong but these are things I would look at (in case you want to sell in future) because say e.g. would it be suitable for retirement people who have no transport who would value things like village shop etc and then would it be suitable for single person to commute etc.

Have you kept looking at houses since falling for this house? I know it has been on sale for about 2 years but with the slump and the recession things have been slow to pick up - what have sales been like in the area during this time?

On the other hand £2000 is a small price if you really want it, and I would perhaps offer 111,000 and tell them that this is your final offer and hold out. If you did buy it, another thing to really consider: is there any work needed on the house to make it how you want it? Look at each room and make an estimate on how much you would have to spend to get it exactly how you want it - and be honest with yourself, the cost of this may not be worth it.

Not sure if this is helpful.:)

arthur_22

I do take the point about resale value - although I do plan to live in this place for a long time, you never know what might happen, and it's clear that if I had to sell in a year or so there aren't people falling over themselves to pay even 110 for the house so I might be in trouble (unless of course the vendors are turning down offers all over the place, but it would seem likely that if other people loved the house too they would have found another person to go to 112 by now).

It's interesting that responses are basically split! To be honest as much as I love the little place I find myself very reluctant to go any higher - it's one thing if there are people fighting over the house, but if it's just sat there with no interest I feel a bit like I would be rolling over and putting my legs in the air if I offered 112 just because that's what the vendors need. Kind of like the balance of power is all on their side when at this stage in the game, with a house that no-one else wants, there should be at least some give and take.

I think this feeling comes too from the fact that there's really no communication coming from them, and even the EA was frustrated that all he could get them to say was that they need 112 - just adds to the feeling that there is no room to negotiate.

So - I guess I keep looking!

Chinkle

I don't think they want to negotiate - if they are prepared to wait around for two years and then get an offer so close to asking price and reject it then they aren't going to budge. So, are you prepared to pay the £112? Also, I'm worried that if the survey doesn't value it at that price and the vendors still refuse to budge on price, will you be able to afford the difference in cash?

Personally, I would move on, let them kick themselves for being so silly about it - you have plenty of other choices, they are stuck until someone is prepared to play their game. Good luck with finding another dream house - you will.

geoffky

i can not love a pile of bricks.. i have tried but i just cant love like that...

RobertoMoir

I know I've hinted at this before but I like to see my own posts so... er, I mean I think the point needs emphasising...
I think a lot of the people who say its worth paying extra to close a gap and get the place you love are right - if the house is worth something close to the value. If the house is worth £110K and they need £112K then that clearly isn't worth letting the house "get away" over.

So the question is what is it worth, really, or to put it another way, if its good enough to fall in love with why isn't it sold already? It's been on the market for 2 years and hasn't had a sale? If it was valued at £100k by your mortgage company could you fund the difference? Would you still want to?

I know its hard to be objective when you feel you love the place, but you have to be. I'm not saying ignore your heart, but I am saying that there's a reason it hasn't sold if its been on the market for two years and you probably need to find out/work out why before you go much further with this house.

smug

You're too emotional about the place, which is a very bad thing.

However, the extra £1k/£2k is really neither here or there and if you want to buy the place, then buy it.

The only real consideration is a financial one, and that's the simple matter of the situation you'll be left in if you have to sell for whatever reason. A worst case under those circumstances, with another fall inprices highly likely, is that you had to sell for £80k or less. Seriously.

Decide whether that's something that is both possible and acceptable and you'll find making the decision a lot eaasier.