Would you accept this offer?

Doozergirl

Cleaver wrote: »

What a strange decision. If I were a cash-buyer, who offered a very decent 97.5% of the asking price, in this still uncertain climate and you came back to me saying that you want the asking price just incase some other offers came on later this week I'd think you were quite cheeky and would probably tell you where to go.

How much exactly would you have liked the house if you not only rejected the idea of paying a bit more but actually told the vendors where to go? You're either serious at the price you offer or you aren't.

No one reasonable would withdraw an offer because the vendor asked for more. And because it isn't reasonable, I would strongly suggest that someone who behaved like that at the start was never going to get to the end.

You're not looking at it from the angle of a serious buyer or a vendor. It is widely accepted that you don't offer your full hand on the first offer, even if you final offer is low. Widely accepted that you might have to haggle over the deal.

We read all the time on here about how genuine people feel when offering as well as how people feel when being offered. Most are nervous and feel insecure but it's clear that both sides feel that way. If you can grasp that, you can use it to your advantage. It is people that appear as bolshy as you in their apparant approach that are just back-seat driving - not buying or selling anything. This isn't about 'the market',not about 'greedy vendors' - it's about remembering that £5000 is a lot of money for this couple - we must all work hard for that amount. Yes, the buyer should fight to get the best price but the person we are talking to here is a vendor who, quite rightly, wants as much as they can get. As it's them asking for help, it's them we should advise on how to try and get the best price.

A genuine buyer will not walk away because the vendor tried to negotiate. Buying a house is far more touchy-feely than that for the vast majority.

PasseySam

We have been in a similar situation recenlty from the other side - we saw a house that had just been on the market a few days, really liked it and put in an offer for a bit below asking. The vendors replied that as the house had only just gone on the market and had quite a few viewings booked they were going to hold out for asking because they felt they would get it if given a chance. There were other people offering and lots of interest.

We REALLY liked the house and so offered the asking price which was accepted - so in no way were we offended by the vendors replying that they wanted the asking price, and as there was a lot of interest in the house we would rather offer more and get it than lose out for the sake of a few % of the price.

However as a vendor I would have loved to have a cash buyer (assuming they are really cash!) and so perhaps offering to meet them half way with £2.5k would be a good idea if you want to keep them.

Cleaver

Doozergirl wrote: »

This isn't about 'the market',not about 'greedy vendors' - it's about remembering that £5000 is a lot of money for this couple - we must all work hard for that amount. Yes, the buyer should fight to get the best price but the person we are talking to here is a vendor who, quite rightly, wants as much as they can get. As it's them asking for help, it's them we should advise on how to try and get the best price.

A genuine buyer will not walk away because the vendor tried to negotiate. Buying a house is far more touchy-feely than that for the vast majority.

I've thanked your post, you talk a lot of sense.

I've sold and bought houses before and when selling I have a figure in mind of what I want for it, and then I'd add around 7% or 8% and stick it on the market. This fits in with what I'd do as a buyer - make my first offer of around 10% - 15% below the asking price and, as you say, haggle upwards on that. At the start of the 'game' I reckon I'd be happy with 97.5% of asking, as that would probably be more that I thought I'd get for it.

I appreciate what you're saying about never going for the first offer. But this is a cash buyer, offering pretty close to asking price. Can you imagine the vendor knocking this back, and in the mean time the potential buyer going for something else. In the current climate it seems that a lot of people are putting bids in then having to pull out due to mortgage problems, chains falling through etc. If that happens to this person they will kicking themselves that they didn't take a cash buyer at 97.5% of asking on the day it cam to the market.

I guess the one thing we don't know is what they paid for it. If they bought this house ten years ago for £80k and it's now on for £200k then they should bite his hand off. If they bought it for £150k three years ago and it's back on for £150k then I can understand holding out for asking.

Maybe the OP will come back on and let us know the outcome.

katieks

I am back and awaiting another viewing shortly. Cash buyer didn't budge with £197500 for off the market, still stuck at £195000. To provide a bit of context, we bought 3 years ago at £180000. We have spent just short of £15k on it (new kitchen, downstairs loo, electrics, double glazing), so by selling for £195k we will be breaking even, but probably a loss when taking into account EA, solicitor fees, mortgage interest, etc, but then again, we haven't needed to pay rent for the same period so it all probably evens out. Similar house in the street at same interior standard and features was on at offers around £204k and has recently sold (although don't know how much for). I did consider putting it on at £205k thinking we'd accept £200k, but thought that to get buyers through the door we'd be better off putting it on at £200k as some buyers may have this as their upper limit and therefore rule out even viewing our house. Having scrutinised Rightmove this morning, I think it would be fair to be paid £200k for our house as there are no other similar houses for sale here for any less (except one which is on at £190k but doesn't have downstairs WC, conservatory and is two streets closer to train line).

At the moment I think we're probably going to accept but try to carry on with viewings. Estate agent B still hasn't even bothered to put it on market (absolutely useless, I've spent loads of mobile credit on phoning them and leaving messages!) and estate agent A are looking at £2.3k for the least amount of work ever (we've done all the viewings and the buyer lives just down our street!).

So bottom line: try to sell DIY for the first few days (and save loads), go multi-agency (just in case you choose to only sign with a completely useless agency which you didn't know would be so useless!) and put it on for more than you want (don't think that a lower price will get you more viewers because you just get lower offers).

And please don't think I'm ungrateful. I have read the horror stories of people having to sell at mega losses and being on the market for months. I do sympathise with them.

brit1234

katieks wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think we'll go back to agent saying that we'll take it off market for extra 2.5k, otherwise we want to wait out till early next week so that we can see if other viewers want to put in any offers. Risky I know, but oh well.

The Dog and His Reflection

[SIZE=+1]A dog was walking home with his dinner, a large slab of meat, in his mouth. On his way home, he walked by a river. Looking in the river, he saw another dog with a handsome chunk of meat in his mouth.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+1] "I want that meat, too," thought the dog, and he snapped at the dog to grab his meat which caused him to drop his dinner in the river.

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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Too much greed results in nothing.[/FONT] [SIZE=+2]Aesop's Fables[/SIZE]

For £2.5K is it really worth risking lossing a good buyer, personally as a ftb I would walk away especially as it is a buyers market with sales about 10-15% below asking prices.

C_Mababejive

Why is it that people want.."more" when they sell a house?

If you sell a car you often get less for it unless its a desirable supercar or a classic.

Houses cant possibly go on being sold for more and more and more becuase peoples wages and income streams dont go up by the same rate.

How about a system in which we buy and sell houses which are index linked?

Its fairer and the current system is simply fools gold anyway becuase if you sell for "more" you have to buy for "more" and so there may be no gain unless you downsize.

The only gainers are those in the industry and who see buyers/sellers as sheep to be shorn.

ailuro2

The next house you will buy will be cheaper than it would have been a couple of years ago because of the downturn in the market these past couple of years.

Breaking even is much better than being in negative equity, which is amore common situation.

Take the money and run...:)

katieks

We're not buying another house in the next few years due to frequent moves due to job relocations. I think it's probably difficult for others to accurately comment when they don't know the situation with regards to supply and demand in the area, etc. But it's been useful anyway and thanks for your input.