negotiating around £250000

jyonda

Asking price 265. If we offer just above 250 to get an offer accepted and the property taken off the market then after the survey offer 249,950 will the vendors accept or put it back on the market? Probate sale, relative wants cash fast IMO. We are chain free.

mandi

jyonda wrote:

Asking price 265. If we offer just above 250 to get an offer accepted and the property taken off the market then after the survey offer 249,950 will the vendors accept or put it back on the market? Probate sale, relative wants cash fast IMO. We are chain free.

I never liked buyers like you TBH.. in 8 years of EA I met loads of people like you, wanting to take advantage, of someones death. and its usually the EA thats accused of being a To***r.,
However it up to the vendors if they will accept a reduced offer after survey. my adviceas an EA would be no, but it depends how quickly they want to sell the property.. As is probate.. They can choose to put the property back on the market, and ask for offers nearer the asking price, as they may not need a quick sale..

Q.. why reduce your offer if your already getting 15K off

jyonda

Er... to avoid paying an extra 5 grand in stamp duty!
We aren't getting 12K off because it's not worth anything like the asking price which I think is confirmed by all their other offers being 249. The tactic of the EA is to try and put sufficient distance between 250 and 265 to ensure offers above 250 so don't tell me I'm getting a bargain. Something is 'worth' what someone else will pay for it and no more.
I think you are being quite harsh accusing me of taking advantage of someones death! I'm not benefitting from the death, I'm trying to buy a home for my family to live in. The Vendor and the EA are trying to screw every last penny from it and don't care if it costs me an extra 5 grand in tax which they won't even see a penny of. So it's not really me profiting from someones death.
Thanks for your insight though.

mandi

jyonda wrote:

Er... to avoid paying an extra 5 grand in stamp duty!
We aren't getting 12K off because it's not worth anything like the asking price which I think is confirmed by all their other offers being 249. The tactic of the EA is to try and put sufficient distance between 250 and 265 to ensure offers above 250 so don't tell me I'm getting a bargain. Something is 'worth' what someone else will pay for it and no more.
I think you are being quite harsh accusing me of taking advantage of someones death! I'm not benefitting from the death, I'm trying to buy a home for my family to live in. The Vendor and the EA are trying to screw every last penny from it and don't care if it costs me an extra 5 grand in tax which they won't even see a penny of. So it's not really me profiting from someones death.
Thanks for your insight though.

I agree with you Jyonda.. but why do you think the vendors are " trying to screw you" its the EA that sets the price..and I dont mean to be rude.. Pm me . tommorrow. ok ... will tell you your best course of action..

Take care


mandi

jamesd

You could try:

1. Offering to pay the estate agent's fee or part of it
2. Offering for any furniture and fittings

Either could take you to the offer level they want without taking you above the tax break for the property itself.

lilyann1

I know in this area of Surrey if the agents put the house in the market for £265 then generally they want offers of around £260k,so no getting out of the stamp duty.
If the property is up for £255k then when the offers can be around 249-£250k.
Try looking up previous sold prices in the road to see what others have sold for recently.

Kaminari_2

If you are only willing to pay £249,950 then why not just offer that? Save a whole lot of wasted time and if the vendor is in a rush and going to take it then they will. I would not trust you using these tactics and i would be more likely to put the property back on the market and look for someone who was willing to be up front and straight forward, even if they offered me £249,950 straight away. But that is just me.

mi-key

Have to say it sounds a bit underhand - how are you going to justify reducing your offer if the survey doesnt come up with anything negative ?

I can see the sense in paying just under £250K to avoid the stamp duty, but trying to trick the seller into accepting an offer you have no intention of honouring doesnt seem the right way to go about it.

If the tables were turned, and the seller tried to get you to increase your offer by a few thousand for no reason after agreeing a price, you'd tell them where to go, wouldnt you ?

Jorgan_2

Why not see if the seller will contribute towards paying the stamp duty if you go over £250k? I have a number of sellers offering to do this as long as they achieve over a set amount, say £260k. Its not worth them doing it at £253k, so the figures need to stack up for all parties. If you don't want to pay more than £250k, don't offer more.

jyonda

To answer a few q's

1)I don't believe the vendor is trying to 'screw' me personally but get the best price possible for the property regardless of whether someone has to pay far more than it is worth due to a ridiculous stamp duty system.

2)The most any house of it's type in the road has sold for is 249 6 months ago. I don't mind paying 253 but I do mind paying an extra 5 grand in stamp duty.

3)They have several other offers of 249 already and as the house requires substantial updating and some repair I believe they would expect some money to be knocked off after the survey. Having a survey done at all shows we are serious. It's not 'tricking' them to revise the offer once the true condition of the property has been established. I'm no expert so how can I make an informed offer beforehand? Surely this is the whole point of getting a survey done!

I like the suggestion of paying their estate agents fees, this just might work. Could this be illegal? I think paying a separate amount for fixtures and fittings is. If the seller contributes toward the stamp duty how do I save money exactly? The only advantage i can see is that the extra I pay goes on the mortgage meaning i have more ready cash to fix the place up.

I don't expect the vendors or EA to 'like' a drop but they may consider it their best option from serious buyers in a position to move quickly. I must say money savers that I did expect more people saying they would never ever buy a house for just above 250 and I'd be mad to do it. Unless all the people on this forum are estate agents !!!!!!!

Thanks for your input everybody. I'd love to hear any further suggestions on getting out of paying this whopping 3% stamp duty.

Cheers Moneysavers

Jorgan_2

Its not illegal to pay the EA's fees, best find out how much they are, if they are 2% thats the £5k gone you were trying to save. Its very difficult to find ways around legally not paying the 3%.

If the survey comes back & values it at £253k, what will you do then?