The Bidding War!

CB1979_2

if it were me and I'd value it/well I'd be willing to pay upto £140k for instance go in just under £130k.

as said above leave it a day or 2, then come back with "i've managed to get a loan from my parents for £3k but that's it".

see what they say.

I did this got told by the EA that the vendors of my flat had an offer of £177k for the flat, but the purchasers were involved in chain, so if we could move quickly they'd take an offer between £170-175k, so i thought sod it, was gonna offer £172, but decided to be cheeky and offer £168k (told them we had been offered a £165k mortgage and we had to beg & borrow £3k from my parents!), they agreed to meet in the middle @ £169k so done deal.

again, go in at what YOU feel comfortable with.
all they'll do is tell you Yes or No.

otherwise have a second viewing and ask the vendor himself what kind of offer he's looking for.

Casual

Another really easy website is www.houseprices.co.uk.

Just put in the postcode or street name and it will show you everything that's been bought/sold since 2000. Extremely accurate as it is official Land Registry data - and best of all it's free!

I used it a lot when looking to buy my place as EA prices are just guides and I wouldn't trust them one bit! (Especially when the property has been on the market for 6mths+)

jamminjamaica

Casual wrote:

Another really easy website is www.houseprices.co.uk.

Just put in the postcode or street name and it will show you everything that's been bought/sold since 2000. Extremely accurate as it is official Land Registry data - and best of all it's free!

I used it a lot when looking to buy my place as EA prices are just guides and I wouldn't trust them one bit! (Especially when the property has been on the market for 6mths+)

is there anywhere you can check northern ireland postcodes?

fatblokexl

different process in scotland but you could try what we did and it seemed to work.
property was offers over £120k
we offered £135k
rejected
we were informed seller was looking for £150k
we offered £145k and stated if rejected, the offer was to be left on the table for a week then dropp to £142,500 for another week than withdrawn altogether after that.
offer of £145k was accepted later that day.

if someone is in a hurry to sell but has little or no intrested parties, this usually puts you in a good position. you can always walk away and look for another house, they will still have to sell theirs.

irnbru_2

fatblokexl wrote:

different process in scotland but you could try what we did and it seemed to work.

Which city? I've seen tenament flats take months to shift as someone is holding out for 150K.

fatblokexl

irnbru wrote:

Which city? I've seen tenament flats take months to shift as someone is holding out for 150K.

dundee.
it is fast becoming a nightmare to buy in as the "low cost housing" is reserved in the main for council rubbish!

Zammo

If the highest price paid for a property in the street is 119k how can the vendor justify adding 30K??? It beggars belief. The fact that it's been on the market for six months also seems to suggest it's vastly overpriced. The vendor has obviously plucked a figure out of thin air as 'house prices only ever go up'. If I were you I'd offer 115K.

Doozergirl

Martin_OB wrote:

Ok, using the land registry website, I've found the following:

Average price of a semi in the postcode area is:

Apr-Jun 2006: 216,811 with 9 sales

So, what do you think?..

There's not many sales occuring to give you a good idea of the average rise in prices. It's showing a 38% rise in 18 months, which isn't really feasible.

If you keep viewing lots of other properties, you will get a truer idea of value when it's compared to what else is on offer. People can get strange ideas in villages though. None of the houses are selling in the village where we lived and married because each new one to the market seems to think their house is better than everyone elses so the asking prices rise and rise. It's pathetic.

Martin_OB

Zammo, just wanted to point out the £119k price was for the adjacent property two years ago (the house is semi detached).

I have been advised by an EA (a friend of the family) to open the bidding at £120k. With the asking price set at £149,950, does anyone feel that this is too low?

Personally, I'd feel more comfortable with an opening bid of around £125k, but that's largely based on the fact that I don't want to offend the vendor...and he will be including all fixtures and fittins, cooker, fridge, frezzer, washing machine.

But, am I being a bit too soft?

Thanks for everyone's comments - I'll let you know how things go...

fatblokexl

you are the buyer and he does not know you from adam, so why feel offended by offering a lower amount?
it is your money and you need to use it in the most cost effective manner possible.
it is always better to start low and then increase. rather than offer a high price which may be accepted, but then find out the vendor would have taken a much lower price.

it all boils down to how much you want the property and how much you want to pay for it.