Cheeky offers

Person_one

Has anyone ever had an offer accepted that was far far below the asking price?

For some reason I think 10% below is as far as I'd go but I'm not sure why!

westlondonbuyer

I needed to sell quickly as I was getting married and needed the money, and it was 2008 and I was wary of never selling at all. My flat sold at 12.5% discount on the asking price after 6 weeks on the market. Cash buyer offered 15% down, I counter-offered 10% down, we met in the middle. I had one offer the first week at just 5% off, but from a person in a chain who was getting divorced. It was a lot of money to turn my back on, but I needed the bird in hand.

The lowest offer I received was from someone offering 30% off, but the estate agent had prepared me for this so I wasn't shocked.

In fact, I had 5 estate agents in to value the flat originally, and there was 40% variation between the lowest and highest valuations anyway :exclamati

tunnel

I started at 25% below askin and bought at 12% below,all depends how brave/cheeky you want to be....As they say if you don't ask...you don't get

westlondonbuyer

You need another person's low offer to have paved the way for you though.

I learned this the hard way. Offered 15% below and got sent away with a flea in my ear. Vendor spent another 6 months on the market and then sold for £25k less than I'd offered her. I'm still sore a year later.

tunnel

I learned this the hard way. Offered 15% below and got sent away with a flea in my ear. Vendor spent another 6 months on the market and then sold for £25k less than I'd offered her. I'm still sore a year later.

Ouch!!!
No-one paved the way for me,then again i was a cash buyer,suppose that counts for summat:)

Person_one

Do you think it makes a difference if its a repo and you're buying from a bank rather than a human vendor who'd emotionally involved?

G_M

Repos have different issues. Yes, you can get them discounted, but there are extra stresses/potential costs involved as they won't take it off the market even after accepting your offer - so getting gazumped is always possible right up to Exchange, even after you've paid out on solicitor, survey, mortgage application etc etc

tunnel

Do you think it makes a difference if its a repo and you're buying from a bank rather than a human vendor who'd emotionally involved?

None whatsoever,went for a repo couple of weeks ago for a BTL,offered 25% below but got outbid by a FTB(win some lose some).personally on a repo i'd expect to get it cheaper...unfortunately one mans loss IS another mans gain. Moral is on a repo offer way low,you may get a nice surprise:D

mostlycheerful

I knew someone who went around making lots of very low offers and got refused but then, bingo, someone accepted and he got a bargain, so no harm trying. And especially at the moment as it’s a buyers’ market and nearly all the market is so flat and a lot of vendors are desperate and can’t sell at all, so it’s definitely worth a shot, could save a lot of money just by doing this.

yakface77

Yes, its well worth a go. In 97 my house was on market for £39k, i offered £14k and we negotiated at £14.5k
Last year i purchased a commercial property which had been for sale for £110k for 3 years, i offered £30k and it was 'reluctantly accepted' words of the EA.

Person_one

Thanks all, but now I'm thinking I should have offered lower!