Greedy vendors at offers over

Rimo2021

Macnab wrote:

Then you have to pay out for a survey before putting in an offer, which maybe be rejected so thats money down the drain or suddenly after a house being on the market for ages and you show an interest it will go to a closing dates and closed bids are only accepted

No - offers are normally put in 'subject to survey' these days so you only pay for a survey if your offer is accepted.

Rimo2021

alyth wrote:

The house is on at offers over £335K, and as we're in Scotland we put in an offer of £355K, with a view to going up to £380K - the property is advertised as 6 beds but 3 are tiny, 3 are in the eaves, and it needs new bathrooms, all 3 of them! The response came back today from the solicitor - they want at least £450K!!!!!

I'd previously been told by the solicitor that they were hoping for £400K, but would start negotiations at £370K - so why are they being so damn greedy! The property's just off a main road, been on the market for at least 4 months, and we were the first to put in an offer!

You don't say the location so your figures are pretty much meaningless. The size is pretty irrelevant without the location.

I agree though that the fact the property has been on the market for 4 months indicates the sellers are being too optimistic about it's value.

Research the area and what other properties sold for. Work out what the property is worth. Make your offer. If it's not accepted or negotiable within a small margin above your offer - walk.

What they are hoping for is totally irrelevant!!! You need to concentrate on what it is worth!!

irnbru_2

alyth wrote:

The house is on at offers over £335K, and as we're in Scotland we put in an offer of £355K, with a view to going up to £380K - the property is advertised as 6 beds but 3 are tiny, 3 are in the eaves, and it needs new bathrooms, all 3 of them! The response came back today from the solicitor - they want at least £450K!!!!!

If you don't think it's worth 450K, don't pay it. Move on.

Rimo2021

Both 'offers-over' and 'asking price' reflect the sellers' valuation. What idiot would rely on such a BIASED valuation. Get an INDEPENDENT valuation - either from a good solicitor or by doing your own homework.

jennifernil

Rimo..........are you in Scotland? If so you are not really getting my point!

I would, if I were buying, expect to have to offer (nowadays) maybe 25% over the asking price, but when it gets to 40% things are getting out of hand! There is a VERY big difference between an OO price of 350k and an expected price of 500k. Our son really thought the house was not worth much more than 425k, hence his decision to get a survey. He had told the estate agents his top price and said to them not to suggest any properties where the sellers were really expecting a lot more, so was REALLY mad at them.
You say "get an independant valuation", but if sellers refuse to be realistic what can you do?
We will be selling our house here in 2 or 3 years time, I am thinking I will get an independant valuation then put it on the market at a fixed price. No doubt there are many who will find that foolish, but at least I will not be misleading anyone!

alyth

macnab, this property is near to you! Another shocker came this afternoon, when our purchasers, despite being told that we were rejecting their offer, came back and said they were going to instruct an electrical report! And of course, we still have no idea of what valuation they received, so the negotiations could still go on regarding a price reduction, before the subject to survey clause is even lifted!

I have no objections to people thinking that they can get a lot more for their property, but as mentioned this property's been on the market for 4 months, and if they had wanted £450K, why not put it on at £400? As mentioned by a poster, the offers over system is I think a bit misleading, as you do have to look 2 or 3 bands below what your actual budget is to be able to afford something in this part of the country, and the time being taken between your offer being accepted, the survey being done, all the reports being carried out, and the actual survey clause being lifted can be up to six weeks in some cases, as I worked in an estate agency until recently!

I'm just angry and frustrated and there's nothing I can do about it! The house is now being marketed again, there are 4 people who asked to be kept interested if the sale fell through, so they'll be contacted tomorrow and we start from scratch all over again!

littlejaffa

I've got the worst/best of both worlds, i'm selling in scotland but buying in england.

I have to agree alot of it's greed, our solicitor told us to ask for offers over 275 expecting 350, and we decided to go for a fixed price of 350 to save messing people about (and a quick sale).
But it's much better in scotland that when it's accepted & surveyed it's completed, there's not months where people could pull out right up to moving day.

If the property's been on the market 4mths & your the 1st offer it looks like greed to decline you, or they've got financial problems and it's not worth their while to sell for less, or very bad advice they've been given.

I'd set dates on everything and if it's not done at least you know where you are. Our solicitors been fab at moving things really quick and chasing the other solicitor to move as quickly - if you need a new solicitor!

Rimo2021

jennifernil wrote:

Rimo..........are you in Scotland? If so you are not really getting my point!

I am in Edinburgh and I do get your point that the offers-over price does not tell you as accurately how much the vendor is expecting/hoping for as it did in the past.

My point is that you need to forget what the vendors valuation of his property is because it is a biased valuation.

The vendor is basically just saying 'here is my property - what am I bid?

The reason for the vendor not to tell you his valuation (i.e what he hopes for/wants) is that this is simply not the way to get the best price!! Why should he tell you? Why shouldn't he wait for you (the buyer) to 'show your hand' first (i.e tell him what you think the property is worth)

jennifernil wrote:

I would, if I were buying, expect to have to offer (nowadays) maybe 25% over the asking price

Why do you expect this - just because thats how it used to be?

jennifernil wrote:

Our son really thought the house was not worth much more than 425k, hence his decision to get a survey.

If your son had made his offer 'subject to survey' it wouldn't have cost him a penny to find out his offer was not high enough.

jennifernil wrote:

You say "get an independant valuation", but if sellers refuse to be realistic what can you do?

Wait till they realise their property is not going to sell at their own (biased) valuation. A property is only 'worth' what someone will pay for it. The sellers have a perfect right to try for 500K if they think they can get that (for all you know they have had advice about this and as we know from property shows on tv - sometimes when you get 3 valuations on the same property they can be wildly different - It's vey far from being an exact science) If they don't get this amount after a period of time they will take the highest offer or decide not to sell.

Any valuation (the vendor's or yours or a surveyors) is subjective. The true value is not known until the offers are made.

jennifernil wrote:

We will be selling our house here in 2 or 3 years time, I am thinking I will get an independant valuation then put it on the market at a fixed price. No doubt there are many who will find that foolish, but at least I will not be misleading anyone!

I don't think that's particularly foolish as long as you are aware you might not get the best price that way. It really depends on your particular property. If it is a very desirable property which you expect lots of people to like and want to buy I maintain you would get the best price with the usual blind auction system. Just remember that when you have something to sell it's best to get the potential buyer to mention the first price.

Rimo2021

jennifernil wrote:

While most of the selling/buying process up here seems to work better than down south, I feel that the offers over price can be very misleading.

True - it can be. So ignore the sellers valuation of their property (it's very biassed!) and do your own!

jennifernil wrote:

The price should be set far closer to the price sellers are really expecting.

Why? To make it easier for the buyer? Why should the seller make it easier for the buyer at his expense?

jennifernil wrote:

Our son has given up looking for another house after having wasted over a thousand pounds on surveys.

He should have put his offers in 'subject to survey'

jennifernil wrote:

One place he had surveyed the OO price was 350k, the survey valuation came in at 425k, and the sellers really wanted 500. The survey valuation is invariably less than the final selling price, but these huge differences are getting out of hand.

The survey valuation is subjective - the real value isn't known until the offers are in

jennifernil wrote:

What is the point of it?

To get the best price for the seller.

jennifernil wrote:

25 years back the difference between the OO price and the expected price was in the order of 10%, now it is just total madness!

The buyer wants the property as low price as possible - the seller wants the property as high price as possible.

They have conflicting interests! The seller has the power to force the buyer to 'show his hand' (i'e mention a figure) first which is the best way to sell something - so he does!!!

jennifernil

I think we will just have to agree to differ on this subject.