what are my chances?

icklejulez

My OH are after a house in Stockport that is on at 135950. It has been on the market since 1st Aug and has had a lot of interest but people are put off by the steps leading up to the property. Also the kitchen and bathroom could do with some improvements. I understand this will be considered when the EA value the property but our absolute top budget is 136k.

The question is we put in an initial offer of 124,950 due to the stamp duty threshhold and assured estate agent this was the most we could afford as we need to do some work on the house to make it suitable and couldnt afford it otherwise. Offer flatly refused - they mentioned they had already reduced it by 5k even though EA have no records of this. second offer which I thought was quite acceptable of 128,950 - I meant to offer 128.5 but was distracted and looking at propert details! This was refused within 2 mins. So anyone any idea as to what this tells you? Do you think the sellers are waiting for approx asking price? They told us themselves that they have had a lot of interest but people are being put off by the steps so they know there is a problem. They haven't come back to the EA and asked us to meet us at 'x' figure or anything. Could we of offended them with initial offer. etc. Feel like we are not even being considered.

We have pretty much sold our house, hoping to exchange in 3 weeks Have a 20% deposit etc. We are only really keen on the house as we have friends next door but one with similar age kids and who we can share lifts to work with. EA's are pretty useless for information, seems like no one wants a sale.

Finally if we were to offewr more what would be the next offer and could be stipulate we want to be in for xmas as this is all that is worrying us right now. Dont know if this is possible. They already have a second home which they are waiting to do up with the profit from this sale.

Baffled!!!

pawpurrs

Why not ask the EA what sort of offer they are willing to accept and then you can see what you can do with it.

Your first offer was quite low, I seem to remember that you thought that the house was well priced compared to others in the area, so they do proberbly want closer to the asking price.

I dont understand why you are baffled, I seem to remember you not wanting to take much of an offer on your own property, perhaps they feel the same.

Figure out what you are prepared to pay for the property and go up from there.

icklejulez

Ea doesnt know anything I asked her and she said I cannot understand as they havent had any interest. We do think it is worth it for the house but paranoid that if they are having trouble selling it when it comes to us selling we may have to reduce the price drastically. Even though I wanted near asking price I had already reduced it by 3k so was a lot cheaper than other houses of similar size on our estate. We wanted a quick sale. If we were plannig on living in this house for a long time we wouldnt be too bothered but prob only be there for 3 or 4 years till we make some cash and pay off loans then we can afford a pay cut to move back to my family in Blackpool as Id prefer my children to go to school there with their cousins.

Im just baffled as I feel the EA isnt helping us and the vendor isnt taking us seriously. We are not getting 80% of the mortgage ourselves as opposed to the 50% we were getting a few weeks ago. We have decided not to take so much cash off MIL so we cannot really afford what we could a few weeks back and would still need to do Bathroom(mouldy) for the kids and Kitchen as after they take there appliances the kitchen will look silly and our appliances(tall fridge freezer, slimline freezer) wont fit in at all! It is also quite old. Originally I wanted patio doors putting in and door blocking up(my dad a window fiitter) also fitted wardrobes in the Bedroom.

So feel we are making a few sacrifices ourselves so need to get it for a price we can afford. I thought 5% below was standard.

pawpurrs

Some people will keep their cards close to their chest and not let on to the EA what sort of price they would be willing to accept on their property, perhaps this is how they are playing it.

Work out exactly what you are willing to pay for the property.

Perhaps come in with an offer of £130,000 next and see what they say.

They sounded quite open and honest, as they spoke with you regarding the steps openly.

Why not arrange another viewing and see if you can have a chat with the vendors.

Say that you are serious about the house and ask them direct what sort of price they are after, you may be able to see clearer doing it this way, if you would feel comfortable with this.

If your friends are next door, they must know what sort of people they are.

You say they have allready reduced by 5k so perhaps they feel that they have reduced the price allready too and are not prepared to drop much more.

If that is the case you will need to work out how whether the property is worth it to you or not, compared to others on the market, postion etc.

BobProperty

icklejulez wrote:

My OH are after a house in Stockport that is on at 135950....

Is it the newish one on a small estate where the EA has carefully photographed the front without showing the steps?
If it is, then the problem could be that estate is a bit of a one-off, so could be difficult to value or find a comparable sale.

icklejulez wrote:

..... Could we of offended them with initial offer.....

No - they're estate agents.

I'm with pawpurrs on getting the inside info off the neighbours, there may be another reason you or even the EA doesn't know about as to why they are holding out for the top price.

icklejulez

You are completely right bob the photo hides the fact the property is up a lot of steps although it is from a strange angle. I can see it would be difficult to value and I thought maybe the EA would of discussed this with the vendors. My friends bought their property with a conservatory 2 years ago for 124k almost the same as this one but say their property hasnt really gone up in value since they bought it according to the valuer they had round for re mortgage. The only difference is there 2nd and 3rd bed were knocked into one so technically a 2 bed.

Id love to get the inside info but just wouldnt know how to go about this.

Doozergirl

Remortgage valuations are notoriously low, so there may not be much of a comparison to your friends' house.

I would ask the estate agent to ask the vendor directly what they would be willing to accept. There is nothing wrong with this as you have offered twice and I think they owe you some feedback at this point.

When they come back, you must come in under what they say, but it's important to back that offer up with a knock to their confidence. Tell them that the kitchen and bathrooms are dated and need replacing and maybe even throw in your friends' valuation for measure. Make your offer your final offer (I promise, you can always change you mind!). I'd be looking at maybe £130,500 as it just pushes over the psychological barrier but asking for light fittings, curtains etc thrown in if they're any good. The words 'final offer' will make them waiver - and you're not insulting people that close to asking price!

Don't push for a date as you'll more than likely be disappointed. Try to get an agreement from everyone in the chain, rather than blindly heading for a date that you are imposing on the vendors. They'll say yes to appease you, even they know it can't be done.

BobProperty

Assuming I'm on the right track, rightmove shows one house changing hands on that road at £125k at the start of this year. I would ask the EA what they mean by "offers in the region of" in case that helps define what they are looking for. Do check out rightmove's sold prices, there is some information on there.
Edited to add I don't know that EA but there is one near me who is notorious for overvaluing property to get the job. Try and find out if this EA is the same.

icklejulez

The property is :

http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/ShowProperty.asp?css=&CompanyID=HUJAOFFE&AgencyID=HUJAOFFE&ID=HOP01024

My FIL checked out sale prices and he thought it could be overpriced although there are 40 or more houses on this road and only 6 are this sort with the steps so it's hard to compare. He knows they bought it for 89,950ish 3 years ago but I suppose this doesnt mean a thing.

When should I put in the next offer??? Its on my mind but if I seem too keen they may knock me back again. Do you think the EA will give me an honest evaluation of what they want?

BobProperty

I can only repeat what has been already advised. Doozer's response make a lot of sense. I think there is more to it over the fast rejections and think they are holding out for the top price because the EA gave them that figure maybe? Some people are like that

Doozergirl

When did you make these first offers?

As soon as you like, I'd put in the call asking for the price they will accept and then leave it at least a day from their response before putting in an offer. If you can bring yourself to leave it a few days, they will stew.