Buying in Scotland - "offers over" and the current market....

Kilty_2

As most people are aware the vast majority of property for sale in Scotland is on an "offers over" basis.

Is it possible to make a lower offer than the asking price in light of the current market conditions, especially on a property that has been on the market for some time?

Obviously I know there's less chance of a low offer being accepted.

Kara_P

Yes of course. You can always put in a lower offer initially and then increase if required and if another offer has not been accepted. In most places in Scotland it appears that offers lower than the home valuation are being accepted but of course there are always ones that are not. It depends on the property/location/length of time on the market and general interest in the property.

Where in Scotland are you looking? I have just bought a house in Dundee so know the east market fairly well.

Kilty_2

Glasgow - specifically Dennistoun.

Kara_P

Sorry not too familiar with that area but hopefully someone else on the board might be. You can always consult websites that will details on how much houses have sold for in the past few years and take it from there. Good luck!!

myhouse_2

Houses in Scotland used to be sold "offers over" but as of 2 years ago, due to the current market and the valuations vendors have to get, this system has almost disappeared. There are still a few trying it on when they first come to market, but many buyers (myself included) are not interested in looking at "offers over". I prefer to wait 2 months until it inevitably changes to fixed price.
If I did look at offers over, there is no chance that I would be actually making an offer at that level - I would offer 5-20% below the asking price depending on the "true" value of the house based on historical sale prices.
It's a buyer's market and there is really no reason for a vendor to be dictating the prices anymore.

Kara_P

Offers over is definately still around. The first house we liked we put in an offer 5% below the valuation but found out another party bidded 5% above. This happened on the second house we bidded for. Thankfully on the third it didn't and we got it for valuation. That was 2 months ago. I think it depends a lot on whether someone else is interested and how long the property has been on the market.

We viewed our new house less than 24 hours after it came onto the market. It had been beautifully done up. Everything new and t our taste (heating, kitchen, bathroom, garden) and when we found out there was another interested party we decided to just go in at valuation. Thankfully we got it.

Hope you get something knocked off if you can though!

Mazzawa

I think the rule for buying in scotland is don't fall head over heels in love with a property until the offer is accepted! The offers over system has pretty much gone but some seem to chance their luck (silly them as the true value is shown on their home report for all to see...why would we pay more than we have to!).

What I would do is certainly offer under the HR valuation - properties here through the east are being marketed as 50 - 75k under home report value because they need to sell up and move. Not so great for the seller but fantastic for the buyer as you are essentially getting a bargain! Be insulting with your offer - if they are desperate to sell they may very well accept it. You can always ask the vendor if they have had much interest/many offers first so you can have a rough idea of the outcome of a low offer.

Hope that helps!

amr_scotland

I've been wondering about this too. Some sellers are completely unrealistic, I see properties that have been on as "offers over" for almost a year without a sale.

poppy_f1

if it is offeres over it could go to sealed bids so a low offer would (if more than 1 party interested) would possibly get rejected straight away - most of the time with sealed bids you only get 1 shot

googler

Offers Over is still around, but it's by no means in 'the majority', in my part of the country at least.

If the house has been on the market for ages, it's unlikely to go to a closing date anytime soon, unless there's 3 or 4 others who've shown an interest at the same time as you.

Do you have a solicitor hired to act for you? When you have, ask your solicitor to establish if there are any active 'notes of interest' on the property. This will guide you and your solicitor as to where to pitch your offer.

You need to find out the Home Report valuation for the property as well, since this will be provided to your lender and form the basis for your mortgage lending - you may not be able to offer more than the Home Report value, depending on what funds you have available and what mortgage product you're getting. The Offers Over is likely to be set below the HR value.

Are you buying from outside of Scotland?

Kilty_2

googler wrote: »

You need to find out the Home Report valuation for the property as well, since this will be provided to your lender and form the basis for your mortgage lending - you may not be able to offer more than the Home Report value, depending on what funds you have available and what mortgage product you're getting. The Offers Over is likely to be set below the HR value.

Are you buying from outside of Scotland?

I'm buying from within Scotland - and the offers over is set below the HR value however there are issues with the property and IMO the HR value is too high.