Seller just won't budge

ukcarper

hazyjo wrote: »

Because soon the 3 beds will be worth £220k-ish and the 4 beds will be down at <£250k. That's what happens... the stamp duty drags the market down cos people are being cautious about what they spend.

Who would want to buy at £280k in a falling market knowing that pretty soon after buying, the chances are £30k or so will be wiped off their house. If the threshold wasn't there, chances are it would just creep down in value like everything else.

I certainly wouldn't buy just over a stamp duty threshold in a falling market.

Jx

For the 3 bed to be worth £220k that would be a nominal drop of just over 10% nobody knows what house prices will do so if you are sure they are going to drop and you can wait it might make sense to.

In your example you would lose the same percentage on the 4 bed as the 3 bed. As the only extra you are going to pay is 2% I can’t see why the price should be effected by anymore than 2% compared to a house below the threshold.

spandles

If you feel this is your forever/long term home I would give it more more try.

Negotiate either with or without the EA and try to find out how much they are prepared to drop to. Consider if the decor, carpets etc are included in the price and/or if the kitchen and bathroom are to your tastes so if you do have to pay SD you then aren't having to find funds to pay for carpets, new kitchen, wardrobes etc. We once viewed a house belonging to a family who moved regulary due to work, so everything in their house was free standing (all appliances, cooker, wardrobes) for them to take onto their next house.

If you still can't come to an agreement at least you gave it everything and then move on. Some homes just aren't meant to be

Riq

If it's your forever home and you don't plan on selling for decades then it really is irrelevant what you pay for it now.

cooltt

ukcarper wrote: »

As you don't know where the house is what type of house it is you have no idea if it's overvalued.

Yep i've just read my post and i don't seem to have mentioned anywhere in it that this particular property is overvalued.

ukcarper

cooltt wrote: »

Yep i've just read my post and i don't seem to have mentioned anywhere in it that this particular property is overvalued.

No you didn’t but as this is a thread about a particular house I think we are entitled to think you were otherwise why did you make the comment.

vikingaero

The OP says that "the market is slipping" and therefore "the price is unrealistic."

This is just the personal opinion of the OP and may or may not be incorrect. But the fact is that they state the house jumps out at them and seem to have their hearts set on it.

There may be local factors at play. For instance, our estate is the last estate where you can be in the catchment area of a local Grammar School, after they changed the catchment area. Everyone with kids who moved are now scrabbling to move back. The house 2 doors along from me had a For Sale sign at 8am and a Sold sign at lunchtime.

hazyjo

john_white wrote: »

Why buy a 4 bed house for 280k if you plan it sell it so quickly? The market as is is falling, I'd say the majority of people buying 4 bed house at that price are families who plan on buying a home for many years so todays market for resale is low on the agenda. For an investment, sure it's a big risk.

Not a case of selling it. It's under the presumption that whoever's buying will have a mortgage. If the price is going to be dragged down by say £30-40k in six months because of the stamp duty threshold, why would they buy it for £280k? £30k (prob more as it'd end up being offers under the threshold) on a mortgage is rather a large sum, especially at that level.

If a buyer didn't need a mortgage, it's not like they'd be paying interest on that money to borrow so fair enough - only a problem if they have to sell at a loss.

Jx

casper_g

ukcarper wrote: »

In your example you would lose the same percentage on the 4 bed as the 3 bed. As the only extra you are going to pay is 2% I can’t see why the price should be effected by anymore than 2% compared to a house below the threshold.

The effect of going over a stamp duty threshold isn't just a 2% price jump though - the stamp duty can't be paid with a mortgage, it needs to be cash. As an FTB with a 10% deposit I'd need £25000 to buy a £250000 house (no stamp duty). To buy a house for £250000.01 I would need to find £32500 (250000*10% + 250000*3%). The cash I need increases by 30%!

Alias_Omega

OP,

You did not make it clear if the agent refused the offer, or if the seller did. Why dont you write a note, with your offer and post it through the door.

This might start off them talking to you about selling the house, and what they really want, and not what the agent thinks that they can get for them.

I have no doubt here that the agent is part of the problem here, i suspect they are telling the seller that they can get more etc.

Nothing to lose, and if you cant face actually posting it yourself, drop it through the post finding the postcode from the Royal Mail Website.

Egg_custard_2

I bought my house in November 2009 for £268k. It was marketed at £290k, and the EA said the vendors had already had 2 buyers offer £250k (or just under) to avoid SD, offers declined. We decided if we wanted the house, we were going to have to pay for it... SD and all. We're not planning on moving any time soon so we don't see it as wasted money.

I agree with a previous poster - if you can't find anything else as nice for under SD threshold then the vendors are in all probability correct to value their house higher than this. It's a shame a tax can create such rifts in the market.