how to find a bargain price for a house

bobby_davro_2

hi,
Looking to buy as a FTB, but everything at the moment looks well overpriced, but the best way i think i can find a bargain is by finding someone who is in a rush to move.

If i could find a property that i quite liked and was able to get 10-15% less than the asking price ( the very max i could afford would be 130K and that's realy stretching ) then i wouldn't feel such a mug about buying at the peak of the house boom.

Now obviously, most people wouldn't except 15% less and would hold out for more, but there must be some people out there in a rush to sell for numerous reasons who may just want to get rid.

So this may require putting in low offers on possibly 30-50 properties before someone even bit.

Now i don't mind doing this, but would i end up annoying EA by asking them continually to put in ridiculous low offers, and end up shooting myself in the foot in the long run?

Also, what do you think are good circumstances for a quick sale?

• Previous offer has fallen through..
• They have already found somewhere they like
• repossession
• The owner has passed away
• Job location move

thanks

tomstickland

My flat had been empty for a year before I bought it. A previous sale had fallen through, it was a bit of state and the vendor was losing interest. Worth a try.

Snow_Dog

10 to 15% below the asking price is not a bad starting point anyway, if a property has been on the market for a long time and the sellers had not had many viewings then an offer 15% below asking price may be enough of a nudge to get them haggling.

The property we are in I know the sellers had just dropped the asking price by £15K and we offered £20K below that, haggled up about 8K they dropped 12K, that works out at about 8% off the EAs valued price. And that wasn't for sellers in a rush during a period when houses were shifting reasonably quickly.

If you want to carry out your multiple offers system I would suggest going into the EA's and explaining the situation, stating what you are prepared to offer and your expectations. If they accept that you are serious then they should be able to help. After all ultimately they need sales and if volumes are down then so are their christmas bonuses so any sale is better than none for them.

STAR_BUCK

We bought the 'worst house on the best street' in our area. Happened to put in our offer in the summer time which happened to be a quiet time for viewing due to summer holidays etc. It took us over a year to find the house we wanted. All i'll say is monitor the housing market for your area daily ( i.e. visit rightmove.com religiously, get the local house sales newspapers, sign up with estate agents and maintain regular contact with them).

By doing this you'll soon see which properties are being snapped up and which have been on the market for yonks. Could try to negiogate with these vendors as they'll probably be desperate to move on.

baxxy

wrong post

bobby_davro_2

hi,
ok found a property priced 100k that didn't seem to be too over priced actually.
Offered 90k which was knocked back immediatley and then upped to 92k which there thinking about, but i reckon 93k would definately seal it.

Is this just an average purchase i would have made here in terms of the percentage off the asking price or does this sound like a good deal?

Also, the estate agent that holds this house also has other houses on it's books that i would still like to see, would it be fair to still see these houses if my offer was accepted, or would i have to book the oppointment's in another name to avoid looking fickle?

ginger_nuts

bobby_davro wrote:

hi,


Also, the estate agent that holds this house also has other houses on it's books that i would still like to see, would it be fair to still see these houses if my offer was accepted, or would i have to book the oppointment's in another name to avoid looking fickle?

you should arrange viewings on all propertys before you put any offer in . What happens if you arrange a viewing on another house and your offer is accepted on the first house .You cant buy both .The EA can tell vendors you are a time waster and not to accept your offer .It sounds like you are not sure about the house you have an offer on ,most people no when they find the right house and stop looking .
You should arrrange ALL you viewings NOW .

linlin_3

In this situation I'd take to the streets. Find the locations you'd like and walk around. Identify any property which looks run down, then send a note to the owner/occupier saying you could be interested. Direct negotiations to the owner can be much better than via an EA

Rick62

Is this just an average purchase i would have made here in terms of the percentage off the asking price or does this sound like a good deal?

Its a mistake to think of good value in terms of the reduction you get on the asking price, if the house is actually worth £90k then £93k is too much, however if the house is worth £110k then the asking price of £100k would be a good deal.

I bought a house (4 yrs ago in Henley-on-Thames) for the asking price of £225k, but even at £250k it would have been cheap. I did it by knowing all the properties in the area in my price range, I even analysed cost per sq ft on a spreadsheet, and watching house websites on a daily basis.

When the house I bought came up I saw it the same day, went back the next, made an offer, increased my offer, got the property off the market before the weekend and before the EA had even produced and sent out particulars to their clients.

bobby_davro_2

hi,
no, i'm not 100% certain or in love with this house ive made an offer on, but i wouldn'r really expect to for less than 100k, just need something that's adequate for a couple of years.

The thing is i've seen another potentail house on the EA books that look quite interesting, while the vendors are thinking over my offer, is it not right that i can still view other properties, maybe this would even encourage them accept my offer before i'm tempted elsewhere.

And if i did like this second property is it frowned upon to have 2 offers on two separate properties?

Any quick feedback would be great as i would like to try and arrange a viewing today or tomorow if possible before xmas

Madjock

have a look at part exchanged properties as well, the developers want to offload these and get the money back asap.