Advice needed with buying; tricky situation

Jazzie99

Ok guys, in a bit of a situation and need some advice as a buyer.

We saw a house in July which was on for £430k, been on the market with this particular agent since June. We loved it and put in offer of £420k even though we hadnt sold ours yet (stupid i know).

10 weeks forward, we have sold ours now, however, we found out that this house was on the market end of 2010/beginning of 2011 with another agent and for £400k (dont ask me how but I got my hands on the brochure!). The vendor has put in a new 'cheap' kitchen , carpeted it, painted and tidied up the garden -no more than £5k worth of work. The work certainly doesnt justify an increase of £30k in the asking price.

Anyway, we are going to look at it again... my question is, if you were in my position, how would you deal with this new information and how would you go about lowering your offer ..... just dont know how to handle it.

motherofstudents

That is a bit tricky. I think maybe just tell the truth, that you have seen the previous price and are happy to pay that ? A little embarrassing no doubt (for you and the vendor) but if you make your offer to the estate agent what have you got to lose ?

geoffky

JUST tell them...It is your money at the end of the day..

puddleduck

Your offer of £420k doesn't mean anything - you weren't in a position to proceed anyway.

After looking at it again, think about what you are willing to pay for it and offer that. There's plenty of reasons why it might not be worth 420k to you (you got less than you thought you would for your sale; your mortgage offer is less; you believe the market has fallen in the last 10 weeks; you have now checked sold prices for similar properties) and there are plenty of reasons why it may be worth £420k or more (if the work was done since it was for sale at £400k; then there's the reduced hassle and mess issues to factor in if you'd had to do the work yourself).

Also make sure your estimates for the work add up. A £400k+ house should be a fairly substantial size unless it's in a ridiculously expensive area, and even the cheapest carpets and kitchen would cost more than £5k to have fitted surely - even if "the work doesn't justify an increase of £30k" to you.

Bear in mind that the vendors situation might have changed. Perhaps they've realised they can't afford to sell for less than £400k. Perhaps they don't actually need to sell at all if they can't get the price they now want. This bit of things has little to do with how the market is, and by lowering your offer they may refuse to sell to you - it's the risk you take.

Good luck whatever you do.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

puddleduck wrote: »

even the cheapest carpets and kitchen would cost more than £5k to have fitted .

I'd have thought so.

We've had quotes recently for some upgrades to our 3 bed house.....

We aimed for middle of the range, so not the absolute cheapest but not extravagant at all, and I'm surprised at how expensive things have become.

An average quality kitchen 7K to 10K. Bathroom quotes in the 5K to 7K range, painting and decorating throughout 3K to 5K. Carpets 3K or so, although you could spend twice that easily enough depending on size of house and quality of carpets.

Obviously if you're a tradesman and can do the work yourself with cheap stuff from a wholesaler then it can be done for far less....... but most people aren't.

MoneyJuggler

You could say you got less than expected for your property, so have less to spend, so have had to revise your offer downwards.

Jazzie99

Thanks everyone for the replies, I feel better 'equipped' before i go in!

My estimates for the work were approximate. The house is a four bed but not particular huge (it is in an expensive London area). The new carpet is upstairs and stairs only and the cheapest sort - £1,500 at most. Plus kitchen has no white goods and the cooker/extractor is the same. He has only replaced the cupboards, worktops and flooring - again all cheap stuff (£3k at very most). We would probably rip it out in a few years time.

Anyway, thanks again, I'm going in the the kill tomorrow and will keep you posted

DVardysShadow

Jazzie99 wrote: »

... however, we found out that this house was on the market end of 2010/beginning of 2011 with another agent and for £400k (dont ask me how but I got my hands on the brochure!). The vendor has put in a new 'cheap' kitchen , carpeted it, painted and tidied up the garden -no more than £5k worth of work. The work certainly doesnt justify an increase of £30k in the asking price.

You made your offer on what you saw. The new information in your hands does not alter the state of what you saw by 1 iota. All it does is alter your own perceptions about yourselves and your abilities to do a good deal. You are proposing to reduce your offer not because of any issue about the property, but simply because you don't feel so good about yourselves.

[The alternative view]

Jazzie99

DVardysShadow wrote: »

You made your offer on what you saw. The new information in your hands does not alter the state of what you saw by 1 iota. All it does is alter your own perceptions about yourselves and your abilities to do a good deal. You are proposing to reduce your offer not because of any issue about the property, but simply because you don't feel so good about yourselves.

[The alternative view]

RUBBISH... your talking as if the deals been done and I'm moaning afterwards. Everything is up for grabs yet and everything is negoitable. Yes I admit I got carried away and made an offer too soon, however, since then I have done my homework:

1) found out it was on the market cheaper only 6 months before
2) found out the last house on the street (and bigger house) sold for £410k in April 2011

Therefore, I am reducing my offer because I THINK this house is overpriced not because I dont feel so good about myself or my negoitation skills. Obviously, the vendor doesnt have to accept my lower offer; the most important thing is I am satisfied with my final offer.

[The alternative view] - Maybe the agent who priced it higher has valued it more accurately - only time will tell.

Chin

What part of London is it?

4 bedroom at £400k is pretty cheap but you said it's an expensive part of London?
Sounds like a bargain!

Our 1 bed was just shy of £300k!!

DVardysShadow

Jazzie99 wrote: »

RUBBISH... your talking as if the deals been done and I'm moaning afterwards.

:p:p Have I hit a raw nerve?

I think it is fair enough to reduce an offer based on issues which you discover about a property after putting in that offer. But it should be things which your professionals discover for you - and which alter your understanding of the state of the property. In this case, it was things which you could [and should] have discovered for yourself before offering. I stick with the point. Nothing has changed which genuinely alters your perception of the property.

Now, you are proposing to drop your offer. You are within your rights to do so. Your vendor will [rightly] be quite put out at this. They will have made plans based on your offer. You risk being perceived as a time waster and your reduced offer will be less well received than if you had gone in with that offer originally. For a start, you will have wasted a few weeks of their time if your offer is unacceptable.

None of this is a conclusive argument not to drop your offer. But you need to understand that there is a substantial downside to doing so - which could extend to a risk of losing the property, if the vendors decide that they no longer wish to deal with you.