Offer rejected what would you do next?

Fangg27

Hi,

We found a house we really like. We are first time buyers and it's somewhere we could happily live for the rest of our lives. The property has been on the market since March and is available for £180,000. Two months ago we made a first offer of £155,000 and were told that another offer very close to the asking price had been accepted so we didn't make another offer. We have now been told the sale has fallen through and is available again but we would need to make an offer very close to the asking price. We are only willing to go up to £165,000 but I am unsure of what I should offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

G_M

Offer what you can afford and what you consider the property is worth - to you.

They will either reject, accept, or negotiate.

Mallotum_X

At this stage I would say that my earlier offer of £155 still stands.

And take it from there, if you jump in with another higher figure straight away then you may not get the best deal.

Why did the last offer fall though, was the valuation too low from the surveyor?

MrRee_2

Your original £155k is the offer ............

You are now in the driving seat! Never forget that! They have come back to you as you are now the only choice they have!

It all hinges on the situation of the seller. If they had a chain complete and had found a property to move to then you are in a VERY, VERY, strong position - use it to your advantage! They probably have set their hearts on their next poroperty and will simply attempt to pass the drop in your offer up the chain.

To keep a chain together it is usual for each property in the chain to make up the difference between your £155k and what they accepted originally .... of course, they will want YOU to pay what the previous buyer had agreed to pay - but that's got nothing at all to do with you, you are under no obligation to match the price at all .... !!

Esatae Agents are experts at haggling over prices, they will put enormous pressure on you and use all the tricks in the book to get you to cough up a high price ...... resist, is my advice!

Simply say that the £155k is still on the table .... take it, or leave it. Let them stew - it's a buyers market.

AND, why did the past sale fall through? Low valuation? Survey showed some problem? they may not tell you - but ask anyway!

poppysarah

Fangg27 wrote: »

Hi,

We found a house we really like. We are first time buyers and it's somewhere we could happily live for the rest of our lives. The property has been on the market since March and is available for £180,000. Two months ago we made a first offer of £155,000 and were told that another offer very close to the asking price had been accepted so we didn't make another offer. We have now been told the sale has fallen through and is available again but we would need to make an offer very close to the asking price. We are only willing to go up to £165,000 but I am unsure of what I should offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Offer what you did before.

They've discovered that a higher offer is not always what it's cracked up to be.

zacattack_2

We were in a similar situation and did exactly what everyone is recommending - we resubmitted our previous offer as we knew we were in the driving seat. The vendor tried for a few days to play hard ball and refused to budge from their original position but we made it clear to the agent we would walk away and, in the end, they relented.

As soon as they have come back to you for whatever reason you are in control so, as long as you are in a strong position, ensure you maximise on it.

Fangg27

Sorry I should have included more details. It's a vacant bereavement property being sold by a family member. I guess they are in no rush to sell and are willing to wait it out for a better offer but I'm not willing to go that high while prices are falling and the economy is in tatters. I've just got off the phone with the estate agent and they told me the offer feel through because of somebody pulling out of the chain.

Mallotum_X

Remember that agents lie (a lot) so they may have told you the real reason or they may not.

Even if they want the highest value, they will want some cash, and most people wont wait forever.

stick with your offer for now. You can always change it, after all houses are not exactly flying off the shelves at the moment are they?

ItMightBeUsefulOneDay

Fangg27 wrote: »

We have now been told the sale has fallen through and is available again

You are in a very strong position - for goodness sake, use it to your advantage!
They've come back to you because everything in their chain was progressing nicely. They've probably paid out a fair bit in surveys on the next property and suddenly it's all gone to the wall. You have substantial leverage here to make a lowball offer and have it accepted.

Fangg27 wrote: »

but we would need to make an offer very close to the asking price.

RUBBISH!
That's EA saleman patter to up their commission. Remember, they work for the vendor (ie against you) in this deal so ignore 99.99% of what they say.

I would state simply that your original offer of £155k still stands let them come back from that. Don't offer more (yet). Point out your strong position and if possible that you're prepared to move fast on this deal. If they've just lost their buyer, they'll be keen to try get things back on track and on schedule again. Let them come back with a price that's acceptable - "near asking" is just EA garbage for trying to squeeze the maximum amount out of you.

This is a negotiation process remembering that the EA is working against you. You offer a price, they counter with an alternative, you come back again and so on until BOTH parties reach an accord.

Beckyy

Offer the same, and stick to your guns. Don't let them make you offer more than you can.

Fangg27

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will call the agent again tomorrow and let him know that our offer of £155k is still available for them to accept.