Agent won't take our offer seriously - what next?

Cambridge32

Hello,

Having watched Location^3, Escape To The Country and Phil Spencer Secret Agent ad nauseum (and having saved a deposit) my partner and I are trying to buy a house.

We have found a property that has been sitting on the market for at least 10 months, possibly 1 year (the agent would not be specific about this, which is unhelpful). When first listed, the house went unsold for months (at £250k) until the vendor gave up and rented it out for 6 months (apparently after fitting cheap, new carpets and painting it in neutral colours). Neighbouring properties that offer more for your money have recently sold for slightly less.

The property is now vacant again and is listed as for sale, this time for OIEO £240k. It has been listed for a few months and has had regular one-off viewings, but my partner and I are the only ones to arrange a second viewing. The agent showing us around the second time said that the vendors are keen to sell.

Bearing in mind that property in Cambridge and the surrounding areas seems to be selling very slowly, and thinking that the vendors actually wanted to make a sale after listing the property for such a long time, we put in an offer of £210k, and stated that this was a serious attempt to initiate negotiation (we were clear to the agent that, to us, the property is not worth anywhere near the ask, and that we certainly would not offer over the ask. Friends who have bought recently have usually paid around 10% below the asking price).

The agent immediately advised us that the vendors were only interested in offers OVER £240k (despite the property being unsold at this asking price for such a long time), and so we gave our reasons for making a low offer (property listed for a year with no offers or second viewings, some work needs doing, falling market, etc.) and asked the agent to put our offer to the vendor.

The agent did as requested, but his boss (the senior agent) called us the next day to say that our offer was rejected flat, with no hint of them being interested in negotiating. The senior agent said that he expected us to call him the next day with a higher offer.

I discussed this with my partner, and we decided to offer a bit more, and called the senior agent the next day. However... the senior agent was apparently "in meetings all day" but "would call us when he was available". One day passed... two days passed... and the senior agent did not call us. We then noticed that the property is also listed on a rental site, and is shown as "Let Agreed".

We really like the property, but are simply not prepared to pay what was probably a fair price in 2007, but today is simply too much (as evidenced by the complete absence of any other second viewings or offers- plus we have a friend who is an estate agent and who admitted that they regularly overvalue property by 10% to "keep the market up").

We are able to borrow enough money to meet the ask, but do not want to buy an overpriced, already depreciated home that will depreciate further for the next few years. We are first-time buyers living in rental with no chain and a mortgage agreement ready, but the agent and vendor simply do not seem to be interested in even talking to us.

What should our next move be? We are assuming that tenants will be potentially moving in in a fortnight if we do not buy (which at this moment it appears will be the case). We want to negotiate, but are worried that the senior agent has told them that they should expect to achieve their ask (having chatted to other vendors around the area it seems that most have been told to ignore low offers... this seems to be working well to keep the market stagnant, although surely the agents are shooting themselves in the foot??).

[Deleted User]

If they won't accept move on, is it your dream house? what's special about it? I've had the same problem, managed to find a house priced fairly & got it for a decent price in the end.

ruggedtoast

You answered your own question, you arent prepared to pay what they want and they are now getting tenants in. Either offer more or move on.

matthorp

After being unsold for a year, the vendors (i would guess) are unlikely to be thinking they'll achieve their asking price regardless of what their agent tells them.

If the property is showing as let agreed, then an ast may have been signed and you won't be able to buy it at any price until the tenancy expires.

pinkteapot

We started looking for a house in late 2008. Everything was still priced at 2007 peak prices. For our type of house, that meant houses were on the market at around £275k. Vendors were insistent on getting asking price or near it. I'll cut a long story short - in March 2010 our house came on the market at £235k. We viewed it that day, viewed it again the next day, and agreed a price of £231k that afternoon (it was a fair price but we insisted on something off for being chain free!).

It took 18 months. It's not often that you get either (a) a sensible and keen seller or (b) a completely desperate seller. Ours was the former; I think I would have felt slightly guilty about the latter.

You will encounter some deluded sellers during your search. You sound like you're staying fairly rational about this. If the house is completely unique then you might want to consider going a bit higher than you think it's worth in order to get it. Especially if it's a house you can see yourself in for the long term. If it's a standard estate type house and they come up for sale fairly regularly then personally I'd wait if I was feeling the way you are (which I was ).

Other issue is how soon you want to move. We were in a nice enough rented flat with no pressure to move out of it and could afford to wait for the right house. Obviously circumstances may mean you need to move quicker, in which case you might have to buy what's available now.

Just one tip - I would never say that an offer is designed to open negotiation. Just say "this is our offer". If you chance on a keen seller they might take your first offer - they won't if you say it's to start negotations! Also, in the issue you've had on this house, I would have asked to speak to the normal agent when the senior one wasn't available. I'm too impatient to mess about waiting for them to call me when I'm trying to offer them £££.

By the way, three years after our search started, two of the houses we looked at are still on the market. One of them has increased their asking price since we saw it. :wall:

ognum

Is your property in Cambridge or in the surrounding area? The economics of either selling or letting are quite a fine line for some vendors

ognum

My suggestion would be that you put a note through the door addressed to the owner saying that when the house is next available you wuld like to talk to him/her

Cambridge32

Morning,

Thanks for all of the hints and advice. I agree that the vendor is probably of an unrealistic mindset, so I will call today and:
a) ask whether the property is still actually for sale, as it is still listed as such;
b) if it is for sale, I will ask whether the vendors are willing to negotiate, and if they are, I will make a higher offer. If they are not willing to negotiate then we shall forget it.

FYI, the property is in a village of mostly elderly people a few miles from Cambridge (10 minute drive from the centre), is unusual looking (80s semi, non-estate, bit tatty, needs a few k of cosmetic work and a new boiler, probably £10k total), and apparently commands a surprising rent of £1100pcm (my 2-bed terrace with identical facilities inc. garage, driveway, garden etc. but two fewer bedrooms in central Cambridge is £750pcm). It is our second favourite house so far.

Our favourite house (listed by the same agency, haha) has been on the market for 2 years at £200k, has been sold twice for £180k (so the vendor told me - lovely guy), but both sales have fallen through because the vendor wants a bungalow in his own village (these are like hen's teeth - one every few years). On our second viewing the vendor told us not to make an offer, and a junior agent told us the same thing. When I asked the senior agent why the property was listed when it is not for sale, the senior agent insisted that it IS for sale (????), despite all of the evidence to the contrary. We have met at least one other vendor in the same village also looking for a bungalow in that village. Hmmm.

:spam: :mad:

Cambridge32

Addendum:
We are hoping to buy before we have to pay stamp duty as this will mean another several months of saving!

sunshinetours

Cambridge32 wrote: »

Morning,

Thanks for all of the hints and advice. I agree that the vendor is probably of an unrealistic mindset, so I will call today and:
a) ask whether the property is still actually for sale, as it is still listed as such;
b) if it is for sale, I will ask whether the vendors are willing to negotiate, and if they are, I will make a higher offer. If they are not willing to negotiate then we shall forget it.

FYI, the property is in a village of mostly elderly people a few miles from Cambridge (10 minute drive from the centre), is unusual looking (80s semi, non-estate, bit tatty, needs a few k of cosmetic work and a new boiler, probably £10k total), and apparently commands a surprising rent of £1100pcm (my 2-bed terrace with identical facilities inc. garage, driveway, garden etc. but two fewer bedrooms in central Cambridge is £750pcm). It is our second favourite house so far.

Our favourite house (listed by the same agency, haha) has been on the market for 2 years at £200k, has been sold twice for £180k (so the vendor told me - lovely guy), but both sales have fallen through because the vendor wants a bungalow in his own village (these are like hen's teeth - one every few years). On our second viewing the vendor told us not to make an offer, and a junior agent told us the same thing. When I asked the senior agent why the property was listed when it is not for sale, the senior agent insisted that it IS for sale (????), despite all of the evidence to the contrary. We have met at least one other vendor in the same village also looking for a bungalow in that village. Hmmm.

:spam: :mad:

Firstly if a vendor has a price in mind and won't change that, there are no tactics in the world that will, enable you to buy that house at below that value so find another.
If you want to make an offer, then make an offer and stick it in writing and remind the agent of their obligation to pass on all offers, however if the vendor has told the agent not to pass on offers below a certain amount for instance,then you are wasting your time.

Try leafleting a few villages you like and see if you get any joy for someone thinking of selling. Don't get obsessed with trying to win a battle of minds with an agent - just focus ion buying a house that you can actually afford and actually buy

milliemonster

I sold my house in 2008 after it being on the market for 18 months, a few viewings but nothing substantial, estate agent wanted me to drop my price (just to get a sale) but I wasn't prepared to do that, my asking price was £225k, I finally sold at £220k, no houses locally were selling within a few months, there just weren't the buyers there, at the time I remember most other houses for sale had been on the market for months and months, I don't think necessarily just because a house has been on the market for months that it means the seller is prepared to accept a low offer, yes I was keen to sell but I would not have sold at a low price and would have just carried on living there. In this case although the vendor may be keen to sell, he obviously has no problems renting it either so may be prepared to carry on doing this until he gets someone to offer his asking price (or near as much).

I think you just need to have a frank word with the estate agent and either be prepared to offer nearer to what they're asking for if you really want the house, if not, move on and find something else, but it does irritate me slightly that the current way of thinking is that everyone offers at least 10% below the asking price now expecting to get that. Yes asking prices are just that, but it doesn't mean everyone putting their house up for sale is so desperate to sell they will sell at a vastly reduced price (whether that's realistic or not)