Making an offer on a house

Annando

We are thinking of buying a house in the WR14 area. We have found a house we liked @ £575k, it has been on the market since the end of June.
We are trying to figure out what we should offer for the house. It is a nice semi which has been renovated in the last 3 yrs, location is good.

We intend to finance the purchase from savings, the proceeds of the sale of our house (sale has already happened and completed) and a small mortgage if needed. We can finance up to £520k as cash buyers, and we already have a mortgage in place should we need it.

What do you think we should offer?

hazyjo

What have similar nearby properties sold for?

Jx

Annando

Difficult to gauge. House next door sold (4 bed semi) sold a year ago for £400k. The house we are looking at has 7 beds and was completely refurbished in 2008-9 (including roof etc...). I saw on Zoopla that it had been bought for 390k in Sept. 2008, it had been changed into 3 flats and now converted back into 1 house. Can't find anything similar nearby.

Should also add that there is no upward chain so they are not desperate. According to estate agent there has been interest and an offer, but the person who made the offer has been unable to sell their own house.

kk20

ask the estate agent what the offer was then compare it against your own findings. As a starting point I tend to look at house prices from middle->late 2006 as a rough indicator if I cannot find "todays sold" prices. Each area is different though. I would ignore any prices from 2007 and 2008 tbh, those were crazy years.

hazyjo

Is the house next door the same size but with four bigger bedrooms instead of the seven in this one, or is it totally different?

Just cos there's no upward chain doesn't mean they're not desperate. Don't trust all the EA tells you. You have no idea of the level of the other offer, so don't go trying to compete against it, even if it is more than you're willing to pay. Firstly, it might be fictional and, secondly, they might never be in a position to proceed (if they do exist).

£575k does sound somewhat steep in comparison to the other figures you quote...

(Also I'd not want to be paying between £500-520k cos of stamp duty ("SD"), so I'd probably set your limit at £500k, but look at properties over that.)

Not sure at this stage they'd come down to the SD threshold. If you don't want to offer that low, you could just wait to see if the price is reduced, then go in with a low offer.

Jx

Annando

Compared to the house next door, this one is really big, all bedrooms are doubles (and BIG doubles at that). 1 bedroom has dressing room and en-suite, there is a further ensuite and 2 more bathrooms. Basement has been converted to office and family room, ground floor has 2 receptions, cloakroom, study, utility and huge kitchen with conservatory like breakfast room.
House next door has 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 1 cloak, 2 receptions and they are starting to make improvements converting basement etc...

paulmapp8306

After being involved in selling my grans house after she passed away, and also my step dads when they decided to stop letting - and also looking for my own place, rule of thumb currently seems to be houses selling at 10% below asking price.

That would put this property at £510k ish. Id maybe open at £500k as your cash buyer, and because of stamp duty and see what happens. They can only refuse, then you can up your offer should you wish.

Catblue

Annando wrote: »

Compared to the house next door, this one is really big, all bedrooms are doubles (and BIG doubles at that). 1 bedroom has dressing room and en-suite, there is a further ensuite and 2 more bathrooms. Basement has been converted to office and family room, ground floor has 2 receptions, cloakroom, study, utility and huge kitchen with conservatory like breakfast room.
House next door has 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 1 cloak, 2 receptions and they are starting to make improvements converting basement etc...

Sounds like it would be hard for you to add any value to the house since it has already been done.

At the end of the day, it's a semi and when you come to sell again, some people will always prefer a smaller detached for the same money.

Look at the sold prices for semi-detached houses in the street. How does 575K compare? What is the most that a semi-detached has sold for in that street? What do detached houses go for in that street and surrounding streets?

googler

All I can add is - why would the OP think everyone knows where WR14 is......? I know I can look it up, but....

Annando

WR14 is Great Malvern in Worcestershire.

A detached house in the next street is on @ £600k, hasn't been renovated and needs updating, it has been on the market for the same time. Went to view it as well but didn't fit the requirement, also had fewer bedrooms and receptions.

I am trying to do research on sold prices but not many come on the market, and then not all are the same type.

Can I post rightmove links on here?

paulmapp8306

Ultimately what a house is on the market for isnt really an indication of what it will sell for, or indeed what its worth TO YOU.