Putting an offer in on house....no buyer for ours!

dee86

We have a 2 bed apartment that has been on the market since the end of September. We've only had one viewing arranged by EA (2 others we arranged ourselves). We have fallen in love with a house we MUST have and at a second viewing last night, explained our situation to the seller and that we would today be dropping the price to try and speed things up and would he consider an offer on this basis. He said he wouldn't disregard it and so this morning we are putting an offer in at full asking price on understanding that he gives us until the end of the month to try and shift ours.

Do you think this is reasonable or is there anything else we can do? We can't afford to let ours out as don't have the money for a new deposit

LandyAndy

He may not disregard it. But he surely won't regard it very highly.

I wouldn't give any value to an offer from someone who wasn't in a position to proceed (ie at least had a firm offer).

dee86

He hasn't actually accepted this yet, and the EA told us he has another second viewing tonight who are also wanting to put an offer in. I suppose it depends on their circumstances as to who he considers. I just wish there was something else we could do to secure it

hazyjo

Trouble is, you might have shot yourself in the foot a bit - it's sometimes human nature to want what other's want. The fact the EA can now say he's got buyers 'desperate for it', 'willing to pay full asking price' and that it's got 'tonnes of interest', blah blah, just makes it more desirable to other people who then think it's something to be snapped up. The EA doesn't care about you as such, he cares about a sale. IMO, you've just made his life easier.

I'd not take mine off the market for anyone in this market - but have done in a rising market. She only took a week or two to sell her flat.

I do sympathise though - we were in the same boat and knew we wanted the house we ended up buying. I did say to the EA that we were very interested and would think about putting an offer on it as soon as we had a buyer (we'd actually just lost a buyer as the top of our chain collapsed and were hoping to get her on board again if we found somewhere else to buy - but she was having none of it).

There was nothing we could do until we had a buyer. No point in making an offer. Tried to keep it casual and not let them know we were desperate for it! Managed to get a offer within a couple of weeks - but we were in a popular road where houses were still usually selling within weeks rather than months. Actually accepted a much lower offer than I wanted (he was an investor). That gave us a bit of bargaining room with the house we were buying. If we'd agreed a price in the first place, we'd not have been able to afford to accept the lower offer on mine. Definitely something to bear in mind before rushing in with an offer!

Good luck!

Jx

dee86

I see what you're saying. The house is priced a lot lower than it's worth, and it is a property developer that has bought and done it up so I think he probably knows he will have people fighting over it as the area is spot on and it's done to a really high standard, coupled with the fact he's marketing it under value.

He's asking £154k for it, we would be willing to pay up to £165k but have agreed that we wont accept less than £100k on ours so I don't think it will affect too much what we are able to offer on the other house.

GAH

You may not want to hear this OP, but its best not to go out and look at properties for yourself until you are in a proceedable position, otherwise you can be just setting yourself up for dis-appointment if you don't get the house you want.

Every vendor is different so this one might accept your proposal, but I would say your best way of securing it is to get a buyer for yours ASAP.

hazyjo

In what way was it developed/'done up'? Mainly decor? Or has he converted, extended, or replaced roof, kitchen, bathroom, electrics, etc...

What price did he pay? (Should be easy to find on somewhere like Zoopla.)

Jx

andybenw

GAH wrote: »

You may not want to hear this OP, but its best not to go out and look at properties for yourself until you are in a proceedable position, otherwise you can be just setting yourself up for dis-appointment if you don't get the house you want.

Every vendor is different so this one might accept your proposal, but I would say your best way of securing it is to get a buyer for yours ASAP.

Fully agree with the above. Cast this house out of your mind and stop looking until you have a buyer. And do not let the thought of it posssibly still being there influence the price you are willing to take.

Doozergirl

hazyjo wrote: »

In what way was it developed/'done up'? Mainly decor? Or has he converted, extended, or replaced roof, kitchen, bathroom, electrics, etc...

What price did he pay? (Should be easy to find on somewhere like Zoopla.)

Jx

Good points. You don't want to buy a wolf in sheep's clothing! There's developing and there's profiteering. Looks closely inside cupboards, at the door frames etc. Is it as good as it initially looks - have they insulated the loft/cavities for you? That's usually a good sign of a developer's attention to detail. It's something that they can get away with not doing, but a developer with integrity would do it.

What will be, will be OP. If you don't get this house, there will be another, anyone who has been in your position will be able to tell you that things worked out for the best in the end. What you need to concentrate on is getting your place sold before you even start looking. In this market you will only be disappointed...

Putting in an asking price offer doesn't put you in any better situation - if you're lucky and you do sell, you've played your full hand. Making sure you can negotiate on a house you want to buy enables you more negotiating room on your sale. You've given that away in this instance.

Stop viewing until you're at least at a price that is attracting viewings and offers on yours.

hazyjo

Generally agree with the above - but I do think it can go in your favour as a seller if you have somewhere in mind to buy. It's just finding that balance between being desperate, or emotionally attached... we actually had people walk away from our house as we didn't have anywhere to go (only cos we lost the house we were buying)!

If you can't view without becoming emotionally attached, don't view.

We'd lost two other houses we loved, but then this one came along and we were lucky enough to get it. You have to keep your feet on the ground and view objectively.

Jx

Hammyman

I think you're being a bit optimistic thinking you'll magically have someone want to buy yours by the end of the month. The only way you can guarantee that is to put your apartment up for auction but you'll take a kick in the nuts on the price.