Asking price and bidding war

GAH

OP, many years ago when I was in agency and I remeber this one vividly, had a house on for £450k, nice house nothing special so i thought, actually thought it may struggle at £450k.
But two people really loved it, bidding went back and forth for a week, until it finally reached £546,000.

Really had to do some thorough checking into the buyer to make sure he was good for the then increased stamp duty, and got an agreement from him that if it was down-valued he would have to throw his own extra money in as vendor was going to be mucked around.

He did have to throw a little extra money in, but the buyer was good as gold, so it does happen.

evansmummy

GAH wrote: »

OP, many years ago when I was in agency and I remeber this one vividly, had a house on for £450k, nice house nothing special so i thought, actually thought it may struggle at £450k.
But two people really loved it, bidding went back and forth for a week, until it finally reached £546,000.

Really had to do some thorough checking into the buyer to make sure he was good for the then increased stamp duty, and got an agreement from him that if it was down-valued he would have to throw his own extra money in as vendor was going to be mucked around.

He did have to throw a little extra money in, but the buyer was good as gold, so it does happen.

Good Lord! I supposed if you like a house you like a house. Wonder if they are regretting paying over the odds for it now!

When I snoop on rightmove it always seems to be the god awful ones that sell quickly even when they aren't heavily reduced for developers. Some people are still fancying themselves as Sarah Beeney's

SG27

chirp wrote: »

There was a property with asking price of £399,950 but the estate agent said that there was someone who was ready to pay £475,00. So if we were not willing to pay above that price there was no point in viewing it, as it would be a waste of time. How is £75,000 above the asking price justified even in a bidding war? It seems ridiculous to me and it also means that the asking price was not even a rough guide. It was totally misguiding and left me stunned.

It's not express estate agency is it? I phoned them up for viewing on a house that was asking price £179,000. They said that the seller needed at least £200,000 and by viewing I would be acknoledging that! I said I didn't want to view then! Looking at the other houses they have for sale they are all a certain thousand discount but it seems the houses aren't actually for sale for the price listed!!

It's madness!

chirp

No it is not express estate agency. Yes I agree it is madness. After all a house is nothing but bricks and cement and to get so emotionally involved with it is crazy. With such mad people around there is less chance for normal people to buy a reasonable property. We are always told not to put all our eggs in one basket, but after buying a house there are no eggs left to put anywhere else! And that is what causes all the stress in one's life. For some people it is an investment game which leaves others in a vulnerable position. There should be a limit to the number of properties a person is allowed to buy.

jaysb

I think its a good thing that house price have dipped or stabilised, and hope they remain so for the coming years.

I'd rather see off my mortgage sooner than go to the max I could borrow.

Remember its location not the house your paying for: I recently went round a brand new four bedroom detached house for sale £220k in one area, same developer exactly same house nearer to me £399k.

chirp

Why are beautiful and spacious houses built in bad locations but small and average houses built in good locations? We are always told that we should buy an average house in a good location which we may be able to modify later. But after buying a house in a good location there is no money left to modify it. The whole equation doesn't make sense. Areas in Greater London and Middlesex like Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Stratford, Kensal Rise which have a very high crime rate have a lot of affordable beautiful houses and new homes being built there. 3 bed houses in Hammersmith are all in the range of £800k and they are terraced (no semi or detached), and the area has a very high crime rate. Location, location, location does not make sense. Prices should be based on the quality and size of the house and not the location. That way even the crime rate will go down if educated people with good values start buying good houses in all areas. They will also have children who value education and decent values.

ognum

chirp wrote: »

Why are beautiful and spacious houses built in bad locations but small and average houses built in good locations? We are always told that we should buy an average house in a good location which we may be able to modify later. But after buying a house in a good location there is no money left to modify it. The whole equation doesn't make sense. Areas in Greater London and Middlesex like Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Stratford, Kensal Rise which have a very high crime rate have a lot of affordable beautiful houses and new homes being built there. 3 bed houses in Hammersmith are all in the range of £800k and they are terraced (no semi or detached), and the area has a very high crime rate. Location, location, location does not make sense. Prices should be based on the quality and size of the house and not the location. That way even the crime rate will go down if educated people with good values start buying good houses in all areas. They will also have children who value education and decent values.

Price of house is purely based on the price someone will pay! of course you can buy a better house in a worse location or visa versa

A few years ago I put sold a house, it was a beutiful Easter weekend, house looked lovely, garden looked great. on the Tuesday following the BH weekend the agent had 4 offers!

it went to sealed bids and sold for 25% above the asking price and the new owners still live there very happily.

For them it was worth going to their maximum, it's their home. So if no ones interested in will go cheap or leave the market unsold if is in a desirable area you pay the market rate.

MobileSaver

chirp wrote: »

After all a house is nothing but bricks and cement and to get so emotionally involved with it is crazy. With such mad people around there is less chance for normal people to buy a reasonable property.

chirp wrote: »

Why are beautiful and spacious houses built in bad locations but small and average houses built in good locations?

You've contradicted yourself and answered your own question in the space of a few hours...

For most people a house isn't just bricks and cement; it's a home, a place of safety, full of fears and dreams, your own private refuge where you can fall in love, make love and raise a family. Not surprisingly people do get very emotionally attached to their home.

chirp

Oops does it sound like that? What I actually meant was there should not be so much emotional attachment to a house so as to end up in a crazy bidding war which hikes up the price of the house to wayyyy above the asking price (sometimes even £100,000 above the asking price). That is one emotional attachment too much! If everyone started doing it then asking prices would be nowhere near the actual sold price which is totally misleading to the common middle class man.

Beckyy

chirp wrote: »

There was a property with asking price of £399,950 but the estate agent said that there was someone who was ready to pay £475,00. So if we were not willing to pay above that price there was no point in viewing it, as it would be a waste of time. .

View it, and if you like it then put in an offer. I wouldn't believe the £475K offer until it was on the table - they might WANT to offer that, but if they are in a chain then they might not be able to at the moment.