Reasonable price rejected what to do next?

pinkshoes

I'd offer £171,500 and tell them it's your final and maximum offer, and you'll leave it on the table for 1 week.

Gromitt

AlistaireCook wrote: »

Me and my girlfriend have seen a house we like it is currently up for £174,995 and it has been reduced from £179,995. However i tested the water with an offer of £165,000 which was firmly rejected. I was then told they were looking for something closer to the offer. So i offer £171,000, £4,000 below the asking price but there still wanting more.

They are always wanting more. That is the job of the estate agent. If they think you like and want the property they'll push for the asking price, thinking you'll eventually offer it, even if it means inventing imaginary buyers to get you to do so (We have several other viewings planned this weekend which we can cancel if we can strike a deal now (real life = they might have one), another viewer has already placed an offer higher than yours (real life = but they are imaginary and will pull out next week)).

Offer what you think its worth and can afford and stick to it. I'd say £170K is a decent offer unless its exactly the house you want, they go fast and come up as rare as rocking horse poop. As soon as they realise your not going to raise your offer, chances are they'll accept as they'd be idiots not to. They'd still be getting 95% of the agent's valuation, which is normally about 10% over priced anyway.

Mr_Thrifty

Gromitt wrote: »

Offer what you think its worth and can afford and stick to it.

Now, as a rational economic agent, I agree that this is a sensible thing to do.

However, some sellers are bloody-minded. They are not rational. If you go in with your highest offer straight away, they simply will not understand why you will not increase it further. They almost actually demand that some sort of increase happens after your first offer, or refuse to sell otherwise. It really is quite a bizarre phenomenon.

The only strategy I can think of to deal with this therefore involves deliberately making a low offer to start with, then increasing it up to your true maximum.

Bufger

You've done the right thing in my opinion but you need to make sure you have identified that its your final offer and give them a deadline for deciding.

i.e, £172,000 is my final offer on this property and the offer will stand for one week.

Thats a pretty clear instruction. They have a week to consider the offer on the table. If they're getting alot of traffic and a few offers then its touch and go but if they havent had many offers and its been on the market for a while it'll go in your favour. Lots of variables but you have to control some of it (and remember the estate agent works for them!)

Mr_Moo_2

Move on....look at other stuff. Plenty of houses out there that will be as good if not better....

sejdee

I'd leave your last offer on the table with them, and keep looking around, and tell them this. Think you have been reasonable in trying to secure the deal, where as they haven't, and you are in the stronger position, so let them sweat over it for a while.

We have sold our house and put an off in on another property 20k under asking price. Rejected as they wanted closer to asking price, so upped it to by 7k, same answer, so have offered another 3k as a final offer and left it with them. This is still 10k under asking, but what we believe is a fair price for it based on similar property sales recently. That was 2 days ago and they still haven't got back to the EA yet, so maybe they are seriously considering it still? Meantime we have viewed another 2 properties and have another one lined up next week, and made sure they know this.
I am like Mr T in that we want to secure a deal, but don't feel they are playing ball with us. They haven't budged on asking price, so we are being firm now with last offer. We are fortunate in that we could go to asking price, but not prepared to as house values in the area are either stagnant or dropping slightly still.

As a buyer in a position to proceed, you hold the aces and have the upper hand at present. If they want to sell, then they'll accept your offer as it seems a very reasonable offer being very close to asking price. They are probably thinking that they have already reduced the price and don't want to go lower, but it was probably overvalued to start off with.

We viewed a property a year ago for 199,950 and tried to do a deal by renting it until ours sold and then buy it. Didn't work out as they weren't interested in renting it. It's still on the market now for 189,950, and not worth this at today's values!

Be strong and stand your ground I say

Gentoo365

Speaking from personal experience the best thing to do is to say that your offer is the maximum you are willing to pay for the property and ask the estate agent to show you some others.

When you see these 'other properties' you may find that they are not that great (as the estate agent may still be hoping you increase your offer). Say that you have some other properties lined up to view in the next few days with a different agent and you will get back to the estate agent.

When the estate agent next rings tell them that you do not wish to put in an offer on the 'other properties'.

Wait about a week.

The estate agent may ring a to say that your initial offer was acceptable and are you still willing to go ahead. Say you would like another viewing, and you probably will. View again (always worthwhile as you can do some measurements for furniture etc), and restate your offer.

In the current situation I never really understand why buyers would change their offers so quickly. Houses are taking months to sell so a few weeks scares the vendor way more than the buyer.

Disregard this information if you *really* want the house. If it is worth the extra few grand to you then buy it.

Then hope that the mortgage company don't come back with a low valuation.

zaksmum

I made an offer of £185K on a property priced at £190K, immediately proceedable, the vendors said no, they wanted no less than full asking price.

I refused to pay that and they came back to me THREE months later and said they'd now accept £188K!

It's still on the market more than a year later.

OP, if you're willing to go to £172K make it clear it's your final offer and you'll walk away if they refuse it.

DVardysShadow

sejdee wrote: »

... I am like Mr T in that we want to secure a deal, but don't feel they are playing ball with us. They haven't budged on asking price, so we are being firm now with last offer. We are fortunate in that we could go to asking price, but not prepared to as house values in the area are either stagnant or dropping slightly still.

I think you are making a good point here.

If as buyer, you offer under, unless the offer is so far under that the seller refuses to deal with you any more, you should expect to get some sort of counter offer. If the vendor does not give a counter offer, it is hardball time - tell the agent that you will negotiate if the seller comes back with a counter offer, but if they are just going to stick with the asking price, you are finding the mood of non negotiation to be a bit infectious.

Obviously, some properties are priced to sell and if something obviously represents good value and the seller is making clear that they are only asking a small margin over the minimum they can accept, you will only be getting a take it or leave it counter offer

AlistaireCook_2

They have got back to me this morning and said they will accept 173,000 but I have stood my ground and said that I cannot offer anymore for the property, as it is 97% of the asking price which is a very good offer, so they are rethinking there decision.

Once again I would like to thank all of those who have given the time to comment, it is very much appreciated.