Dealing with the deluded.

justjohn

To the OP offer 30% below if thats the value you think its worth.(we try to obtain facts too back the low offer up, just in case we are asked)

i always do this tactfully and verbally. Last house we purchased was up for 170k offered 114k. Did this the same day it was put on the market. Left the offer on the table and they accepted approx 8 months later.

Its not the just the sellers fault. Its also partly due to the EA's and valuers.

Does not help that sellers do not understand the value is a top end guesstimate and most need a mug buyer or someone that is ruled by there heart.

And may i say to many of the negative posters on here "think you will find there are more disillusioned sellers on her than buyers". People moaning why there house is not selling.

A house should not sit on the market for 1-2+ years before it sells, if it does there is a problem.

vacheron

I think the misconception is that all sellers are desperate to move and should be sycophantically entertaining every buyer who waves any amount of cash in their general direction.

This mindset of some buyers is attributable to the fact that most purchases people makes are from commission led salespeople who have a vested interest in closing a sale.

For many homeowners however this is not the case. Many homeowners have no immediate desire / urgency to move, but could be persuaded if the right price came along (I believe there are specialised websites that allow you to do just that).

There is nothing to stop me putting my house for sale with an asking price of 30% over what I paid. I have no obligation to sell for less than this, so why should I be expected to?

abaxas

vacheron wrote: »

I think the misconception is that all sellers are desperate to move and should be sycophantically entertaining every buyer who waves any amount of cash in their general direction.

This mindset of some buyers is attributable to the fact that most purchases people makes are from commission led salespeople who have a vested interest in closing a sale.

For many homeowners however this is not the case. Many homeowners have no immediate desire / urgency to move, but could be persuaded if the right price came along (I believe there are specialised websites that allow you to do just that).

There is nothing to stop me putting my house for sale with an asking price of 30% over what I paid. I have no obligation to sell for less than this, so why should I be expected to?

That is the point. My question is what to do about it.

I view the concept of avoiding as being abit negative, so looked asked for people's views.

The views appear to simply back up that fact. Dont bother as it's not worth your/theirs or the EAs time.

DRP

abaxas wrote: »

That is the point. My question is what to do about it.

I view the concept of avoiding as being abit negative, so looked asked for people's views.

The views appear to simply back up that fact. Dont bother as it's not worth your/theirs or the EAs time.

Isn't the answer to this: "there's no harm in asking?"

You can't force someone to accept the fact that prices are not rising, or that (in your opinion) the price they are asking is too high, but no-one is stopping you from making a cheeky offer.

The answer is in your original question:

abaxas wrote: »

My question is, how do deal with these people? I know that, in terms of valuation, I will often get it wrong. But should I just offer what I am willing to pay and see what happens?

of course you should

abaxas wrote: »

Problem being, it's not so easy to offer 30% less than marketed price. Can I really 'insult' that much? Or maybe their asking price is just as insulting to the market?

It is very easy to do this and who cares if people are far too easily insulted - you never have to meet them! :A

1886

OP, I would'nt waste your time trying to convince these people that they're overvaluing their houses. If you make an offer and it's declined then just move on.
I made two offers on one house and they were both refused. The house was a mid tearrace and had been for sale for sometime. I know for certain my offers were good offers as I'd been watching the local market for a long time. The house was average apart from the kitchen.
I later bought my house, it was on at £160k, I paid £148k. Again it had been on the market for approaching eight months. It's a lovely house but it was overpriced. The previous owner was asking what he had paid for it xx years ago even though the market had since dropped.
What people always fail to take into account is that although their property may have fallen in price, more often than not so will the property that they're buying!
I told the previous owner this

DRP

1886 wrote: »

OP, I would'nt waste your time trying to convince these people that they're overvaluing their houses. If you make an offer and it's declined then just move on.
I made two offers on one house and they were both refused. The house was a mid tearrace and had been for sale for sometime. I know for certain my offers were good offers as I'd been watching the local market for a long time. The house was average apart from the kitchen.
I later bought my house, it was on at £160k, I paid £148k. Again it had been on the market for approaching eight months. It's a lovely house but it was overpriced. The previous owner was asking what he had paid for it xx years ago even though the market had since dropped.
What people always fail to take into account is that although their property may have fallen in price, more often than not so will the property that they're buying!
I told the previous owner this

that is exactly right- what is important is the net price between your sale and your purchase... but it is difficult to make the decision at the time you have to decide to accept an offer, because you have no guarantee that your vendor will think the same way...;

abaxas

1886 wrote: »

OP, I would'nt waste your time trying to convince these people that they're overvaluing their houses. If you make an offer and it's declined then just move on.
I made two offers on one house and they were both refused. The house was a mid tearrace and had been for sale for sometime. I know for certain my offers were good offers as I'd been watching the local market for a long time. The house was average apart from the kitchen.
I later bought my house, it was on at £160k, I paid £148k. Again it had been on the market for approaching eight months. It's a lovely house but it was overpriced. The previous owner was asking what he had paid for it xx years ago even though the market had since dropped.
What people always fail to take into account is that although their property may have fallen in price, more often than not so will the property that they're buying!
I told the previous owner this

The house we did buy (but fell through due to no water rights - see above) was originally marketed at 500k, well 499,995. By the time we got to it after 2 years or marketing, it was on for 425 and we agreed 375. Currently on for 395, unsold.

The thing is.. I can offer 375 on 450.

But I cant offer 400 on 600! My decency gene kicks in and forbids me. Maybe I need to get over that first.

katejo

DRP wrote: »

that is exactly right- what is important is the net price between your sale and your purchase... but it is difficult to make the decision at the time you have to decide to accept an offer, because you have no guarantee that your vendor will think the same way...;

I am often amused to see a property advertised using the phrase "priced to sell". What are all the other sellers doing? Pricing to have the property remain on the market with little intereste for months on end?

abaxas

katejo wrote: »

I am often amused to see a property advertised using the phrase "priced to sell". What are all the other sellers doing? Pricing to have the property remain on the market with little intereste for months on end?

My fav is POA.

So rightmove puts it between the house at 550k and 500k. I wonder what the price is :rotfl:

Davesnave

1886 wrote: »

What people always fail to take into account is that although their property may have fallen in price, more often than not so will the property that they're buying!

That's what we thought too, but attempting to move from one part of the country to another, we found that sellers were "in another place," mentally as well as physically. What's more, they were in an area which was bound to fall more than the one we were moving from, so there was no particular logic to it.

In the end, we rented temporarily, stuck the money in various banks @6.5% and felt pretty well-off for a while. From then on we just viewed property where the sellers seemed motivated, but there weren't that many.

We now have the benefit of hindsight via Nethouseprices, or we can still look at some of the property we visted in 2008/9 on Rightmove. On the whole, property has sold for roughly what we thought it was worth three or four years ago, or it's now being marketed at that level. A few owners have just dug their heels in & gone nowhere, but maybe that was their subconscious intention, or even their real one. We met a few oldies who'd decided to sell the farm & retire, but they were none too enthusiastic about it! :rotfl: