Cheeky offer?

Worried

We're going to view a property tomorrow that has been on since Xmas. It's on for 220k, which is slightly over our budget. At a push we could stretch to 205-210k. It's a nice area and I can't really see why this house has stuck, as similarly priced properties in the area seem to have sold relatively quickly. The vendor bought for 183k in Jul 2004. The house doesn't need any real work doing to it, so there is nothing really to bargin with. If we like it, do you think it is worth trying an offer around 200k and then coming up to our maxium, or do you think it's too cheeky? It's only the time on the market that makes me think they might entertain an offer, nothing else really.

Monkey1977

I'd have no problem starting an offer at 12.5% below asking price usually (although I'm considering putting an offer in below this and am dithering). That would mean that you put an offer in of £192,500. With this in mind I don't think £200k is cheeky - you can always come up to £210, but if you started there you have nowhere to go.

Worried

But when coming in low, do you need to give reasons for your offer being that low? As I said I don't think the place needs any work, other than decorating. Should we just state our offer and say no more? Should we say that we are offering our absolute max, if we should get up to 210k region?

Gorgeous_George

By all means make a mental note of all the positive things that you see (for later discussion) but don't let your enthusiasm be too obvious to the EA/vendor.

The decor may not be quote to your liking; the wrong type of oven in the kitchen; electric shower needs to be replaced with a power shower; garden is too high maintenance or is too much gravel/slabs; when was the wiring/gas appliances last checked; does it need repointing in places; can we manage with a single garage darling?;

There are so many things that you can make up to justify your lower offer. As already stated, it's easy to increase a low offer - not so easy to reduce a high one.

Good luck!



GG

Monkey1977

Worried wrote: »

But when coming in low, do you need to give reasons for your offer being that low? As I said I don't think the place needs any work, other than decorating. Should we just state our offer and say no more? Should we say that we are offering our absolute max, if we should get up to 210k region?

I've seen two schools of thought on this. One says that you shouldn't 'justify' your low offer because this seems as if you are making excuses. The other says that giving valid reasons strengthens a low offer and softens the blow somewhat for a vendor.

I'll probably make the agent aware of what I'm not happy with about the property during a viewing and then when putting in my offer I'll briefly explain that this is the reason, but won't dwell. However, there's nothing wrong with saying that you've done your sums and are happy to offer X, but cannot afford to go higher.

Nenen

We've just sold our house (completion date next week and not started packing yet:eek: ). To give you some comparison re making offers, we put ours on for 195K and (over the course of the last few months) had several offers from three different buyers.

None of them gave any reason for their offers... I think it is assumed that people will offer below asking price unless the house is in an area where properties go for full price (or above :eek: ) almost as soon as they are marketed. IMHO it's a bit like a game of poker... buyer and seller playing their hands with buyer trying to get property for minimum possible price and seller trying to get maximum!

The first offer we had was for 175K and we simply said 'No way' as this was really 'cheeky'! The prospective buyer then increased to 180K and we said we would consider 185K. He told the EA he'd think about it and that was the last we heard of him. Had he come up to 185K we would have agreed terms despite him starting with a cheeky offer... I quite understand people starting with a cheeky offer; I do it myself!

The next buyer started at 170K and we again said 'No way'! They immediately raied to 185K (which was the lowest DH and I had secretly agreed we'd accept and had stupidly let the EA know this during first negotiations)! In hindsight, I'd never let the EA know the lowest offer I was prepared to accept as I think they let the buyer know this which prevented them offering more than the absolute minimum.

After they increased their offer to 185K, in order to see if we could get a little more, we asked for 189K. Buyers then said that 185K was the most they could afford and couldn't go any higher. After some deliberation we agreed to accept this. We've since learnt that our buyers are planning to extend the kitchen and do several other high cost jobs so obviously they did have more money but understandably would rather spend it improving their new home than give it to us!

In my limited experience the only time a 'cheeky offer' is detrimental is in a situation where there is more than one person interested. For example, we saw a property we really liked marketed for 275K and offered 250K. On the same day someone else offered 272K and vendors immediately accepted their offer. If the EA had given us a chance to increase our offer we could have at least matched 272K (and we were in a good position to move as had already exchanged on our sale) but we weren't even given the chance... just told they had decided to accept the higher offer. I guess the vendors thought that, by making such a low offer, we weren't really serious and wouldn't or couldn't go much higher.

It's a bit of a gamble but, given that the property you like has been on the market for some time without an offer, I'd be tempted to offer around 10-15% below and hope that someone else doesn't put in a higher offer on the same day!
Good luck :beer:

RumanaB

It's not cheeky at all. Just a couple of weeks ago I saw a property that seemed ok and the asking price was £250k-£260k (Douglas Allen Spiro always do their prices like this...it's always from one figure to another...it's hardly ever just one set price). After discussing it with my dad he agreed that we should offer £245k so we did. And the vendor was all ready to accept but then my dad actually changed his mind. But the point is...sometimes the vendor does accept a lower price than you would have thought they would. What have you got to lose?

typeractive

I have a bit of a situation too. I'm looking at a potential flat. The price is 64k. I've looked at it, and it needs a new kitchen, and a central heating system putting in (at the minute the kitchen is old - seventies, albeit but in very clean condition, and the heating is a warm air heating system, which won't heat the entire flat)

Now the thing is - the flat is liveable. The heating and kitchen are surely luxuries I would prefer to have. All in all I think it would cost around 6k to get nice. So I would like to try and come down on the price. This is my dilema, it's family I am dealing with. I don't want to be rude by any means, though at the same point: you don't have friends in business / don't mix family with business.

Any suggestions what I could do to drop the price in my favour. They are also looking to extend teh lease from 60 years to 70 - which is still pretty nice of them. Perhaps I'm just askign too much, but then again it's a one bed flat and I could get a house at 85k which is 20k more, but freehold etc.

I'm in such a pickle over what to do.

Thanks all.

cazmanian_minx

Good luck with your cheeky offer! We're considering putting in an offer today of £35k on a place on the market for offers over £50k - we'd budgeted £10k for putting the roof back together (most of the slates are stacked up round the back at the moment), but the surveyor let us know yesterday that the roof beams have all got wet rot where they rest on the tops of the walls so the whole roof will have to come off and be replaced :eek: So we've taken our offer down by the extra we reckon it's going to cost to do.

Crossing our fingers it's going to be accepted - this place has been on the market for nearly a year...

Caz

moneymuddler

hi i actually got my house- offered £20,000 less and was accepted no work needed on house and had only been on th market a week!!!

Worried

Would the agent tell us if there's been an offers on the place in the three months it's been on and what they were, or should we not trust the information the agent gives us on this? Do you think an agent would be honest and say whether they think the vendor will be open to an offer now?