Advice on what to bid on 'offers over £190k' + pics!

kaylz39

Hi All,

I'm looking for some advice on a house I am keen to make an offer on. The listing says 'offers over £190k' but I always feel wary of these sort of listings as I don't want to be ripped off. I know this house has been up for about 4 months, which isn't actually that long but they've had no offers yet. I've looked on Zoopla but there's been no house sales of this house type recently (there's lots of different house styles on the street), the vendors bought this for £145k in 2005. Obviously I want to get the house for as low as possible but I don't know if its acceptable to make an offer lower than the 'offers over' instruction?!

I know a house value depends on the location etc but any advice would be appreciated.

HERE IS THE PROPERTY LISTING:
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/17092274?search_identifier=1b0bb1fe1bbeaaf9f3076c86738a2987

Thanks guys!

Salz

It was originally listed on Rightmove on 15th May for £199,950 if that helps

jbainbridge

Don't let the 'offers over' put you off. If you want to make a lower offer, you can!

kaylz39

Salz wrote: »

It was originally listed on Rightmove on 15th May for £199,950 if that helps

Ahh really?! How did you find that out? I tried downloading that property bee but my laptop doesn't like it for some reason. Can you see how long it has actually been listed for sale for, the vendors could be telling me porkies :0

kaylz39

jbainbridge wrote: »

Don't let the 'offers over' put you off. If you want to make a lower offer, you can!

I just don't want them to think were taking the p***. Is there a rule as to how much or what % to try on the first offer?!

jbainbridge

There are no rules. Do your research and make an offer. Maybe go in a little low ... then higher depending on how much you like the property. Sometimes the vendor will want too much ... you might have to walk away.

WibbleSnarf

There are no rules. You make an offer as low as you please and the agent is legally obliged to pass that offer onto the vendor. And why are you worried that they might think you are taking the p***? If they bought in 2005 for £145K, then based on what's happened to house prices as a national average since then, and assuming they haven't done some very major improvement of the house, they are taking the p*** as they should be expecting to get no more than £153K for it in today's market. And that's before you even begin to think about the possibility that with the way the housing market is right now, the house may become worth less than you paid for it before you've even had time to move in.

Don't be embarrassed. These are big numbers and a bit of steeliness could saves you many, many thousands of pounds.

DRP

WibbleSnarf wrote: »

There are no rules. You make an offer as low as you please and the agent is legally obliged to pass that offer onto the vendor. And why are you worried that they might think you are taking the p***? If they bought in 2005 for £145K, then based on what's happened to house prices as a national average since then, and assuming they haven't done some very major improvement of the house, they are taking the p*** as they should be expecting to get no more than £153K for it in today's market. And that's before you even begin to think about the possibility that with the way the housing market is right now, the house may become worth less than you paid for it before you've even had time to move in.

Don't be embarrassed. These are big numbers and a bit of steeliness could saves you many, many thousands of pounds.

Just to examine this from the vendors point of view... :A

based on national land registry figures, the house would arguably be 'worth' about 165k now (~+14%). Taking into account that most vendors are looking to get about 90%+ of their asking (171k in this case) and with them likely to have improved the place in the last 7 years, it is not a ridiculous asking price imo.

of course LR prices in the north-west have appreciated by much less than the national average, so I agree a figure around 160 or less would be about right assuming no major improvements/extensions

ukcarper

I would say a lot depends when it was bought in 2005 as according to land registry the price of average house in Blackburn rose by 10% in 2005. Detached house are now about 8% above what they were at the beginning of 2005 making house worth about £156k but they are now worth less than they were at the end of 2005.

What is 55 like that sold for £145k this year and according to land registry prices have gone up slightly this year.

kaylz39

ukcarper wrote: »

What is 55 like that sold for £145k this year and according to land registry prices have gone up slightly this year.

Yes I saw number 55, that is a different house style. A little similar in size but the garden is a little smaller.

kaylz39

DRP wrote: »

Just to examine this from the vendors point of view... :A

based on national land registry figures, the house would arguably be 'worth' about 165k now (~+14%). Taking into account that most vendors are looking to get about 90%+ of their asking (171k in this case) and with them likely to have improved the place in the last 7 years, it is not a ridiculous asking price imo.

of course LR prices in the north-west have appreciated by much less than the national average, so I agree a figure around 160 or less would be about right assuming no major improvements/extensions

From what I can see, they haven't done any major improvements. Strangely they have partitioned 3/4 of the garage off leaving the front where the door is for storage and the section at the back is a room for ironing/freezer etc. It has been boarded but not plastered/painted etc. They have improved the garden i.e. partially decked, bedding plants but again nothing major. The kitchen is the original, bathroom etc. It has definitely been well looked after though.

There is an identical house for sale 2 doors down, here is the listing. http://www.findaproperty.com/for-sale/property-11558616

As you can see they're both very similar inside, only difference being the garden. I would be happy with either of these houses, but are nice throughout.

So based on the above, do you think a starting bid of £160k (even though they're looking for offers over £190k) would be about right? This is what makes me nervous but it seems like a hell of alot lower than what they're expecting.