What % under the asking price did you buy your house for?

Davesnave

Strapped wrote: »

It doesn't matter what the asking price is, or what % you "get it below", all that matters is the price you pay. It all depends on whether the house has been over- or realistically valued, depending on the vendor's circumstances.

Exactly right.

Our property was put on at a low price to encourage a quick sale, and possibly, a bidding war. The agent tried in various sneaky ways to get us to go above the asking price, but we refused. We said we'd pay the price asked and complete on time, and that was it.

Quite late on, the agent tried to back another buyer with a gazump. That would have delayed things, so the vendor refused to play.

We knew this place would be hard to sell in the vendor's time frame, and we didn't 'love' it, so these things made it easier to adopt a tough stance.

Also, we'd sold way below our original asking price and gone into rented to reach a position of advantage, so we were boogered if we were going to waste it!

ukcarper

Davesnave wrote: »

Exactly right.

Our property was put on at a low price to encourage a quick sale, and possibly, a bidding war. The agent tried in various sneaky ways to get us to go above the asking price, but we refused. We said we'd pay the price asked and complete on time, and that was it.

Quite late on, the agent tried to back another buyer with a gazump. That would have delayed things, so the vendor refused to play.

We knew this place would be hard to sell in the vendor's time frame, and we didn't 'love' it, so these things made it easier to adopt a tough stance.

Also, we'd sold way below our original asking price and gone into rented to reach a position of advantage, so we were boogered if we were going to waste it!

I think that is the point it is better to get 0% off a house priced correctly that 20% off a house 21% overpriced.

Mickygg

ukcarper wrote: »

I think that is the point it is better to get 0% off a house priced correctly that 20% off a house 21% overpriced.

Couldn't agree more. I priced my house sensibly but still took a 10% hit. Had I priced what I wanted or initially thought this would have been near 20% drop. It has hurt though!!!

Mrs_justjohn

ukcarper wrote: »

I think that is the point it is better to get 0% off a house priced correctly that 20% off a house 21% overpriced.

Yes I agree, I think I said (or tried) to say something similar in one of my earlier posts. Not every house is overpriced and buyers can not assume that there is a 'margin' for negotiation. Some houses are already attractively or just realistically priced. Not every vendor over prices to compensate for those believing they 'have the right' to offer lower and expect it to be accepted.

We have paid more than the asking price on a house we purchased but that was because we believed it to be under valued and someone else had also drawn the same conclusion. We would never have paid more than the asking price if we hadn't have believed it was under valued initially. We do not 'rip people off' (as someone once implied when I told them this story) we always pay what the house is worth to us and the seller can always say no. However I do believe that it pays to do your homework before making an offer.

ukcarper

Mrs_justjohn wrote: »

Yes I agree, I think I said (or tried) to say something similar in one of my earlier posts. Not every house is overpriced and buyers can not assume that there is a 'margin' for negotiation. Some houses are already attractively or just realistically priced. Not every vendor over prices to compensate for those believing they 'have the right' to offer lower and expect it to be accepted.

We have paid more than the asking price on a house we purchased but that was because we believed it to be under valued and someone else had also drawn the same conclusion. We would never have paid more than the asking price if we hadn't have believed it was under valued initially. We do not 'rip people off' (as someone once implied when I told them this story) we always pay what the house is worth to us and the seller can always say no. However I do believe that it pays to do your homework before making an offer.

Yes you made some very good points it that post and with the information available now it is not to difficult to get a rough idea of what a property is worth.

cbr600f

Well it would seem some good bargins have been had, its encouraged me to be to the point when i offer. reserving the first time buyer and cash status to negotiate with. Yes i agree research is key, property bee gives that little bit more info to make sure your well informed about time scales and changes!
Any other tips? Keep your %'s coming... At least the wife isnt as dead against offering.below asking.price after seeing these posts... (shes not a haggler - prefers not to make a scene for a good deal)

Mrs_justjohn

cbr600f wrote: »

Well it would seem some good bargins have been had, its encouraged me to be to the point when i offer. reserving the first time buyer and cash status to negotiate with. Yes i agree research is key, property bee gives that little bit more info to make sure your well informed about time scales and changes!
Any other tips? Keep your %'s coming... At least the wife isnt as dead against offering.below asking.price after seeing these posts... (shes not a haggler - prefers not to make a scene for a good deal)

That's the beauty of house buying - you are not making a scene - you don't even have to see the seller (or even the EA for that matter). You can make the offer by email, phone, letter, via a solicitor...etc... It's not as confrontational as haggling over 50p in a field full of car booters...LOL

Strapped

Ah, now I see where you're coming from. Just remind your wife that if you are not embarrased by your first offer, then it's too high. HTH.

Gentoo365

I think that percentages can be misleading as it depends how long the property has been on the market.

Near where I live (South East) I was looking at properties for about 12 months before I finally had an offer accepted. Many times I saw that properties went on the market initially at a very optimistic price, then dropped to a slightly less optimistic price, then if not sold dropped to a more realistic price (or left the market).

So the 'percentage reduction' depends on which price you compare the accepted price with.

A buyer who is proceedable, and flexible has a massive advantage as they can walk away and wait a few months if their offer is not accepted.

I had a similar story to that above. I had a mortgage agreed, solicitor lined up and could move quickly, or wait, it made no difference to me. So I just put in an offer of what I was willing to pay and refused to budge.

Estate agent would try to get me to increase my offers, but I just refused to do so, and moved on to look at the next property.

After a while the estate agent knew my position and therefore showed me properties that were new to their books, and the vendor wanted a quick sale. I offered low (15% less), estate agent passed it on. Initially rejected, week later it was accepted.

I think that the moral of the story is that there are things other than price that you can sell your offer on. My offer was always passed on with the information that completion dates and timescale was absolutely up to the vendor and I can fit around their needs.

One thing I learnt was that while Estate Agents work for the vendor, their job is to 'match' buyers and sellers appropriately. So if you state clearly to the Estate Agent that you are looking for a vendor that will agree a reduced price for a quick sale, they will ensure that you are informed of appropriate properties.

It's just that you cannot 'fall in love' with a specific property, as like all sales, when looking for discounts you have a more limited selection, and may have to wait for the sale to come along.

dj_ad1200

I am currently renting a flat and the company that owns it has gone into administration

I have never owned a credit card in my life and the rent is £400 a month so we put an offer in at asking price for the flat.

Unfortunately we diddnt get the mortgage because of a poor credit rating (my score is 927!!!!!!!)

So I looked into my tenancy contract and it states that I do not have to let anyone view the flat whilst I am renting it.

Anyway after my mortgage application was rejected 6 months ago I was pretty cheesed off and as a result I have not let anyone view the flat (I'm well within my rights to do this) and as a result of this there has been no viewing therefore no offers as the estate agents policy is NO VIEWING NO OFFER ALLOWED

Anyway just checked the ad for the flat on the internet and its come down by a WHOPPING 25% so now I can afford a 15% mortgage and its only 1.4 times our income unlike before it was closer to 2.5 times.

I think we are in with a chance now. So im off to put an offer in once I get another agreement in principle.