First time buyer help with offer

loube80

Hi,
My husband and I are first time buyers and have seen a house that we are very keen on and intend on making an offer. We have a second viewing on Saturday and will putting our first offer in after that.

As we are completely new to this I wondered if anyone could give us some advice about what sort of value to start with. The house has been on the market for 2.5 years and I get the impression that the vendors are very keen to sell - it has been reduced 4 times.

It is currently on for a range of £155k to £165k we can only go up to £160k max but obviously if we could get it for 155 we would be very happy. I was thinking of starting at 10% below the 160 so 148k and then work up in small increments. Do you think this is a reasonable first offer, or maybe too high to start with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

MelaBella

loube80 wrote: »

Hi,
My husband and I are first time buyers and have seen a house that we are very keen on and intend on making an offer. We have a second viewing on Saturday and will putting our first offer in after that.

As we are completely new to this I wondered if anyone could give us some advice about what sort of value to start with. The house has been on the market for 2.5 years and I get the impression that the vendors are very keen to sell - it has been reduced 4 times.

It is currently on for a range of £155k to £165k we can only go up to £160k max but obviously if we could get it for 155 we would be very happy. I was thinking of starting at 10% below the 160 so 148k and then work up in small increments. Do you think this is a reasonable first offer, or maybe too high to start with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Whuch area are you in? What are the sold prices for similiar properties in this area? Is the property in a good decorative order? Finally what is ou position (FTB? mortgage agreement in principle? How long is the propery on the market for?

Its difficult to say, becaue all properties are individual, i have noticed that if the prooperties advertised priced range X to Y in my my experience the vendors dont go below X price (but it is my experience only). I would still suggest to strat low because you can always make consequent higher offers. YOu can strat with 148K and then jump to 155K as a second offer.
Good luck.

Mr_Moo_2

As stated above..... price ranges are a bit tricky, as unless you probe a bit its hard to get a feel for the realistic expectations of the vendors... typically the Agent pitches it down our way as the mid price being what they are expecting. However, remember that once you've made an offer it's a bit tricky to go down from that price, so go in low, have justification (as outline above) for that low offer and then be prepared to negotiate from there if you want to.

Good luck!

go_cat

Definitely start low and do you research on other SOLD local comparable properties . Once you have given an offer and usually it will be refused hold your nerve or you will appear too eager. Not easy but it can save you thousands

loube80

Thank you for all your replies so far. I have looked at recent sold prices and comparing them 160k seems about right but there is a little work needed on the property so I don't want to overpay.

I am also concerned that the house has been on the market for so long and according to the agent they haven't got any other interested parties yet. I don't want end up with something that will be difficult to sell on in years to come so need to get it at the right price.

We are FTB's so are in a good position I think i will start low as mentioned above as I can always offer more.

R_P_W

You need to try and find out why it has been on market for 2.5 years. Is it because the sellers have unrealistic expectations for what it is worth? Or is it because there is something wrong with the property than on closer inspection people dont want to proceed.

I would make a low offer (maybe 145) to start to see what happens. I wouldnt suggest going up in small increments though as it suggests you will keep going up and up.

MelaBella

loube80 wrote: »

Hi,
My husband and I are first time buyers and have seen a house that we are very keen on and intend on making an offer. We have a second viewing on Saturday and will putting our first offer in after that.

As we are completely new to this I wondered if anyone could give us some advice about what sort of value to start with. The house has been on the market for 2.5 years and I get the impression that the vendors are very keen to sell - it has been reduced 4 times.

It is currently on for a range of £155k to £165k we can only go up to £160k max but obviously if we could get it for 155 we would be very happy. I was thinking of starting at 10% below the 160 so 148k and then work up in small increments. Do you think this is a reasonable first offer, or maybe too high to start with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Just noticed you mentioned house is in the market for over 2 years. how is the housing market is you area? i mean i'm familiar only with the London market, so property dont normally stay on the market for that long (unless the price is unrealistic or if it is sonthing terribly wrong with the property).

thelem

What has changed with the house recently that means it is now worth buying when they haven't been able to find a buying in all that time? Have they reduced the price? Done work to it? Had a tenant move out?

Use property bee to research the history of the listing.

loube80

I'm in the south east I think it is a bit slow here at the moment as since we have been looking we have seen several houses being reduced. I think with this one it is not a traditional house it is spread over 4 floors, so there are a lot of stairs, not something that I would think would appeal to everyone. Also it was definitely overpriced to start with and they have reduced it by over 25% since it was first put on.

We are having a much closer look on Saturday so we should be able to see if we can spot any major problems we might have missed then.

Fire_Fox

Start low but emphasise your strong position as FTBs - presume you have a mortgage in principle and a conveyancer on standby? Tell them. Don't work up in small increments, it makes you look like amateurs and is irritating. Aim for two or maximum three offers. What they have already reduced is irrelevant, they may have started out with totally unrealistic expectations.