How do you question a house price without offending

buppy

we had a house fall through on a bad survey a couple of months ago (looking at it now maybe we should have stuck with it but we got scared at the amount of work and pulled out) but loved the street and now a house has come up a few doors down.

However where as the original was on for £185k this has gone on for £200k.

£185k is right for the area and for the fact neither are done up in fact the more expensive one is even more run down than the other one.

£200k would be for one of the top end detached houses in the road not the mid terrace it is.

This is an internet based agent I think, certainly not one of the main ones around here and im thinking they have just gone by zoopla average prices rather than actually pricing the house correctly.

Our problem is that when we had the original house valued for the mortgage it was spot on what we offered for it ie £184k

If we get this new one valued im struggling to see why a drive by mortgage valuer person would say its any higher than the initial one.

We have a viewing tomorrow and if we like it will be offering around the £180 mark anyway but how do we hint its hugely over priced without offending.?

The owner has moved out possibly passed on I would think so I would be surprised if its them trying to sell it so high although it could be the family i guess. It was last bought in 2000 for £95k if that makes a difference.

Any hints or tips?

Thanks
x

G_M

Forget offending.

Offer what you think it is worth/what you are willing to pay.

kingstreet

Why bother questioning the asking price?

Go see it and if you have a mind, offer what you want to pay.

shop-to-drop

Yep you are over thinking it. Go and see it and if you want to buy it make an offer for what you think it's worth.

Fire_Fox

Don't question anything, place your offer and state that it is based on your research into land registry sold prices for the street and area and previous valuation on another house in the same street. The price in 2000 is irrelevant, look at sold prices for the last year to eighteen months. Or you could tell them you are offended they have overvalued their house.

buppy

I will
Im just thinking they might be woah no way if I offer what its worth for the area and road and might have been convinced by the agents thats what they could hold out for and I really want it lol.

Im not going to be offering over the odds for it though, more will come up but I would like to move asap. x

richardw

Sounds like you've got good price knowledge.

LEJC

The thing is a house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it...and if you dont think its worth the money and have had that backed up by a mortgage valuation then the chances are that others will probably be of the same opinion.

How long has the property been for sale?.....yes you like it and its in your prefered street but dont let that cloud your judgement. it may just be a case that you have to sit it out and see if the vendor drops the price as they become more keen to sell.

If you are in a position to move quickly then advise the agent of this...we were able to secure a good price on our house simply because we had everything in place and completed and moved in in a very short space of time....a lot depends actually on how quickly the seller needs the money...if its part of a closure of an estate then you might find it initially more difficult to secure a lower price...but like everything at some point you'll either findf another property you prefer or the seller will become more open to offers.

When you are dealing with a closure of estate property the seller doesnt need to achieve a particular price to move on up the housing ladder or fund another property purchase,its usually sold to split the proceeds in accordance with a will,or repay nursing home fees or both...
Its my guess that it is being dealt with by the family and the choice of internet selling package may indicate that they would like to achieve the maximum money for distribution etc....this is fine but there does come a point where the house will start to cost them money to upkeep and insure etc and this might not really kick in for about 6 months...so once the property starts to "cost" if its not been sold by thay point I would guess thats when they become a bit more open to realisic offers.

googler

Who are you worried about offending? The call-centre operative in the online agent's office?

bclark

On your point about the valuation of the original house saying it was worth exactly what you were paying, isn't this always what a valuation says unless there is an issue? I thought that they are basically saying 'yes it's worth the £184k you are paying or no it's not' it isn't an independent valuation as such?