Negotiating house price around the £125k stamp duty mark

Calleja

Are houses selling for £130k? I've seen a house I want to buy for just above this price but I haven't really budgeted for stamp duty, so I'm going to make an initial offer of just under £125k. However, I do think that the house is worth more, so I'm considering upping to £130k if they refuse (although it makes my initial outlay very tight indeed).

Are houses selling at the moment for £130k or am I being ridiculous even considering it? Anyone bought or sold a house in this price region recently?

ognum

never seen a house for that price where I live!

Calleja

Oh and another thing - I read in another forum that a buyer was going to ask the seller to contribute towards the stamp duty! Has anyone ever heard of such a thing or had the guts to ask for it?!!

tim123456789

I don't see why not. 130K over 125K is four times the SD. It's the 250K equivalent of asking/paying 280K and most people accept that that is far enough the threshold to be achievable

tim

Yorkie1

Calleja wrote: »

Oh and another thing - I read in another forum that a buyer was going to ask the seller to contribute towards the stamp duty! Has anyone ever heard of such a thing or had the guts to ask for it?!!

Unless the seller is a commercial developer, this won't work. It counts as a 'vendor gifted deposit'; the vast majority of lenders don't like this arrangement and so will not lend in these circumstances.

Frankly, I wouldn't offer £130K on a property unless it was significantly undervaluing the property's true value, by reference to sold prices of similar nearby properties. You're paying an additional £1300 in stamp duty as well as the extra £5K for the property.

Calleja

Like I say, I do think its worth the asking price. But comparisons to the market are currently tricky - this time last year, a first time buyer would have been exempt from SD, so people may have been more willing to pay in the region of £130k. Also, this area MAY have been in the 'disadvantaged' area that allowed relief of stamp duty up to £150k. This is was abolished this weekend! So the playing field has changed which makes comparisons tricky.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who as actually bought/sold a property recently around the £130k mark?

Yorkie1

Calleja wrote: »

Like I say, I do think its worth the asking price. But comparisons to the market are currently tricky - this time last year, a first time buyer would have been exempt from SD, so people may have been more willing to pay in the region of £130k. Also, this area MAY have been in the 'disadvantaged' area that allowed relief of stamp duty up to £150k. This is was abolished this weekend! So the playing field has changed which makes comparisons tricky.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who as actually bought/sold a property recently around the £130k mark?

I think you are right that the playing field has changed. The factors which made any buyer willing to pay nearer £130K no longer exist.

It is entirely up to you whether you are willing to pay the extra £5K plus stamp duty, only you know whether it is worth it to you or not.

But you have a strong argument for things having changed since last year if you choose to use it.

florence4

I'm in a similar position: I have just had a £125k offer rejected on a house selling around the £130K mark. It's very hard to know whether or not the house is 'worth' more... On the one hand, it's worth what someone will pay for it, and it's a nice property; on the other hand, the only houses around here that I know have sold have done so after 9-24 months, and at 10-25% below asking price. At the moment, there are no other interested parties, and I haven't increased my offer...

Calleja

Well, good luck Florence4! Definitely sounds like things are on your side - stick to your guns! Let us know how you get on!

I think I'm going to start with a figure a bit below SD, leave room for negotiation....

Amba_Gambla

Did anything happen with this?

I just made my first offer on my first ever house. It's listed at £135k, and I've gone in low - the message came back that they wanted at least £130k.

braun_2

If the stamp duty bothers you ask them to pay it?

i.e. offer £128,500

Is there anything else you can negotiate for? e.g. carptets/furnishings/work to be done?

There are loads of houses round by me selling between 125k and 130k.

If I found a house I really liked for 130,000 I wouldn't really be bothered about an extra 1% on stamp duty.