First Time Buyer Dilemma

GWick

Hi all,

My hubby and I have been looking to buy our first home (FTB) since Christmas and have viewed 18 so far.

Last week we viewed a lovely semi that we both really like. It's by far the nicest house we have seen, even considering that its not in our first choice area.

Anyway, as we have been lurking on RightMove for ages, we recognised the property straight away, as it was for sale late last year. We asked the EA about this and were told that a price of £285,000 was agreed, but fell through.

It's back on the market now for £300,000 and considering we really like it we went straight in with a first offer of £285,000 thinking that it was a very reasonable place to start. After three days this was rejected and we put in a second offer of £288,000, which is 3,000 more than what was accepted last year. This too was later rejected. EA is very pushy and told us that an offer of £295,000 would take it off the market.

Whilst we can go higher, similar properties on the road don't sell very often and we have nothing to compare it to. Also, the fact that they have already previously accepted £285,000 (if you can believe EA), makes us feel like we are being taken for a ride if we offer say £295,000.

The EA has told us that there is strong interest in the property and that ten couples have viewed (open day) since we made our offer. We have also been told that a cash buyer has already made noises about offering £295,000. This seems a bit strange to us, so not sure if I believe it!

Should we sit tight and see if they come back to us to accept our last offer. Or given that we like it so much and we know we could live there for 10 years or more, should we just work our way up to £295,00 in the knowledge that (a) we don't know how much it's really worth and (b) we are paying way over what the vendors accepted five months ago?

If it sold for £295,000 to someone else, we would be disappointed.

We have a big dilemma here, so any help would be great!!!

Thanks:beer:

mrginge

Its not your fault, as you are inexperienced in such matters. However, the EA is mugging you.

If (a big if) a sale was agreed at 285k last year why is it now worth more?

GWick

My hubby did ask the EA this and the response was that the market has changed dramatically since December and that the new price reflected this. EA quoted a similar scenario also in the area where the same thing happened in the last couple of months!

Although we are FTB, we know that the market hasn't increased by nearly 4% in five months!

adamzetec

I have been negotiating in similar circumstances with a £10k increase following a sale last year that fell through. I have made it very clear to the agent I am negotiating from the lower price, not the higher price as there is nothing to justify the increase. Their argument was that they needed to sell last year as they had found a property, to which I questioned if they are motivated sellers this time around.

The situation is slightly more complex but very similar to yours. It's a big game and the estate agent is trying to squeeze you. I know it's tough but walk away and let them chase you back. They want a sale, the agent wants their commission. The agent is doing you a favour. It only takes the vendor to find their next property and they then need to complete the chain which means they need you more than you need them. Good luck.

ValHaller

GWick wrote: »

My hubby did ask the EA this and the response was that the market has changed dramatically since December and that the new price reflected this. EA quoted a similar scenario also in the area where the same thing happened in the last couple of months!

Although we are FTB, we know that the market hasn't increased by nearly 4% in five months!

In your position, I would go back to the agent and say that you are leaving an offer of 285 on the table matching previous asking price. And forget about it unless the agent gets back to you

(BTW is it with the same agent? If it is a new agent there will be some willy waving involved and they will want to show how much better they are - in which case, I might be dropping a note through the door stating 288 offered and rejected, 285 left on the table in case they did not pass the offer on.)

GWick

We can't find the listing for last year, it seems to have been deleted on Zoopla and RightMove, so don't know which EA it was with.

Good idea about dropping in a letter to the vendors!

Mrs_ted

You are in a very good position as a FTB. We are also FTB and I swear if it wasn't for this forum the EAs would have mugged us.

I agree with the above posters email the EAs and phone them telling them this is your offer, its on the table and that's that. If another customer who "apparently" is a cash buyer was offering 295,000 trust me they would not be chasing you to increase your offer.

Sit tight and in the mean time continue looking. But please do not give anymore than you have offered. The market at the moment is unpredictable. Keep us posted

harpoboy

Is it really worth losing the house of your dreams for an extra £7k?

The market is really picking up in whole swathes of the country, so the true value is very likely a lot more than the £285k originally offered.

GWick

Well that's our dilemma in a nutshell and we don't know what to do!

grifferz

GWick wrote: »

Well that's our dilemma in a nutshell and we don't know what to do!

Weigh up factors like:

• How long has it taken you to find this property. If you lose it, can you afford to wait that long again before a similar one comes up? How much extra does it cost you in rent vs. mortgage?
• If you stretch the £7k, does it leave you enough funds for fees and immediate moving in costs like any renovations and new furniture you will need?
• Is the property realistically worth that? Agent says the market has changed since December, but that is only four months.
• How long are you realistically going to live there? If you see this as a step and will likely want to move up in 5 years, getting the best price now is more important. If you see it as your "forever home" then as long as the property is suitable and you can afford the payments it's less important.

I would say you are being played regarding the cash investor because if they had truly got a cash investor offering their asking price then they would be busy proceeding with them. Even if you offered the same as the cash investor, cash investor is better than FTB so they still win. I'm with Mrs Ted on this.

But, I can well understand that you're worried about losing the property. Offering more could make sense if it balances significant loss (higher rent vs mortgage, purchase prices going up if it takes 6 months more etc.).

If you can't see significant financial loss then it is a lot harder to justify increasing the offer. As hard as it will be emotionally to lose the purchase, an equally good property will come along eventually.

robatwork

GWick wrote: »

If it sold for £295,000 to someone else, we would be disappointed.

A lot of what you said is "he said she said" stuff. This is the relevant line.