ftb what should we pay

nicola106

thanks for the advice i was starting to lose hope in mse forum! :-)

clarabelle41

Agreed, the price paid 20 yrs ago is irrelevant. Property prices vary enormously across the uk and fluctuations depend on the economic climate etc etc, For example, if you bought this place, lived in it for 5-10 yrs then resold you would hope it had increased in value but by how much is impossible to predict. You wouldn't be impressed by a buyer coming along and saying you paid X for it therefore I don't think it's now worth the current asking price I want to base my offer on 10 yr old valuations.

You say it needs a new kitchen, bathroom, downstairs loo and decorating. If its in a very poor condition then the EA should have priced accordingly or made mention of it in the sales details. Obviously what the vendor wants for it is another matter. If these things are purely a matter of taste rather than either being broken or have been removed then these are issues every buyer faces. You have to decide if doing the work is possible within your budget. Price up what it would cost to do the work and adjust your offer accordingly and mention that when you put the offer in. The vendor can only say no! Just as you have a budget so will they and money lost is then money they don't have for their onward move.

daleksec

Nicola106, I think it can be quite nerve wracking trying to work out how much to offer, and its easy to worry about being "ripped off" and paying over the odds.

If you go on Zoopla you can see the actual prices houses sold for in the area. If the house is a one-off this might not help much, but if there are similar houses which have been sold recently, it will give you a good idea.

Lots of research is the answer I think and looking at lots of houses, even if you don't think they are quite what you want. We are just in the process of moving, and completely changed our minds about what we wanted during the process of looking. If you view lots of properties you will get a much better idea of what you can get for your money.

I don't think you should worry about offending the sellers with a low offer. You never know what someone's situation is, and they may accept a low offer, or they may not and then no-one has lost anything.

Just a word of warning that some Estate Agents can be a bit pushy once they think you are interested (we were interested in a house which had been on the market for months. Once we said we were going to make an offer, suddenly there were lots of other people interested (according to the EA)). House is still on the market.

nicola106

firstly to lejc, clarabelle41, daleksec thank you so much for your kinds words of advice I have found them insightful and really useful, it is really nice to have someone just confirm your own train of thoughts are correct sometimes. As i am sure you all remember how scary that 1st step on the ladder was.

As for geoffky why comment if you have nothing of use to say, I don't feel I did anything to warrant such a harsh comment. I ask you please do not comment further on the post. :money: