FTBs first offer made - negotiation advice needed

pete96

monty-doggy wrote: »

House prices are on the up. FACT. And the housing market it moving quickly. I think you have put far too much into your letter and they can read a mile off that your heart is set on that property, no way will they accept a low initial offer. And without being rude, I don't think you should have asked for the white goods and chimnea!

I am a FTB, saw a house at 169k and offered 164. I was told by the agent they wanted closer to the asking price as its good price etc and. Really wanted it so I maxed myself out to 167,500.

As it happens the survey came back with a value of £164 so they dropped it to that after survey.

If you really want the house, offer as near to asking as you can, and then re negotiate after the survey.

With respect, I'm not sure this is the best advise. It goes against all other advice I have read, on here and elsewhere.

Our offer letter was based on a template from this forum. Our starting offer was also based on the general concensus on here, and elsewhere, that 10% off the asking price is as good a place to start as any.

The white goods are unwanted by the vendor, as per my previous post.

welshwizard1927

Although negotiating is advised, there surely is an argument that you should offer what you think is reasonable. Everyone's first offer is always stupid as its always going to be rejected - perhaps if you both love the house that much and are that happy with it, you should offer £155k but be clear that you're doing so to avoid this game of table tennis, and say that you're not willing to go any higher.

If that's rejected - walk away. Chances are if the seller is planning on emigrating, she'll have a timeframe that she will want to stick to, which may force her to accept an offer lower than she thinks is reasonable.

welshwizard1927

By the way - if the white goods are unwanted by the vendor, why are you raising it at this stage? You'd be in a better bargaining position once the offer has been accepted and the paperwork is in place to by them for cash at a reduced fee to save the vendor the hassle.

lauraland

pete96 wrote: »

Yes, we both really like this house. It is the 5th house we have seen and is actually the cheapest. Like I said, we are willing to go up to £155,000, but how many offers/how big increments is best to get there? Also, how long to wait before each rivised offer?

How long has the house been on the market, why did the previous sale fall through and how long ago was that offer made?

pops5588

Are you sure its the one or are you indifferent?

We were looking sort of near where you are looking (Chandler's Ford) which isn't ideal in terms of a comparison because Southampton is a bit cheaper. I think £152-155,000 is a fair price. Our house was purchased for £162,000 3 years ago and we still paid an additional £9,000 (and was still £9000 under asking price). When you put the figures to one side, it really does just come down to how much you want the house. Even though we knew that not a huge amount of value had been added to the property, we wanted it.

Just think about what your boxes are, and how many of them are ticked by this house. For us parking was key (we have family that live far away and come to stay in big groups at a time) and we had lots of space. Kitchen to me was important, and our house has a nice-sized, recently-renovated one etc.

There's not much point in going up in £1000 leaps. They will see the pattern and just keep saying no. I would go with monty-doggy's advice if you're dead-set on it.

martinsurrey

monty-doggy wrote: »

House prices are on the up. FACT. And the housing market it moving quickly. I think you have put far too much into your letter and they can read a mile off that your heart is set on that property, no way will they accept a low initial offer. And without being rude, I don't think you should have asked for the white goods and chimnea!

I am a FTB, saw a house at 169k and offered 164. I was told by the agent they wanted closer to the asking price as its good price etc and. Really wanted it so I maxed myself out to 167,500.

As it happens the survey came back with a value of £164 so they dropped it to that after survey.

If you really want the house, offer as near to asking as you can, and then re negotiate after the survey.

hmmm you need to check your facts...

house prices are on the up ON AVERAGE across the UK, fact...

but regional prices are showing very different trends...

Southampton is still well down on its peak and is weaker than a year ago, the OP is well placed on this one.

I would play it cool, view other houses in the area.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41222882.html

this is a 3 bed nearby in the same ball park price wise.

You can always tell the EA that there are other larger 3 bed houses in the area that are appealing in that price range (£160k+) but that you would be interested in the 2 bed IF the price reflected that.

nothing to lose...

grifferz

pete96 wrote: »

Our offer letter was based on a template from this forum.

I'm not sure that was the best advice then, because you've basically gone into far too much detail and made it clear that you re desperate to buy this property.

Most of the time on here I see people ask how to make a first offer and they are told "just call up the agent and make the offer".

pete96 wrote: »

Our starting offer was also based on the general concensus on here, and elsewhere, that 10% off the asking price is as good a place to start as any.

Again, most threads I see here where someone asks what should I offer, they are told you can't take a blanket X percent off the asking price regardless, because it depends totally on:

• the market of the local area
• whether the property was priced correctly to begin with

So maybe we have been reading different threads but I am not ware of any such consensus I'm afraid.

You clearly did some homework, and agent has come back to you with their countering of your arguments - which is surprising to me actually as my experience is they just say no without elaborating.

You will have a problem now that the agent knows how much you want the place, that they are probably going to try to squeeze you for everything they can. That can't be helped now.

You have already had some good advice about how to play it... Basically decide what it's worth to you, try to view other things, prepare for a drawn out negotiation here.

pete96

lauraland wrote: »

How long has the house been on the market, why did the previous sale fall through and how long ago was that offer made?

It's been on the market since 23rd of April, and had about 12 viewings. The Agent claims the previous sale fell through because he lost his job, but like I said, this is the second time I've heard that from different agents. Not sure when that supposed offer was made.

pete96

Thanks for ALL the really helpful and speedy advice guys - REALLY appreciated!

pete96

pops5588 wrote: »

Are you sure its the one or are you indifferent?

We were looking sort of near where you are looking (Chandler's Ford) which isn't ideal in terms of a comparison because Southampton is a bit cheaper. I think £152-155,000 is a fair price. Our house was purchased for £162,000 3 years ago and we still paid an additional £9,000 (and was still £9000 under asking price). When you put the figures to one side, it really does just come down to how much you want the house. Even though we knew that not a huge amount of value had been added to the property, we wanted it.

Just think about what your boxes are, and how many of them are ticked by this house. For us parking was key (we have family that live far away and come to stay in big groups at a time) and we had lots of space. Kitchen to me was important, and our house has a nice-sized, recently-renovated one etc.

There's not much point in going up in £1000 leaps. They will see the pattern and just keep saying no. I would go with monty-doggy's advice if you're dead-set on it.

It ticks all boxes.