Houses priced at 260k

shamac

Lots of houses in our area seem to be priced at £260k. We want to avoid the massive jump in stamp duty ifpossible so thinking of offering £249950 on one. Is this unrealistic or is this what estate agents are expecting/ being offered when marketing at this price? Opinions welcome, thanks.

monty-doggy

I think they expect to be offered under stamp duty. If they wanted over stamp duty they should market at 270-280 in my opinion.

john_white

offer two hundred and fifty thousand it sounds a lot more than two hundred and forty something ...

Don't mention the SD. If it were me your reluctance or inability to pay tax is not my problem.

hazyjo

See what's sold in that bracket - not a let, I bet. I would presume that anything up for £260k is saying they want £250k.

However, make sure you compare against sold prices of similar nearby properties. It might well be that being near the SD threshold has lowered the value of their home. It might even be 'worth' nearer £240k.

I had a house up for £265k once, ended up reducing to £250k, got an offer at £248k, but the chain collapsed. Ended up selling for £228,500, I think - wanted a quick sale to buy another house (which they reduced).

Jx

DaftyDuck

Just be careful... there is an agency trick to price just above stamp duty thresholds so a purchaser can negotiate successfully to just under the threshold, and feel good about it....

.... and not notice the property should really be valued well under the threshold anyway!

More common at the higher stamp duty thresholds, where it's not as clear-cut, but I have seen this (and nearly fallen for it too ) on several properties.

Check what you think it is really worth.

JennyW_2

The house we are buying was on at £259K and we got it for £244k