Offers, how to handle a situation.

bloolagoon

Recently we have been out offered for a home I loved so am nervous about under offering on another one. I put an offer of £195 on a £210 valuation for the following reasons

1) it needs severely updating and other houses in the street go for £200-£210 max modernised.

2) the extension looks like it will need rebuilding, significant cracking

3) you can walk under the house at head height to a tunnel adjoining a field

4) the owner is on an assisted move and wants to move quickly, this was a none chain offer.

It was refused as there is interest in the property and early days, which I understand.

How best to deal with this now?

I can pay £200 none chain, subject to survey etc

I would go nearer asking price if in a chain.

I want to have a discussion with the estate agent regarding this and also asking to contact me if other offers are made so I could potentially offer more. Is this possible? How best to proceed?

Mr_Moo_2

Step away from the emotions and ask yourself if this is viable. It needs loads of work but is priced not that far away from what a decent place will fetch? Sounds structurally suspect, and there's access for people to an adjacent field? Does it all stack up?

Seabee42

Rarely is a house needing work low enough in price to cover the cost of updating it. On the plus side you can put in the fixtures you want. The downside is you frequently have to live through the upheaval.

I would be more concerned about the extension personally.

It is hard to judge by what estate agents say, but it is not uncommon for a first offer to be refused. It does not meant the property is worth that much more for you.

You sound like you feel your offer was reasonable considering the work required and if that is so maybe you should not offer more. Only you can decide what its worth to you.

motherofstudents

If similar houses go for £200-210k then £195k sounds very generous. How much will you need to spend on putting it right? Don't forget that the EA works for the vendor and it is his/her job to get as much as possible for the house so you can't really trust what they say.

hazyjo

Remember the EA works for the vendor. Any sniff of a higher offer for you, and he will push for it. I would not involve him too much in your thoughts regarding price!

You don't need a reason to make an offer. Just offer what you feel it's worth - compared to sold similar nearby properties.

Is it England?

Don't presume the extension just needs rebuilding - it could be subsidence for all you know. Make your offer subject to survey and valuation (which they will probably presume anyway).

Bit confused when you said '...on a £210k valuation'. Has it been valued, or are you going by its asking price? That is not a valuation, it could be what the vendors have asked for it to go on at for all you know (presuming England).

I would not want to be paying more than £195k for something that needs a lot of work when other houses in the street go for £200K+ (presuming you're going by sold prices, not their asking prices!).

Something else will come along if you lose this. You've said yourself that other houses in the street have been up for sale.

Being chain free makes you a more favourable buyer.

Don't wait until other offers are made, you'll end up in a bidding war. Best to get a deal tied up before it gets to that stage (if there really is interest - EAs are known to say this often to make you up your offer). Just offer what you think it's worth, then walk if it starts going over that value. Like I say, there will be others. Remember, you're bidding against yourself at this stage, so don't keep going up when the EA comes back to you. You need to decide on what's your max for this house.

Jx

bloolagoon

Thank you, we rang today and said £195 max no chain. To answer the other questions it is the land, this is a corner plot with double if not treble the land of other houses.

The small extention cracking doesn't bother us as it was done 32 years ago and still standing and will be pulled down anyway. We are buying to extend as this will allow a lot of extra space without losing the garden. Again dated kitchen and bathroom isn't an issue as they'd come out to extend anyway.

As a 3 bed its over priced as a potential 5 bed its reasonable. I can't compare with the other corners as none sold recently.

The main issue is this basement thing. We couldn't go down to view it, the vendor talks of how much her children enjoyed playing under the house, potential for a huge den / soundproofed room or nightmare.

Has anyone experienced such a thing?

newbutold

Why could you not go down & view the basement. I wouldn't be offering on a house that I had been unable to view all parts.

bloolagoon

newbutold wrote: »

Why could you not go down & view the basement. I wouldn't be offering on a house that I had been unable to view all parts.

None lit - lady is elderly, it's not on the listing the ea is unsware, se just mentioned when showing us the under stairs cupboard that the floor is removed and you can walk underneath the full house to a head height of at least 6ft as her deceased husband used to play down there with her children.