Deal or no deal??

livalicious

Hi there,

My partner and i are first time buyers, and we've seen the property of our dreams. It has been on the market for 5 weeks for £180 000 but reduced to £175 000 last week. The vendor showed us around today and told us he has had a few viewers but no-one has showed any interest, which really surprised me because its a great 2 bed maisonette.

We put in an offer to the EA for £168 500 but was rejected, which we expected and put in another offer for £170 000. The EA called back to say the vendor would sell for £173 000.

We going to do a second viewing tomorrow and would like your advice as to how we should play it.

Should we snap it up and offer £173 000 (both parties want a quick sale) or should we try and lower it £172 000 as we are in a good position (ftb) and not many viewers have expressed an interest in the property.

I dont know if this is wise and if im being greedy by trying to get him to lower the price. Or if i should try to make the most of the position we in by trying to get the best price we can.

Please help!!!!

Feanor

Hi,

We have just bought a 2 bed maisonette and i just wondered which area it is in?

I think you could try 172, theres no harm, and its only £1000 more to secure it..

Have you checked all the terms of the lease etc? Particularly the length of the lease?

x

pinkshoes

How about offering £173,000 and asking them to pay the stamp duty? Or make a deal on the fixtures and fittings? (curtains etc... are often an expense that FTBs don't budget for, so getting them to leave the curtains can be worth a few hundred pounds!)

meanmachine_2

Oh come on - if they want a quick sale then they'll take 170K.

For goodness sake, the moneysavers on this site are such wusses when it comes to property.

170K is still a very high 94% of the original asking price.

Reiterate your FTBer position, put a deadline on the offer, and start looking elsewhere, arranging viewings with the agent who is representing the vendor.

I can promise you, whatever the property looks like, there are hundreds that are identical. SO it's no great loss either way.

livalicious

You dont call yourself meanmachine for nothing do u point taken, it would make sense to go for £170 000 for the reasons ive mentioned earlier but we viewed and made an offer on another property in the same street last week but 3 other people put higher offers in (according to the ea) and we lost out. Both properties are alike except for the other having a bigger garden. That house sold for higher than £175 000.

So yes im a total wuss for not sticking with £170 000 but i dont want to lose this property, i really like it and we need to move soon, we have 2 months notice left on our rented property.

Feanor and Pinkshoes good advice, i might suggest the stamp duty and fixtures on £173 000.

I would hate to push the seller to reduce on what he is willing to take, and then a month down the line getting the dreaded phone call from the ea that he got a higher offer.

The property is in bexley and i have looked on houseprices.co.uk and seen that in that particular street maisonettes have sold for less, so this is why im in two minds about what to offer. The lease is about 102 years, no maintenance costs and ground rent £150.

Thanks for ur feedback guys, much obliged, if anyones interested will post a report about what transpires tomorrow after viewing :beer:

Time2Go_25

I guess some of it comes down to how much you want the property and how much you want to pay. If as you say it's the house of your dream and the seller will sell for 173K and if you are happy to pay that then what's the problem, that's still 7000 down on 5 weeks ago.

joapet

DO what mean machine says. Offer them £170. I work at an estate agents that deals with properties in bexley and they arent taht hard to find! Dont ask the vendor to pay for stamp duty and fixtures and fittings and all that rubbish - i would find that quite rude if it was me!

arthur_dent_2

I found a property I liked and offered at a price I could afford, it was turned down but I went back a fortnight later in a better position and it was excepted. Hold out for what you think is realistic. If the price at £173,000 is more than what you wanted offer less until you are happy.

Nenen

JF77 wrote: »

If I was the vendor and you offered me £170 I would tell you to do one. They have already said they want £173. I hate when people ignore what I say and keep pushing their luck.
I know we are all trying to get by as best we can and of course I hope I never find myself in a situation where I feel desperate to sell.

Just goes to show that we're all different because if I was the vendor my 'I'll take 173' would all be part of the bartering 'game' and I certainly would not be insulted if someone came back with an offer nearer to this but still under (e.g. 172). Or said (as pp) 'OK I'll give you 173 if you agree to leave all carpets, curtains and lighthshades.'

I thought that the whole bargaining/bartering process was about vendor putting house on market knowing that he might have to take an offer a little under this, potential buyer putting in an offer below asking price knowing he may well have to increase and then them gradually negotiating until they meet somewhere in the middle!

Ithink that if, like JF77, you don't want to barter like this you should give your EA clear instructions to tell protential buyers that you are not prepared to negotiate on price and will only accept offers at full asking price.

livalicious

Ok. update. Went to view the property again today and both husband and wife were in. The usual fittings and fixtures (carpets, light fittings, etc) will stay. Told them we have seen another property in the area in the price range we can afford (£170), the place is empty and the vendor is moving abroad so wants to make a quick sale (which is true except i didnt mention the lease is only 60 years so cant get a mortgage on it, but they dont need to know that:rolleyes: ) ) And that we do like the other property but we like theirs more, so we would be willing to up our previous offer of £170 to £172, as we are in a good position to make a quick sale and can have the ball rolling on monday by instructing solicitor, broker, etc.

They said they will have a think about it and that i should formally put the offer through the EA tomorrow and they will let us know what they decide.

My partner was not too happy with my strategy and said we should have offered £173 then and there, but my thinking is, we are willing to offer this price but i would still like to see if we can push them down to £172. I dont think we have anything to lose asking, because if they turn it down tomorrow we will offer £173 anyway with the condition of taking it offer the market and cancelling future viewings (in writing of course).

So fingers crossed they decide in our favour.

livalicious

Good news!!!! The vendors agreed to £172!!! Wey Hey man! :T
Now partners saying "..we should have tried £171...." Typical.

:j :j :j :j :j :j