First time offer on a house.. advice appreciated..

united4eva

Hi guys,

I'm looking to put in an offer on a 3 bed semi in Stretford, Manchester (First time buyer). The house is currently listed at 175K and has been on the market since early Nov, so a few weeks. Hearing the usual speil from the EA about lots of interest but no offers as of yet. OH is very keen on it. and we've been looking for about a year now. House is in very good condition all round with a small extension to the kitchen, although its also on a very tight narrow road meaning that I would need to flag/gravel & drop kerb the other half of the drive to have decent space for both our cars. Personally I think the house is about 10k overpriced.

The house last sold for 163.5 K in Feb 2007 which was slap in the middle of the peak, and I don't believe prices have returned to those levels yet, granted some additional work has been done such as double glazing and the vendor will no doubt be trying to recoup as much as poss...

What do you guys reckon I should go in with realistically without looking ridiculously cheeky and still geniune? Demand at least appears to have gone up in the last few months but dont want to end up overpaying because of this perception. The EA said to me, 'surely the house is worth a cheeky offer?'

Thanks in advance!

pawsies

Set a limit on the maximum of what you would pay (remember solicitor fees and other costs incurred with moving) and propose it as this is my only offer.

ACG

Nice username :-D
Who are the agents? I have had dealings with trading places (although not the Stretford office) and Bridgfords - im not sure i would trust what either have to say.

9 times out of 10 they are going to decline your first offer anyway unless you go in and say this is the max i can off. If they reject your offer, you can always go back with a higher one - its not a case of they have said no and thats it.

As you do think its overpriced and they are probably going to want their money back there probably isnt a huge room for negotiation - unless they are in tough position (ie in arrears or getting to the point where they will be) - I would be inclined to go in at say £155-157k, then £160k and then £165k.

You obviously have your value in mind and its important to stick to that.

The agent is always going to talk the property up, thats their job. If their have been no offers (they're not saying low offers, they're saying none) at all then that speaks volumes for the pricing of that particular property.

Also, as nice as the agents are now dont forget theyre being employed by the vendor. They are not on your side no matter what they say.

Winkle1908

If you have been looking for a year and this is your perfect house, set yourself a top level for what you think its worth.

If my house was for sale and had only been up for a couple of weeks I would not accept 10K under asking price, unless I needed to move or had seen the house of my dreams. I'd expect that holding out would get me a bit better offer.

Would you be willing to pay asking price if the user wouldn't budge? If the house is overpriced then this will come out at survey I would have thought.

In terms of receiving an offer I would look at the buyers position, could they move quickly/slowly to accomodate. Were they in a chain, FTB's.

We got 10k off a 175k house that was on the market for 5 weeks. There had been other viewers but no offers, we were buying only and they had seen somewhere which influenced them accepting the lower offer.

We knew we were in a favourable position, 2 identical houses on the same street, the one we wanted was up for 175k and the one 3 doors away was 170k so we knew we should get it for 170k. We started out negotiations at 160k went straight back with a 164k which was rejected because we wanted them to leave some stuff. We then left it until the following day and said our absolute maximum was £164,500 but we would be willing to not have the appliances we requested.

We asked for an answer within 24 hours or we would be offering on the other property so we could purchase one of them. They accepted.(We never had any intention of buying the identical property, because we didn't get the feeling for some reason in that house). The identical property sold in the end for 160k 2 weeks later, but I was more than happy with paying 5k more because it needed less work.

united4eva

Thanks for all the replies, @ACG Where in Manchester are you? I have had significant contact with Trading Places Stretford who I have found to be fairly reasonable and not so pushy, albeit the manager there has given me the 'I've had house X sell at asking price, House Y is just as good and you will love it..' spiel however the EA in this instance is Bridgfords... enough said lol. I am thinking along the same line as yourself, going in with 155k and then seeing how it plays out, leaving some room for negotiation.

As for me an OH we have no chain, and have an agreement in principle, I have been told the Vendor does not have a chain per se, as they are willing to move into rented accommodation... this would suggest they may be fairly keen to sell quickish?

ACG

I live in Handforth now, but half my family are from Urmston/Flixton/Davyhulme.

Bridgfords are Bridgfords - all part of Countrywide and all very much the same.

If they're prepared to move into rented then i would be looking at that as a weakness (so to speak) - there must be a reason as nobody wants to shift all their belongings and then do the same again a few weeks later.

united4eva

ACG wrote: »

I live in Handforth now, but half my family are from Urmston/Flixton/Davyhulme.

Bridgfords are Bridgfords - all part of Countrywide and all very much the same.

If they're prepared to move into rented then i would be looking at that as a weakness (so to speak) - there must be a reason as nobody wants to shift all their belongings and then do the same again a few weeks later.

So it's not just me then..

Spoke to them again and have now been told vendor has a place ready, and is happy to move once the price is right.. I see this as a bonus with them being ready to move. Additionally was told they have a number of viewings this week around 6-9 but only 1 or two were 2nd viewings..

united4eva

Also, are you able to recommend any reliable Conveyancing Solicitors in Manchester? Or anywhere to be honest?

ACG

If you put your offer in first, they may use that as a starting point for other potential buyers.

Ive been watching too much of that phil spencer bloke i think. 2 ways to look at this - put in a good offer assuming they cancel the other appointments and go solely with you or leave it to see if interest dies down and put in a lower offer.

It depends on the market and how much you want the property i suppose.

I cant see them dropping much below £165k if they purchased it for that and have spent money on the place unless they really are up a creek without a paddle.

If there is some potential demand there i think i would just go in and say £165k is my max but i would want an answer within say 24-48 hours and it to be taken off the market if it is accepted.

ACG

Ive dropped you a message with the details of a solicitor i use. I didnt want to post them on an open forum.

united4eva

ACG wrote: »

Ive dropped you a message with the details of a solicitor i use. I didnt want to post them on an open forum.

Cheers, appreciated :T