Overpriced House- offers?

stacebkb

Hi All,

I wonder if anyone can help me with what to offer on a house.

We have found a house we like for £285k, however a similar house opposite sold in February for £250k which is a lot lower! The main differences between the houses are:

-The house we are looking at has an extra room at the back due to an extension- the room is approx. 10m2

-The house we are looking at has a bigger garden which is east/south-easterly facing. The house that sold's garden is neater and more looked after, however it faces north/north-west.

-In my opinion the house that sold has a better layout than the one we are looking at, although not sure if that counts for anything in terms of value as it is just my opinion.

-The house that sold has a slightly wider garage, which means the bedroom built above it is also slightly wider.

Extra Info- The house we are looking at has been on the market since December, however in that time there was apparently a sale in process but the buyers had to pull out due to a job offer which needed them to relocate. The sellers have no chain as they have already bought their new house (well, due to complete in the next couple of weeks).

I understand the house we are looking at is worth more than £250k, as it has an extra room at the back- but do all of the differences listed aboove really amount to an extra £35k? Does anyone have any advice as to what would be a sensible offer for us to make? Or can help to explain why £35k extra might be justifiable?

Sorry for the long story! I haven't posted links as not sure I'm allowed to?

Thanks,
Stacey

BitterAndTwisted

It's not over-priced.

tom9980

I agree doesn't sound overpriced to me. My reasoning is the extension will cost 15k at least and the south facing garden is worth 15k or so to me easily as well.

DRP

the houses on the street seem to be in the £250k SDLT black hole zone...

It may be priced at 285 in order to achieve the escape velocity to sell above 250.

The vendors may have received previous any offers at 250, hence why it has been on the market a while.

The vendor may be in the nice situation of being able to wait unti lthey get the offer they want.


Lots of ifs and but and you won't know until you make an offer. I would make an offer of 250 and then sit on it.

pinkteapot

DRP wrote: »

the houses on the street seem to be in the £250k SDLT black hole zone...

This is the problem. You don't get many offers of £250-265k due to the change in stamp duty, so pricing this high is a signal that they don't want offers of £250k.

Still, certainly no harm in trying. If you offer £250k, say that you simply can't see any justification in recent sale prices for going over the SD threshold, so your offer is £250k. Then leave it, don't increase straight away.

If you are willing to go over £250k and want the house, they'll probably take £265-270k at a complete guess.

We bought a house near the £250k threshold back in 2010. We viewed one on the market at £285k and the guy wanted asking price. It still hasn't sold. There will always be some houses that you simply can't buy unless you're willing to pay what the owner wants.

sleepymans

I would try an offer of £270k and then see what happens.
You can always increase if you want to, and if you like the house enough.

I am afraid I have always let my desire for the house dictate just how much i was willing to pay (obviously within a reasonable amount!)

Of course, once you have received the survey/valuation you can revise the offer downwards;)

zzzLazyDaisy

I would make an offer of £250000 stating the stamp duty issue and see what they come back with. They may well reject the offer but come back with a counter offer which is within your means. They are due to complete on their next house soon, and selling an empty house is always more difficult so they may be open to dropping the price.

Also, you say that the house has been on the market since December - but have you checked its history on zoopla? Often a house that isn't selling may have been for sale with a different estate agent previously - this info would give you an idea of how long it has really been up for sale and any previous asking prices.

stacebkb

We are willing to pay over £250k; it is not ideal, but there is nothing below the threshold that meets what we want. The houses are either too small or need to much doing to them.

To be honest we were happy enough to pay around the £280-£285k mark for this house, until I realised that only 6 weeks or so ago one sold for £35k less. It just seems like a huge difference, so we were worried we would be paying more than what it is worth. I suppose we would find that out though when it came to the survey.

stacebkb

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I would make an offer of £250000 stating the stamp duty issue and see what they come back with. They may well reject the offer but come back with a counter offer which is within your means. They are due to complete on their next house soon, and selling an empty house is always more difficult so they may be open to dropping the price.

Also, you say that the house has been on the market since December - but have you checked its history on zoopla? Often a house that isn't selling may have been for sale with a different estate agent previously - this info would give you an idea of how long it has really been up for sale and any previous asking prices.

Zoopla just says that it was first listed on 15th Dec, for £285k- so they haven't sropped the price since it's been on. Not sure how to check if it's been on with other agents though.

pinkteapot

Firstly, the other house is smaller with a less sunny garden. Secondly, you don't know the circumstances. The other house could have sold fairly cheaply for a quick sale.

From the sounds of it, compared with what else is on the market, it isn't overpriced.

It's been on the market quite a while so I'd definitely start at £270k (or £265k if you're brave).

dominoman

Doesn't sound overpriced. If you want it and like it then go for it and don't try to haggle too much. You could easily lose it to someone else.

Just buy it and be happy