First Time Buyers - How much to offer below asking price?

nicolawl

We are first time buyers and have completely fallen in love with our ideal property! I work for a bank and so there is no issue with the mortgage. My question really is how much is an acceptable amount to offer below the asking price? I've read that as a starting point 10% less is ok... the house is up for £135,000 and the maximum we can stretch to is £124,000 but I was going to go in with a starting offer of £120,000. Do you think this would be acceptable?

Scared of being rejected for being too cheeky and losing out on our dream home!

Thanks in advance

Gordon_Hose

Try it, the worst they can say is no and you up your offer.

Our house was up for £178,950, we offered £170k, they refused and said they'd take no less than £172,500 so we offered £172k and they accepted.

TrixA

Where in the country are you?
What have other similar properties sold for?
How long has the property been on the market?
Are there other buyers interested?

These are all things that can and should affect your offer. That said, if £124k is your absolute maximum, going in with a slightly lower first offer seems sensible.

nicolawl

Thank you both for your insights - very helpful.

We are in Manchester - 2 others on the same estate have sold for £125k and £129k, however this one is much more modern. This property has been on the market for about 4 months, has had quite a bit of interest however I am unsure if any other offers have been made. We do have a second viewing tomorrow though, so can find out

adamb4322

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

Try it, the worst they can say is no and you up your offer.

Couldn't agree more!

TrixA

If it's been on for four months with no price reductions during that time (Zoopla will tell you), the vendors must know they are unlikely to get full asking price. I'd be surprised if they'd accept less than £125k if the property is objectively nicer than the two that have recently sold.

Gordon_Hose

Don't be scared of being rejected, it's what negotiation is all about. I don't understand people who get offended by low offers!

You just have to get to a figure both parties are happy with. If they won't take less than £125k then go back and say £124k is your maximum and leave it on the table, you might find they take it up after a few weeks anyway. Or after another months pay you can make it up to the £125k they want.

If you don't at least try you may lose out on your dream home anyway.

martin.cat

If it's up for £135 they are hoping to break the stamp duty fresh but if offers / interest aren't forthcoming they might take £125 or close to it

I would make the of as stated below your max but I would also try and find that extra £1k

rosie383

I agree with the above. I certainly wouldn't get offended by a low offer on our property. I may not accept it, but at least it opens the way to negotiate. And I think it is a good idea to leave an offer of 124k on the table even if they initially say no. We are selling and if we could turn the clock back we would have gone back to a viewer who had offered us 5k under the asking price when we first went on the market but were assured by the EA that our house was worth more. A few weeks later we would have been happy to take it but they had found another property by then.

nicolawl

Thanks everyone, all your comments have been really useful

heytoki

On monday i put an offer of 175K on a property of O.I.E.O 185K. They said no straight away and the reason givne was that the vendors just paid a bill of £5k for a work in the building. Then, i worked out how far i could go and called them again and offer 180K saying that it was my maximum i could go for. Today i have received a call from a different guy in the agency saying that wanted to talk to me. Unfortunately i couldnt pick up the phone and now i cant contact him as he is not in the office (nervous).

What i am saying is the same as the rest of the comments and as what the guy who showed me the flat told me... Put an offer... you never know!!

Good luck!!