Offers - Am I moving too quick?

JimmyTheWig

The only problem is that now you have showed your hand to the vendor that you can afford to go up to £168k if you want to.

If a buyer offers £166k as that is the most they can afford and the vendor realiases that that is the most they can afford then they may accept it. What's the point in walking away over £2k?
But if the buyer offers £166k but can afford more the vendor might reject it on the basis that the buyer will think "What's the point in walking away over £2k?".

Absolutely you shouldn't offer more than it is worth to you. But that doesn't mean that you should try to get it for less than it is worth to you!

Pete9501

fluffy123 wrote: »

Do I just go and view and see what happens?

Yes, just in case you completely change your mind. Houses are a lot of money over many years, make sure this is the one for you. Take a camera and use it especially photo the hard to see bits like the roof space, orchard, Orangerie, lake and boat house

Pete

fluffy123

Haha!

Was hoping to take a tape measure along and check furniture will fit in the bedrooms, check the loft (didn't see this last time), generally go over everything in more detail and check it fits as right as the first viewing suggested.

I was also thinking of speaking to one or both of the neighbours just to get a vibe on the area in terms of crime etc?

Jason74

Nobbie1967 wrote: »

You must be rich, bet you wouldn't bend down to pick up a tenner in the street:rotfl:

We're talking thousands of pounds here, remind me what the MSE forum is about again;)

That's true, and £2k can be very useful when you're buying (probably) the most expensive thing you will ever purchase. But, a house is also the most important thing you'll ever buy, and in the context of how important somebody's home is to their overall wellbeing etc. , £2k is actually not that big a deal, especially spread over 25 years.

So for me, this boils down to two simple questions. How much does the OP want this house ?, and how many others meet his criteria If it's just one of several that would meet his / her criteria, then offer somewhere in the middle, or indeed just wait a while. But, if the house particularly suits the OP and there's a risk that delay will lose it, then I'd go down the road of putting in the £168k to get it done and dusted. That's still £2k less than the OP has said they were willing to pay for it, so everyone is happy.

JimmyTheWig

Jason74 wrote: »

So for me, this boils down to two simple questions. How much does the OP want this house ?, and how many others meet his criteria If it's just one of several that would meet his / her criteria, then offer somewhere in the middle, or indeed just wait a while. But, if the house particularly suits the OP and there's a risk that delay will lose it, then I'd go down the road of putting in the £168k to get it done and dusted.

I agree with this completely.

fluffy123

Agreed we'll see how the second viewing goes.

Would it be advisable and permissable amongst the other things (measuring etc) to ask the vendor if they had a property they wanted to target and what their timescale was for moving? I was also thinking of knocking at one or both of the neighbours just to get a vibe on the area for noise, crime etc.

I also wondered if I put in an offer straight in for 168k whether I could counter that subject to the survey results (obviously) but also that the house is taken off the market immediately to allow me the next week or so to instruct solicitor, meet mortgage broker to apply for mortgage and pay for mortgage survey in confidence that this won't be gazumped? I was also hoping to request that curtains and blinds would be kept in place too to save some initial costs and perhaps the dishwasher and fridge freezer that is kept there. (Integral hob etc is mentioned in the descrption but curtain, dishwasher, FF isn't).

JimmyTheWig

fluffy123 wrote: »

Agreed we'll see how the second viewing goes.

Good plan.

Would it be advisable and permissable amongst the other things (measuring etc) to ask the vendor if they had a property they wanted to target and what their timescale was for moving?

Definitely permissable. I would, certainly, but remember at this stage nothing is set in stone. Most (source?!) vendors would say that they are prepared to go into rented if necessary but then "change their mind" later on down the line.
Nothing is set in stone until contracts are exchanged, so anything said at this point in time isn't worth much. But worth asking them to see what reaction you get.

I was also thinking of knocking at one or both of the neighbours just to get a vibe on the area for noise, crime etc.

Again worth doing. Again you can't hold anyone to anything said at this stage.

I also wondered if I put in an offer straight in for 168k whether I could counter that subject to the survey results (obviously)

I see any offer as being based on what is known at the time. If the surveyor finds things that you didn't know about then absolutely fair to ask the vendor to drop the price. Obviously it is up to them to agree, negotiate or walk away at that point.

fluffy123

Thanks -

Sorry, I think I asked this previously but just wanted to make crystal clear.

If offer goes through etc etc and then I meet with my broker to arrange a mortgage - can I pay the broker his fee and pay for the mortgage survey (on, for example, HSBC) only on that day and then request a more in-depth survey for myself in say a months time? Just to limit my costs?

Hoploz

fluffy123 wrote: »

Thanks -

Sorry, I think I asked this previously but just wanted to make crystal clear.

If offer goes through etc etc and then I meet with my broker to arrange a mortgage - can I pay the broker his fee and pay for the mortgage survey (on, for example, HSBC) only on that day and then request a more in-depth survey for myself in say a months time? Just to limit my costs?

Yes you ćan have the survey arranged separate to the valuation for the lender. You won't want to hold things up by a month though.

fluffy123

I was thinking of arranging this maybe the week after?

Interesting development yesterday evening. Had a phone call and an email from the EA's purchasing department. Email subject: 'Purchase confirmation - 168k' outlining everything I needed, details of solicitor to send to them, proof of funds etc. As expected, the person I spoke to to outline it was figure that we would consider subject to a second viewing (on 3-4 occassions) has bashed through an offer which we didn't ask for. Had to outline back by phone and email that it wasn't an offer and our offer stays at the first offer, subject to the second viewing where we may or may not increase our offer. They've obviously now informed the vendor of this as well as the email states that they are happy to accept this offer.

Makes the second viewing a little awkward now.

How sly.

I've also noticed the house backs onto a cycle path, which apparently is dark at night. I now need to use the second viewing to assess the security of the property. That could be a fair sum if there isn't an alarm system, backlights etc? I also noticed that the patio door that opens out to the garden was quite stiff when opened. Hmmm.