Guide price - another question

dylansmum

Hi All

Thanks to all who have really helped me with my last post. Sorry for another thread! How do you all understand 'guide price', please?

One viewing - guide price 180K but vendor unwilling to accept less than 220 (he messaged me directly on FB!): bidding war..but why start at 180K then? (So far: not sold..and lingering on the market).

Another viewing: guide price 170K - EA said this means 'put in an offer.'

We are not ready to offer anything as yet - these were vacant possessions and wanted to get a feel while awaiting EAs to value our own house and then make decision. We were up front with vendors' EAs about this!

But guide price feels like an auction? Does it always mean offer more - not that would if not worth it, but can see how people who might not know the area could be lulled into it, potentially..

inatdeepend

Marketing gumpf. Ignore.

stator

Anything with a guide price I treat as suspicious. To be honest it means exactly the same as OIRO. Somewhere around £180k.

I would ignore it completely and offer whatever you think it's worth.

eddddy

dylansmum wrote: »

...these were vacant possessions...

Just FYI - "vacant possession" is a legal expression. If a property is "for sale with vacant possession", it means you can occupy the property after you have bought it (i.e. it wont have tenants.)

Some EAs mis-use this expression, they use it to mean "currently unoccupied" or "currently vacant".

If you hear an EA make this error, assume they are not too bright - and proceed accordingly.

(end of rant)

Paully232000

We saw a property in summer 2013 on for offers over/guide price. We ignored this and offered what we thought it was worth, just less than the offers over price.
Not accepted and then shortly came off the market. Then in summer last year came back on the market at a fixed price of 25K more that the previous offers over price and is still on the market as of today.

dylansmum

Paully232000 wrote: »

We saw a property in summer 2013 on for offers over/guide price. We ignored this and offered what we thought it was worth, just less than the offers over price.
Not accepted and then shortly came off the market. Then in summer last year came back on the market at a fixed price of 25K more that the previous offers over price and is still on the market as of today.

I do not get it - same where I live - a few have reduced guide price - but lots been on market ages: guess they need to get much more to move themselves? Or happy to wait.

And funnily, just seen another one re-advertised: Sept. 2013 on for 185, off in Feb 2014, back on in March at guide price 160K, off in August, back on Nov 2014 at guide price 175 - and when I called EA they said best offers above but in meantime are looking to rent it out. Yo yo house.

inatdeepend

I've only been looking into buy somewhere for about six months and I've already become aware that there is often little logic in what sellers and estate agents do!

I should add a lot of that is to advice I've received on here, it really has all been an eye opener!

Hoploz

I would add, do not communicate with a potential buyer or seller through Facebook. It will only end in tears.

Loopy28

From my experience of offering so far on houses with a guide price, it would appear that this is often used when the vendor doesn't really know what they want to accept for the property. They don't want to be committed so accepting an asking price.

Twice I have offered on guide prices and they have wanted much more.

Davesnave

I think a guide price is fair enough if it's a one-off with some special feature. No, I don't mean a hot tub in the back garden!

As examples, it might be 300m of fishing rights, or a really unique location.

In those circumstances, an agent might suggest a guide price, because a couple of potential buyers, willing to pay over the odds, could really alter the outcome.

However, we all know that the term is used well beyond those parameters, so in effect, it becomes meaningless.

I'd offer what I thought was right, after considering near comparables.