FTB- How to make an offer on a property and general advice please!! : )

mazy_m

Hi all,


So I've been a good girl and got myself out of debt and now saved a bit of deposit nothing special just 5%-7% of the property prices I'm looking at. But this is London the prices are ridiculous already!


So I've seen a house and I'm going to view it this week and I worked out the affordability and I've my limit that I can go up to.


However what I need help with is how much should I put the offer as (if I do like it of course!!) Say the property has a guide price of £181,000 would it be ok to offer £175000? A cool £6000 less or is that too cheeky? I've looked at properties in the area and some have gone for closer to the £170000 and some £185000.


Also would anyone that's been through the process just give me a heads up on the timescale it took for theirs to go through ( I know each sale is completely different and dependent on so many factors.) But it would be good to see what has actually happened for others.


Also does anyone have any helps and tips and definitive dos and do nots? They've be greatly appreciated : )




x

paye

Hi,

Regardless what the asking price is, you make your offer on what you think the property is worth. If you think the property is worth £6000 less then you put your offer in , £6k less, but given the fact that the property market is hot at the moment , especially in London, you could risk losing the property to someone who is willing to pay the asking price. It's a gamble.

It took me around 6 weeks to complete on my property,from viewing to completion.

p.s. Have your mortgage in principle sorted before viewing any properties.

Good luck.

mazy_m

Hi paye,


Thanks so much for your comments. I think looking around that would be a fair amount and as there isn't a picture of the bathroom I'm guessing it's not in a great state! But I can go up a little bit and as you say I don't want to risk losing it as things just get snapped up so quickly around here! But I need to be strict and stick to my budget!!


I've got and AIP from Natwest but looking at their terms and the fact they add the HLC has put me off a bit and when I researched Santander they seem to give a bit of a better deal so I might go and speak to them ( I'm not sure if I can have two AIP or if this is allowed)


Wow 6 weeks that's amazing!!


Thanks so much for your advice and good luck wishes. : )

flashg67

I'm just completing on a property we got for about 12% less than the 'offers over' price, so it can be done. Mind you, I'm in the NW so not quite the same market. They can only say no, but be prepared to be disappointed and don't get caried away - it will come down to the valuation for mortgage purposes anyway.

Taken about 7 weeks from offer to completion, but with no chain either way.

I didn't have an AIP when we offered, but some agents may insist on it, or force you to see their in house advisors before allowing a viewing, as naughty as this might be. So may be a good idea to have proof that you can borrow, even if you don't go with that mortgage provider in the end.

Not bragging, but your 5-7% deposit is equal to 20% + on the propery I've just bought - it's not all grim up north! Good luck!

mazy_m

Thanks flashg67 that has made me more hopeful but like you say I do realise it's a bit of a law unto itself here!! That's what I'm worried about getting carried away I just need to keep repeating my budget to myself and make sure I don't go over it as it just would mean it's not possible to get it!!


The annoying thing is I used to live in Liverpool and I've been following the housing market there and I've found some lovely properties there for example there was one that was on the market for £239,000 and was a detached barn conversion with land that wasn't that far away from Liverpool but more out in the sticks but for the same price here actually for £245000 I can get a not very nice poky 2 bedroom with no real garden! It's just crazy! I have to venture further out and commute in to afford something a bit better than a teeny flat on top of a road ( We've got cats!!) they take more consideration and have more need than kids! ha ha!!


Totally agree with you I would've stayed in Liverpool but I couldn't get a job in the field I wanted and it seemed impossible to get a job there at the time but that was a few years ago now or I'd still be there! : )


Thanks again!!

PixelPound

Be prepared for estate agents tactics, some will try and squeeze more money especially if you are a FTB who seems keen on a property

Dird

This morning I put in an offer of £118k on a property on the market for £125k. The problem is they already had another bid & 5 viewings yesterday with some planning 2nd viewings in the coming days and they talk about "best and final" with no hints of if you need/should increase your bid.

I panicked & offered asking price in exchange for it being taken off the market but they seemed a bit !!!!ed at my demands.

summary: don't copy me :f

I guess there's 2 situations:
1) If it's been available for a while - feel free to haggle
2) If its new (on rightmove) & has a lot of interest you might just need to pay the max you think it's worth in the hopes of securing it. But if you're not in a rush to move then it's not so bad.
In my case it's the only property online within the range that I like & we need to move out in a few months so can't really wait for others to come on the market without paying new rental fees

Edit: also, have you already got a mortgage in principal that says how much you could borrow? HSBC only offered me 2*salary despite low costs & no credit history :f

mazy_m

Thanks Nic for the advice I actually went and did a first viewing today so that I could what it would be like to get there after work and the second viewing on Saturday should give me an idea of the area on the weekend too!


The agent did say to me that they'd had one offer but it was below the guide price and the seller declined. I might have done the wrong thing and asked what he was looking for and would he sell for the guide price but when I did he nodded and then paused and said yeah and above so I think he'll take the guide price?

I'm not sure whether to go in at the guide price or £2000 under as when I checked when he got it he got it for exactly £50000 less so that would be on his mind I imagine!


I was honest and told them I liked it but that to suit my tastes I would need to decorate, do the bathroom and outside so that was something I did need to take into consideration. I also made it clear that my budget was pretty concrete as it was based on the mortgage that I was offered.


Dird -thanks so much for your advice also. Oh no it's horrible to hear you panicked but my friends that gave their full amount and said that's us all cards on the table got the house at that price as they weren't messing around so fingers crossed for you! When do you find out? How cheeky to big a bit annoyed at your demands - cheeky !!!!!!s!!


I like the property and I've got a good vibe from it. It's a reasonable run from work so if I got it for the price I was happy with I'd be made up! If not then it gives me more time to save for a 90% mortgage and get better deals and in that time my other half will have a pretty good promotion so we'll be in a better place financially. Also as my baby cat is buried outside I'm sad to think of leaving and not lighting his candle every night for him there.


I hope as I can see the pros and cons for each that it will mean that I can keep calm as that's my biggest flaw- to flap a bit and stress myself out for no reason!!


I've got what I do believe it an AIP from Natwest but I was looking at their terms and they don't seem as good as a couple of others I've seen so I think I'm going to get some more advice tomorrow or sat morn before or after the second viewing.


Thanks again all of you it's so nice having people to talk to about it all!


Maz x

Dird

I got accepted Today. As an FTB at asking price I was pretty much expecting it to be approved (especially after calling HSBC last night to get a AIP over the phone).

It didn't feel like a win though as I got nothing off asking & the net says 5-10% is common

Red-Squirrel_2

Dird wrote: »

I got accepted Today. As an FTB at asking price I was pretty much expecting it to be approved (especially after calling HSBC last night to get a AIP over the phone).

It didn't feel like a win though as I got nothing off asking & the net says 5-10% is common

Don't view it as a game/competition. Thi is the most money you've ever spent and its for the place that' going to be your home! If you've secured a place that suits you and that you like, for a price that is reasonable and acceptable to you, then that's a really good result and don't worry about what 'the net' says!

PixelPound

You have to know what the place is worth, see what similar houses have sold for. London is a different market to elsewhere and I read that property gets snapped up fast - it is important not to panic bid though, especially if you feel "this is the one"(TITO). If you have revealed that then the EA knows they can squeeze you. The EA did this with the first TITO, my initial bid was 20% below asking price - a lot but that was based on what houses within same and adjacent streets of similar size had gone for. Although it took some effort to convince the missus at first. After it was rejected we increased to 10% below asking (to what similar houses in the next street had as their asking price but still for sale). Again rejected, but the EA said they'd accept 3% below. Our DIP said we could afford way over the asking price, and foolishly as we'd given this to the EA, they knew they could push us.

In the end we walked away as we didn't want to pay over the odds. Four months later that house is still for sale at the original asking price, as is the one in the next street that was 10% cheaper. They are overpriced, but there are vendors out there who believe people will pay what they think the house is worth, rather than what they are selling for.