Opinions on offering a house OIEO

giddyG2001

Any opinions on what to offer on following situation

This house has come up, it's the road I want and just within budget. Have been to see and am going back to see on Sat with parents and will probably make an offer.

I'm thinking of starting at 127500 with room to go up, £130000 being my max It's been on the market since start of Novemeber, VERY popular road, some investors interested and one other offer today (pretty sure from an investor and EA said it was too low). Met with the vendor who showed me round who said she would rather it go to a first time buyer. Houses on that road don't generally come up for sale very often and one earlier this year sold within about 6-8 weeks I recall.


What would you all start with? I don't mind going to 130k but at the same time don't want to start too low and go back with 3 offers to get to that amount cos then I'm worried I won't look like a serious buyer!

Rosetinted

What price is the property listed for and what sort of condition is it in?

giddyG2001

Oh yes, sorry!

On for OIEO £130K, property is very good condition, it's been tenanted so very neutral walls, newish boiler. Just needs double glazing in front room and front bedroom. Was thinking this could a reason why I am offering just below the asking price. Do people do that?

makeitstop

Try £125K, make clear you are offering below asking due to windows needing doing. If it's a nope, then go up to £128,500.

Finally, go to your £130K with the condition that it's taken off market.

That way, it will be yours.

As long as no one comes along and offers above you in the meantime.

Rosetinted

It's always difficult to ascertain what the correct offer price is. Lots of market research in the area you're looking to buy + a little guesswork is the only way to do it. Even then, you might be up against a seller with an overinflated opinion of what their home is worth or other keen buyers who push the price up.

When I make an offer that's lower than asking price, I list the things that are wrong with the property or need fixing and approximate cost to rectify them and then say, in light of that, my offer is X (house price minus whatever cost I said), just so they know you haven't plucked a number out of thin air. Whether or not that works depends on the seller and how reasonable you've been with your offer.

Has the property dropped in price at all since it was first listed? Often people start at, let's say £140k, then drop to offers in excess of £130k. Also have you checked the land registry for sold house prices on the street and in the surrounding area? Was the other house that sold comparable in size, number of bedrooms and condition? If so, what did it sell for (actual price, not listed price)?

The only way to really gauge an approximation of value is find things nearby that are comparable that have sold recently and see what they sold for. If it's in good condition and on a popular street, you may have competition, but a plus is that November/December is typically a quiet time of the year for house buying and selling, and the last property took a couple of months to sell (which isn't that fast), so you may get away with a slightly cheeky offer.

If you want to be taken seriously, I suggest you do not keep going back to the vendor with tiny increases to your offer (i.e. £2k or less). It smacks of someone who is trying it on and they may well decide to sit back and let you keep creeping up until you hit the level they want or write you off as a time waster.

Finally, you have to decide what the property is worth to you. If you've been searching for months and this is the best one that has come up and you love it, a few extra thousand isn't much in the grand scheme of things. If it's one of several you've seen that you'd buy, by all means start a bit low and then work your way up to your maximum offer, but don't go any higher.

giddyG2001

The most recent ones sold were in 2013 and this year and went for £125k and £126K respectively. They were both of similar standard and had the same number of bedrooms. I think they're asking a couple of K's over what it;s worth personally, but I think that's because they know how popular the area is.

I know the area and it is a very popular street, it is one of my two streets I would love to buy a property on if they ever came up. Hence why I am in 2 minds whether to offer below or just go for the asking price, I'm not great at holding my nerve tbh waiting for an answer will he hellish enough!

The house was actually on the market a few months back for 120K but disappeared fairly sharply, when I asked why the vendor said it was because they wanted to get the tenant out, repaint it etc so people could see it at it's best. She has had an offer this week on it, I believe from an investor, which the estate agent said I was low, I have a funny feeling it was around the 125k mark.

Lots to consider but all in all, it is my dream house, and I would pay a couple of k's over the asking price, but I'm trying not to get too attached.

Rosetinted

How interesting that it was on the market already for £120k. I'd be surprised if the vendor spent £10k on paint, so hopefully they are realistic with their expectations! I'd suggest £127k may be a good opening offer. It give you room to go upwards if necessary and it seems a lot more than £125k, even if it's only a couple of grand extra. If it's rejected, be sure to ask the EA what price the vendor realistically wants to achieve for the house. Surprisingly you'll often get a straight answer!

Whatever you decide price-wise, hold your nerve when you make your offer to the EA and don't make it immediately after viewing. Take time to discuss it with your parents and see if they agree with you on what the property's worth. When you call the EA, give your reasoning, make the offer and then be totally silent. Don't be apologetic about a lower offer than asking price or talk about how much you love the house, otherwise they'll smell that there's more money to be made.

I'm due to pay full asking price for a house I'm in the process of purchasing at the moment. I don't regret my offer in the slightest, but I would have regretted losing the house for the sake of a few grand. Turned out there were several offers at asking price and the fact I was a FTB was what got me the place. The house is worth it to me and I'm looking forward to eventually completing on it, plus didn't have the stress of looking over my shoulder worrying a higher offer would come along.

Best of luck with the property. It sounds like you've put the spadework in when it comes to research, so I hope it pays off.

deaston

it's the road I want

VERY popular road

Houses on that road don't generally come up for sale very often

In my opinion, if you like the house and if you can afford £130k, offer £130k. For the sake of £2,500, is it worth the risk of losing the property you seem to clearly want?

deaston

giddyG2001 wrote: »

Oh yes, sorry!

On for OIEO £130K, property is very good condition, it's been tenanted so very neutral walls, newish boiler. Just needs double glazing in front room and front bedroom. Was thinking this could a reason why I am offering just below the asking price. Do people do that?

Maybe there's a planning reason the front windows weren't done? (assuming all other windows have been done)

giddyG2001

deaston wrote: »

In my opinion, if you like the house and if you can afford £130k, offer £130k. For the sake of £2,500, is it worth the risk of losing the property you seem to clearly want?

I agree but are they going to see 130k as a starting offer? I can't really go massively higher - approx 132k

giddyG2001

deaston wrote: »

Maybe there's a planning reason the front windows weren't done? (assuming all other windows have been done)

Good point, never thought about that, will ask when I see again on Saturday