What To Offer (2)

tightasagnats

So I've seen a house today needs a lot of work. Anything large enough in the areas I'm looking at will do.

It's a probate property, grandad died, family are in Spain/Jersey and not interested in living in London.

Agent told me that during the crazy boom that took place around here in last 18 mos or so pre Brexit, it was on for £600K. You'd get that for a house that size in a great street done up with a converted loft, extension etc. The area is not so desirable but borders one that very much is and will overspill within 3-4 yrs - I've done the same before and it's worked out really well.

So it's dropped and dropped, down to 495K. They turned away earlier offers and it's now been on since Feb and no-one is interested.

My top price for anything is 475K. But I wouldn't pay that for it. It has great potential, huge garden, no immediate neighbours on one side, but would cost 25K plus to get it into decent shape, move bathroom upstairs and knock out remaining part of kitchen diner area. Is it worth offering 450K? Go to 460K max and then quit if not accepted? The difficulty is that the family will have no real idea of value around here. I said to the agent it wasn't worth any more than 450 and he didn't argue. Trouble is that F**stons had them first at the crazy price....

Crashy_Time

Doubt the family are going to be that dumb about current prices, they would probably have access to rightmove, property bee whatever? I suppose that is why they are dropping the price though.....:rotfl:

ukcarper

tightasagnats wrote: »

So I've seen a house today needs a lot of work. Anything large enough in the areas I'm looking at will do.

It's a probate property, grandad died, family are in Spain/Jersey and not interested in living in London.

Agent told me that during the crazy boom that took place around here in last 18 mos or so pre Brexit, it was on for £600K. You'd get that for a house that size in a great street done up with a converted loft, extension etc. The area is not so desirable but borders one that very much is and will overspill within 3-4 yrs - I've done the same before and it's worked out really well.

So it's dropped and dropped, down to 495K. They turned away earlier offers and it's now been on since Feb and no-one is interested.

My top price for anything is 475K. But I wouldn't pay that for it. It has great potential, huge garden, no immediate neighbours on one side, but would cost 25K plus to get it into decent shape, move bathroom upstairs and knock out remaining part of kitchen diner area. Is it worth offering 450K? Go to 460K max and then quit if not accepted? The difficulty is that the family will have no real idea of value around here. I said to the agent it wasn't worth any more than 450 and he didn't argue. Trouble is that F**stons had them first at the crazy price....

If that's e maximum you are prepared to pay I can't see you've got anything to lose by offering that.

jimpix12

So it hasn't dropped in price since February?

I'd be inclined to start lower...

david1951

They might just want to get rid of it. First price was clearly ridiculous and the agent will tell them that. Could just say 450 is your best and final offer - take it or leave it.

It's been on for this long so you could take the chance that you are the only bidder.

tightasagnats

Thanks folks. It has dropped since Feb a few times, yes. It sounds as if they are being stubborn and not listening to agent's advice. I think if you live in Spain and you see houses in a certain area getting silly prices you think 'right I'll have some of that' but the reality is that the area is divided into pockets - and this house is still in an undesirable one. But it's opposite a great secondary school and less than a mile from the tube. You have to be around here a while to know about these things, those coming in to the area, and that seems to be the majority of buyers for the lower end properties i.e. below £550K, don't have much idea outside the bits where the bars and posh cafes are. My area was seen as not so great, but now Costa and fancy pastry shops are here and that's that. It's offically cool and my neighbours have gone from being grannies and builders to art directors and opera singers.

I have nothing to lose as you say....

Davesnave

It's impossible to second-guess this kind of sale.

When I was last buying, I had two similar sorts of property in my buying list, and their eventual sale prices shows that I valued them accurately for offer purposes. In both cases the vendors should have been biting my arm off.

However, it was 6 months and 3 years (!) before the vendors/inheritors agreed with my figure, offered by someone else, as I'd moved on and bought elsewhere.

Sometimes, life is too short. If it were me, I'd put close to my best offer on the table and time limit it. This would just give a bit of wiggle room to come up if they counter-offer.

.

Crashy_Time

Davesnave wrote: »

It's impossible to second-guess this kind of sale.

When I was last buying, I had two similar sorts of property in my buying list, and their eventual sale prices shows that I valued them accurately for offer purposes. In both cases the vendors should have been biting my arm off.

However, it was 6 months and 3 years (!) before the vendors/inheritors agreed with my figure, offered by someone else, as I'd moved on and bought elsewhere.

Sometimes, life is too short. If it were me, I'd put close to my best offer on the table and time limit it. This would just give a bit of wiggle room to come up if they counter-offer.

.

That was in the old days of the bubble though. Price drops will accelerate as people realise that we are actually leaving the EU and that the EZ really is in trouble.

Davesnave

Crashy_Time wrote: »

That was in the old days of the bubble though. Price drops will accelerate as people realise that we are actually leaving the EU and that the EZ really is in trouble.

It's always 'different this time.'

It was 'different this time,' last time.

But never mind all that. People are individuals, so no one can second guess what they'll decide, especially when decisions aren't necessarily rational. Probate properties are notoriously difficult to negotiate on when there are a number of interested parties involved, each with their own take on the situation.

ukcarper

Davesnave wrote: »

It's always 'different this time.'

It was 'different this time,' last time.

But never mind all that. People are individuals, so no one can second guess what they'll decide, especially when decisions aren't necessarily rational. Probate properties are notoriously difficult to negotiate on when there are a number of interested parties involved, each with their own take on the situation.

That's the problem with Crashy and his HPC mates, they claim to know how other people are thinking and will react but the truth is it's it how they would like them to think.

The OP seems to have done his research and has a clear idea of what he thinks the property is worth so I would have thought the best thing for him to do is offer that or a figure near that and put a time limit on it.

Crashy_Time

Davesnave wrote: »

It's always 'different this time.'

It was 'different this time,' last time.

But never mind all that. People are individuals, so no one can second guess what they'll decide, especially when decisions aren't necessarily rational. Probate properties are notoriously difficult to negotiate on when there are a number of interested parties involved, each with their own take on the situation.

Either a house is worth 600k, or it`s worth nearer 400k, depending on what the market in the area is doing and whether or not you can get someone to buy it (very important in actualising "value") It`s not really difficult to grasp, in a full on HPI a Go Go market this query wouldn`t even have popped up on here, but in this market people are being forced to adjust their expectations of what a house is "worth".