How well did you negotiate?

copperjar

I was a terrible negotiator as a seller. House was only on market for three days and I got an offer at £2k under and panicked when they wouldn't increase it so accepted quickly. Only £2k but I do think I could easily have got the asking price and that would have paid EA fees. Having a bit of remorse, especially as we haven't been able to find one to buy yet!

Riggyman

Negotiating directly. Was gonna buy a £250k house plus c. £5k of chattels when that was the days of stamp duty threshold. Lost my buyer, whilst waiting for new buyer, prospective new house went on fire. Big damage, but not structural. Stuck a note through the door saying "I've a mortgage offer on this house and wanna buy it". Turns out a wealthy couple bought it fire damaged to sort out and sell on. Turns out £245k for the house decorated throughout with the paint, plastering and carpet we speced.

Kitchen is still !!!! and the wealthy couple made a killing.

csgohan4

So we're measuring how 'big' we could get a discount or how 'big' we ripped someone off. So who has the biggest?

phoebe1989seb

Current house we negotiated £25k off the asking price, but it had recently been reduced by £50k after another sale fell through close to exchange. We felt we got a pretty good deal.

The buyers of the house we were selling at the time - different & more popular part of the country to where we were buying - offered asking price to us during the viewing and didn't attempt to negotiate, neither post survey (it was a 200+ yr old house, which whilst we'd restored it sympathetically must surely have had some issues for a surveyor to discover!), nor after their buyer gazundered them by £10k

On a previous sale our buyers offered £10k over asking price after we'd agreed to sell to them at the AP. When we declined they insisted and gave us the cash in a brown envelope......did they know something we didn't?

Ithaca

House was on for £485k... it was a probate sale with family selling their mum and dad's old house, so there was a bit of an emotional investment in the property on their part. They were keen to keep the house as a family home (rather than e.g. part of a rental portfolio). We met the sellers on our second viewing and they loved seeing our small children running around the garden that they used to play in, so we were the right "fit" for them.

We offered £460k initially expecting to pay up to £480k if we had to. The estate agent came back and said if we offered £470k it would be accepted, but that the sellers didn't want to b*gger about with a £465k offer then a £468k offer etc.

So we pretended to go and "think about it" but called back 20 mins later with a £470k offer and that was that. Wasn't a steal but was a fair price for a "forever" house which ticked most of our requirements, and it meant we got the sale through in three months.

benjus

If you define the value of a property as the amount someone is willing to pay for it, then you only got a bargain if you would have happily paid more for the property.

The asking price isn't really relevant, as some people will ask for ridiculous sums (often on the advice of agents).

ReadingTim

Everyone who owns a property has negotiated well insofar as they agreed a price which they were willing to pay and the vendor was willing to accept.

Those who didn't negotiate well are in rented accommodation, living with their parents or are homeless.

Tammykitty

Mine was on at £139k, got an offer accepted at £121k, and eventually actually bought it for £115k as the searches brought up issues

CM66

Mine was a new build, brought back in 2009 when the recession was in full swing.

Advertised for £260k and i paid £195k - they have recently been selling for not far off £300k

Thankfully i was in a good position at the right time!