What would you offer?

Cakeguts

Matt_L wrote: »

We viewed this property just over two weeks ago with an EA, the guy that took us around the house wasn't the one that we were talking to at their office. He did didn't know much about the house just that the gentleman that was living there had been put in a home (which he changed to had passed away before we had finished the viewing).

We spoke the following day to the EA we had been dealing with at their office and gave him our offer. He told us that someone else had also put an offer in but for well over the asking price. We then emailed him our offer.

Two weeks later we hadn't heard anything so again contacted the EA and he told us the both offers had been rejected....

If the bit about the owner passing away is true then this house cannot be sold until probate has been granted because until then there is no owner who can sell it. Probate can take several months to come through so you need to check what the man who showed your round said and get a definitive answer.

A house is worth what someone will pay for it. Putting new kitchens and bathrooms into houses that already have them is a cosmetic change. Cosmetic changes don't make much difference if any to the price because everyone has different tastes. So a dated kitchen and bathroom is not to your taste.

The price is based on where the house is and what it is. So you work out your price if you want it starting from is it a fair price for the area and is it a fair price for a 2 bed in that area. If both of these are right then you will need to offer around the asking price. If you feel that this is too high for you then you need to look for something else or offer what it is worth to you and see if that is rejected. If it is you then look for something else. What you can't do is to expect a seller to accept a low offer just because you want to make cosmetic changes to the property.

Matt_L

Cakeguts wrote: »

If the bit about the owner passing away is true then this house cannot be sold until probate has been granted because until then there is no owner who can sell it. Probate can take several months to come through so you need to check what the man who showed your round said and get a definitive answer.

A house is worth what someone will pay for it. Putting new kitchens and bathrooms into houses that already have them is a cosmetic change. Cosmetic changes don't make much difference if any to the price because everyone has different tastes. So a dated kitchen and bathroom is not to your taste.

The price is based on where the house is and what it is. So you work out your price if you want it starting from is it a fair price for the area and is it a fair price for a 2 bed in that area. If both of these are right then you will need to offer around the asking price. If you feel that this is too high for you then you need to look for something else or offer what it is worth to you and see if that is rejected. If it is you then look for something else. What you can't do is to expect a seller to accept a low offer just because you want to make cosmetic changes to the property.

Then I'm a little confused because thats seems to be what most are telling this chap to do.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5507210

Cakeguts

Matt_L wrote: »

Then I'm a little confused because thats seems to be what most are telling this chap to do.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5507210

That house is overpriced because of the area it is in. I think you will find that most people have agreed on that. It is also in not nearly so good condition as the one in this thread. There is a difference between refreshing something and putting in a low asking price because your taste is different.

You will also notice that the house in Leeds is still not sold. That is because the owner won't accept the lower offers.

Cakeguts

Matt_L wrote: »

Thanks Bonfire

Wythenshawe is a complicated area, just a few years ago it had the largest council estate in Europe and is classed as a deprived area. Many houses in this area are selling for less than what they were bought for just a year or two ago. We currently live around the corner from this particular property and my partner has lived here all here life and knows the area wel
We are prepared to walk away, were just in two minds on how far to go with increasing our offer. We are also unsure whether or not someone has offered well over the asking price as stated by the EA, if this is the case then we would definitely be out....

You have answered your own question here. The answer is that you would not be prepared to pay that much for a house in that area. So having got that far what you now have to do is to find a property in an area where you would like to buy. Your pricing is based on the area because you have said what the problems with the local area are and you have said the some houses have seen price drops although if this was for new builds that is often the case.

Matt_L

Cakeguts wrote: »

That house is overpriced because of the area it is in. I think you will find that most people have agreed on that. It is also in not nearly so good condition as the one in this thread. There is a difference between refreshing something and putting in a low asking price because your taste is different.

But the majority of people are telling that seller to make cosmetic changes to increase its value which is exactly what you said you cannot do??

Also the house I'm looking at is in one of the most deprived areas in the UK, in just the last 6 months there have been two burglaries on that very street....

CBeardsworth

How much they will accept relies on whether you can convince them that your offer is the best they will get. This is easier to do if the house has been on the market a while as this is generally proof that the vendor is asking for too much money (like the guy in the thread you link).

If the EA is telling you that someone has offered over asking price (even if this isn't true) he probably thinks that your offer is genuinely not the best he can get and will be telling the seller the same. Determine your highest offer that you are willing to give, then be a bit cheeky with that and hope that they come back to you with a counter offer at least. You can help them see that they are asking too much (if indeed they are, I don't know the area) by quantifying what NEEDS doing to the house. The bathroom and kitchen look perfectly liveable from the pictures but if you know otherwise then tell them why you are offering so much less.

CBeardsworth

Matt_L wrote: »

Also the house I'm looking at is in one of the most deprived areas in the UK, in just the last 6 months there have been two burglaries on that very street....

Are you sure you want to live there...?

PasturesNew

A house will be priced on what it is - if it needs redecorating the price will already have been reduced a bit to reflect that.

Beyond that, you can't expect the seller to "fund" your aspirational desires....

You take the house at a price you think it's worth, or you don't.

That house needs nothing doing to it really. Anybody could move straight in. "Offers over" usually means that the seller expects at least the price asked for, not a hulking great discount.

Unless the seller is entirely delusional, it'll end up going for £135-141k probably. If not, just keep an eye on it to see if it gets reduced in time then offer again.

It might be that at, say, £138k, they can afford to move/it's worth their while, but under that much they might as well stay where they are.

Crashy_Time

How many times have they reduced the price already? Nothing special house in a not so hot area, why would you sweat even a little bit about jumping through the sellers hoops? If they get 100k for this they will be lucky, glad to be proved wrong though.

Person_one

Matt_L wrote: »

But the majority of people are telling that seller to make cosmetic changes to increase its value which is exactly what you said you cannot do??

Actually, people are advising that he drops the price as its practically a full renovation project and its not in a desirable location so it isn't worth what he's asking for it.

If a buyer, like you, viewed that property then made an offer £25,000 under the asking price, they would get exactly the same response from the seller that you have, a flat no!

Houses get bought and sold when a buyer and a seller agree on how much money has to change hands for it to work well enough for both of them. I do think your offer was pretty cheeky, but even if it wasn't then it doesn't actually matter if the seller is holding out for higher.