What to do after being gazumped?

greatgimpo

SephirothX wrote: »

I drove around the estate tonight and saw a for sale sign for a property I hadn't seen online. Looks like it was on the market in May of last year. It is listed the same price as this one and comes with a garage, a study room, and a kitchen big enough to fit a dining table. Admittedly the master bedroom isn't as nice as it is on the second floor with the sloped roof and doesn't have a balcony.

I wonder what is up with that one. Either a sale has been dragging on for 7-8 months or it was taken off the market but the for sale sign left. Right Move lists it as removed rather than sold. I may enquire with the estate agent to see what its status actually is.

It may be on the market, it may not. Bite the bullet and knock on the door - you'll get a straighter more honest answer than asking the estate agent (who may be out of contract). It may be the best money-making decision you make on this move.

SephirothX

greatgimpo wrote: »

It may be on the market, it may not. Bite the bullet and knock on the door - you'll get a straighter more honest answer than asking the estate agent (who may be out of contract). It may be the best money-making decision you make on this move.

I e-mailed the estate agent the other night on that one and they say they sold that one last year. No idea why the sign is still outside, maybe forgot to remove it? It's not listed on Zoopla or RightMove as a registered sale anyway when you check recent sales.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Cretaphile wrote: »

A house is only worth what someone will pay for it.

I'm just browsing through this thread, but this is the best advice I've seen.

We don't have much experience buying/selling (waiting to exchange), but the ones we have, we have 'probably' paid over the odds slightly. It didn't matter, because they were the right house for us.

The one we are about to buy (fingers crossed!) is an example.

Mid-terraced, marketed at more than the semis on the 'better' side of town. We viewed 13 that day, and nearly didn't look at this because it was a good £30k more than other mid-terraces we'd seen.

We viewed in on a whim and instantly fell in love with it. On paper, it should be worth less, but to us, it's our forever home. We nearly lost it, viewed others, and still came to the same conclusion - it's the one we want. As long as we are happy with the price we're paying, it really doesn't matter what others are 'worth'.

(We have no mortgage, so don't need to worry about valuations).


Go with your gut - is it 'the one'?

Good luck, whatever you choose.

(Although, to add, the gazumping is a nasty trick!)

SephirothX

You viewed 13 houses in one day? That is crazy! I am quite picky, it took me two months to find one property to decide to view, and I wasn't keen on it being on a main road and that the vendor didn't want to move out until 6 months later. Then I went and viewed this one and liked it a lot. I valued it around 145-6k based on previous sale values in the area. I negotiated by starting at 143k knowing they wouldn't accept that. Offered 145k and didn't expect them to accept that and was prepared to go up to 147k as my final offer but I didn't need to. Now I find myself with an offer of 150k and less furnishings that they were prepared to throw in originally - all because another offer of the asking price appeared from nowhere.

I have done more valuation research this week than I did before making my offer, comparing to similar sold properties by removing value from them, IE 3k for a detached garage or an extra office room. I've also split the sales to compare properties of a larger type and the one I'm buying separately. I also added house price inflation. I then concluded that my original assessment of the valuation was out and that actually it is worth about £148-9k. But this assumes my assessment is correct of what extra features are worth and how much more an end terrace should be worth over a mid.

In the end I realised that I should be paying around £148k or 149k so I have decided to allow the valuation to go ahead and if they value it under £150k I will reduce my offer or pull out. I'm not willing to pay more than it is valued, because that will ruin my mortgage application. I am right on 35% LTV and can't place more deposit to keep that LTV without getting rid of the money I'm keeping aside for buying things like washing machines and income security (IE cover bills for X months if I lost my job). A lower LTV would mean a higher interest rate, a fee for a product switch or even a lender switch if I figure it more cost effective to do that. So I will pull out if the surveyor values it at even £149k.

What does concern me is that I know surveyors never value properties at more than the agreed sale price - only less, if they feel it is worth less. I just got through paperwork for the survey today and the surveyor still thinks I am paying £145k. I suspect they won't value it higher than that because of that fact alone. I will contact the bank tomorrow and maybe the surveyor directly to adjust the new offer price so that their valuation isn't affected by the old sale price.

ChasingtheWelshdream

SephirothX wrote: »

You viewed 13 houses in one day? That is crazy!

We are moving 300 miles away and can't exactly pop back to view easily. (Although we have also done that!) :rotfl:

forum_posts

How much did you pay for the survey? If you pull out over a couple of grand you will have to pay for another survey on the next property, and the next etc

SephirothX

paulandjanine wrote: »

We are moving 300 miles away and can't exactly pop back to view easily. (Although we have also done that!) :rotfl:

Ah, that makes sense. I would do the same if I were moving that distance. But I feel a more detailed second view is always a good idea on the ones you like most. I spent an hour and a half on my second viewing.

forum_posts wrote: »

How much did you pay for the survey? If you pull out over a couple of grand you will have to pay for another survey on the next property, and the next etc

I think it was about £185 or something like that. The bank offer the basic valuation as a freebie in their mortgage deal and I paid the difference for a home buyer's survey. Being a 4 year old property it doesn't warrant a full structural survey and I keep asking myself whether even a home buyer's survey is needed on a property that young.

I do realise that too, but on another property there's more chance of negotiating a fair price without being gazumped and having to offer more than you feel it's worth. I don't live in London where demand for properties is high; unless people are desperate to sell and pricing as such then properties will sit for months. Half the properties I was looking at in October and saved in RightMove are still for sale. This is why I have doubts about the validity of the other offer. Not difficult to have a mate put in a bogus bid is it?