PLEASE help me with how to pitch this offer!

CG77

Hi again everyone,

Ok so we viewed a property and really like it. It would be ideal for us in every way (location, size, price...) so we want to put an offer in.

House is on at £189,950. I know the vendor has had ‘a couple’ of offers and said she will be accepting one of the offers within the next week or so as she is very keen to get moving (no chain on property she wants to buy).

We are able to offer up to the full asking price...BUT...we have recently been stung by a property we offered on being down valued by a huge £30k (!) meaning we had to pull out, and I fear this house too may be overpriced at £189,950 considering the most recent house to be sold on the street (different layout but similar square footage) went for £176,500 in March! There are others within a mile which are similar and went for up to £187k but not sure the surveyor will look that far! We’d be going with the same lender as it’s a good mortgage for us.

If we offer asking price and it’s down valued again we won’t be able to borrow enough to buy it. If we offer £185k and it’s down valued to £180k we could just about scrape it but I fear someone will already have offered that and we’ll need to go higher to get it.

So...what do we do? Do we start low (£182k?) and go from there? And do we go up to asking price even though we suspect it will be down valued?

Help please! We’d love to own this house! What would you do in this position?

CG77

Oh and I meant to add we have no property to sell ourselves and so are ready to go straight away (but then so is the neighbour to the vendor who we know has also put an offer in!)

Scotbot

In a situation where there are multiple offers you are going to have to go near the asking price, especially if it has not been on the market long. If similar houses are going for 187 then 185 seems a reasonable price for someone ready to go.

I am always wary of someone who says they have multiple offers, you never know. For me the biggest factor is time on the market, the longer it has been on the lower the offer can be

Don't be too concerned about the valuation, if it comes in lower you can reduce the offer but to do that you need to be the winner in the first place

A surveyor should consider houses within a mile radius.

AnotherJoe

What Scotbot said, it’s premature to be considerng a lower valuation at this stage, if you don’t win initially, you won’t get a valuation.

CG77

Thanks both!

I agree with you and do get the point about having to win it first, but having had it on a previous property recently, given the £176,500 for a similar sized house on the same street, and just discovering now that the identical house (with a garage rather than the second sitting room) on the next road sold for £159,950 in January, I just wonder if we’re wasting everyone’s time even offering that high?

Crashy_Time

Yes, it is priced too high. See what the valuation says, and don`t get over attached to any property at this stage.

bouicca21

Depends on what the market is like in your area. Are people queuing up for viewings? Does property go under offer within days? If so, then prices are probably on the up. If not and its been on the market for weeks or months then the vendor is probably fibbing about multiple offers, so go in low.

CG77

This type of house is rare to come up (modern but not brand new build), 3 big enough bedrooms (one with en suite), utility room etc and ok area. When they come up they usually go within the day (we have tried to view 3 but all have already gone). This one’s only been on a couple of weeks and estate agent has told me of one offer, vendor says ‘a couple’ now which is totally feasible, and says more viewings are lined up for the weekend and Monday after which she’ll decide which offer to accept.

Crashy_Time

CG77 wrote: »

This type of house is rare to come up (modern but not brand new build), 3 big enough bedrooms (one with en suite), utility room etc and ok area. When they come up they usually go within the day (we have tried to view 3 but all have already gone). This one’s only been on a couple of weeks and estate agent has told me of one offer, vendor says ‘a couple’ now which is totally feasible, and says more viewings are lined up for the weekend and Monday after which she’ll decide which offer to accept.

So this one hasn`t gone "within the day"? Is there something wrong with it, or is the market turning where you are? From what you have posted it seems you can`t really afford to compete for this house if your bank/valuer says no, so you should put it to the back of your mind and view other property IMO.

Mutton_Geoff

Any offer is not just the bottom line price, it's about the purchasers position and speed of purchase (ie good solicitor, fast valuation/survey).

When presenting an offer, I always discuss this relevant information with the vendors. My current house was purchased late last year with an offer that was £100k less than another buyer who was lined up but waiting for their sale. I had already sold, had cash in the bank and purchased without requiring a survey and the vendors were attracted by this and I got the house.

CG77

Thanks all. Happy to say I’ve now had an offer accepted so will wait and see what happens with the valuation! Eeeek!