how much should one offer?

Poppy9

I always start at 10% below the asking price. If you are a first time buyer you might get lucky. You should take into account the length of time the house has been on the market. If over 3 months ask the agent why. Also ask the estate agent and seller if there have been any surveys on the house.

The first house I tried to buy many years ago we agreed a price and had a survey. The survey uncovered subsidence, dry rot, penetrating damp and rising damp. We pulled out as this was too much work. what was annoying was that 2 previous buyers had surveyed the house and all had uncovered the same things and pulled out. The estate agent and sellers knew the problems but didn't disclose them and we wasted £300. 10 years later I read in the local rag that the whole street had serious subsidence problems so we had a lucky escape.

My advice would be to get your own surveyor, not mortgage company valuer, to check over the property. Make sure you instruct them to lift carpets, check all electrics, test heating system and go into the loft. Well worth the £500 it costs you as if it highlights costly problems you were unaware of you should be able to negotiate the price.

Also legistlation has now changed and if you show the seller and agent your survey they are obliged by law to disclose the results of the survey to any other potential buyers if they ask. failure to do so could result in the buyer sueing you later on.

Robert_Sterling_3

Of course, if you are making an offer on a two bedroom flat in South London you should add 50% or more to the asking price and promise to complete within 3 weeks.  ;)

When I was involved in buying a flat in SE1 I went to the open  day when about 112 flats were up for grabs.
The flats had not been built but at least the old warehouse had been gutted.
We saw where a flat would be that fitted the bill.
The price was quite high.
The conditions of sale included £1000 here and now on day one.
Exchange of contracts and balance of deposit £15,000 plus on day 22.
They compromised on the first condition and held the flat for us for 30 minutes while we got £500 from a cash machine and allowed me to get another £500 the next day, a sunday, to make up the £1000 non returnable deposit.  The money paid at completion was also non returnable.
The flat should have been ready after 8 months.
It wasn't.
It was ready after eleven months.
ON the day we got the keys they said words to the effect that if a buyer wanted the earler payment refunded they could have their money back plus an additional £40,000.  That was on one of the two smallest flats among the 112 built.
We did buy the flat
It has gone up 80% by now compared with the starting price.
I was a bit nervous to say the least about parting with a five figure sum as a non refundable deposit but it was to one of the best known companies in London.

Starcross

I was interested in a small property in Liverpool that had an asking price of 58k. I offered 52k which was turned down. The agent came back 2 weeks later and said his client would accept my offer of 52k. I told them sorry if your client is that desperate that my new offer is 50k.

That made the agent choke on her cup of tea, and asked if I was joking. No I was not, I now knew that I had a better hand than the seller and just upper the stakes. I was not that fussed either way.

I bought another house in a better road for 54k

Robert_Sterling_3

Some you win .. Some you lose

MisterT2

I think £195 is way too high as a first offer. I offered £175 on my house which was reduced from £220 to £200 at the time. We settled at £178.5K.

There are always plenty more fish in the sea.

Robert_Sterling_3

Not always and particularly not in a fast rising market.
However I have no doubt you are right in a particular case.

joesan

thanks for all your responses...

Anyone have any views on buying offplan?? the prices they quote will they budge on it?
the housing markets seems to be slowing a little maybe its time to get some bargains

LB23_2

I think £195 is way too high as a first offer.


I agree, especially in current market.

My other half has just sold his house. It went on the market a year ago at £550k and has just sold for £460k. It does need a bit of decorative work, but there are no structural problems etc and it's in a good location, excellent schools etc and good access to London.

He reduced the price after 4 months to £495k (i.e. under the 5% stamp duty break point) and we really expected it to sell then. However, he had to reduce again to £475k in the summer and it still sold for a lot less than the asking price.

I know it's all house dependent etc. etc. but this is a house that 2 years ago would easily have sold for over £500k.

We are looking at a house to buy together now. It's priced at £395k but we know it's been on the market for 8 months and had a sale fall through 6 months ago with no offers since that we are aware of. We intend to offer £345k and hope to get it for around £360k.

As many others have said. If you offer low, you can always go up. There is so much around about house prices possibly falling and interest rates going up, it's definitely a buyer's market at the moment. Take advantage of that and make a low offer to start - you might get lucky.

On an average, in your position, I'd probably offer £180 and see what they say.

Good luck!