What’s the lowest offer you’ve made that’s been accepted?

betsie

Hi
Just wondered what low offers people have made that have been accepted.
Saw a house today that’s a probate sale been on since Aug 17. Had one offer that didn’t proceed. Needs lots of work inside and an extension and loft conversion to make it a decent size. Nice big front for parking but not a very big rear garden (wide but not very deep) We will be chain free, cash buyers so in a good position. Just trying to work out how cheeky to go in with our first offer.

Aylesbury_Duck

£61,000 after being rejected at £60,000.

todayisagreatday

Probate sale, viewed a couple of weeks before Christmas. It had been on for £375 and had been reduced to £360k. Vendor was only doing viewings with people who were in position to proceed. Quizzed him over price when we viewed it (we'd already made decision we would pay asking price if needed). He reduced price there and then to £325k. Just as we were leaving he outright asked if we were interested and we said potentially but needed more work than we though etc etc. There and then he knocked another £10k off to £315k if we would agree aka he was desperate. We did..... but reiterated it being subject to survey.

Survey as expected for an 1970s property. Some issues with septic tank and soakaways all things we were expecting, used it to negotiate again knowing our good position and the fact he wanted a quick sale, finally agreed £303k

Do some digging, find out their position, if you are in a good position too it helps!

ThePants999

I once offered a model plane in exchange for a board game - silly friend of mine accepted. Plane was probably worth about three quid, board game about twenty. We were about eight at the time, though.

Davesnave

If the house needs extension and work to be suitable for you, then you have to price that up and offer accordingly, leaving at least a 10% margin for error in build costs. They'll always be more than you anticipate.

Trying to second-guess what those involved in probate are likely to accept is like reading tea leaves. The more there are, the greater the chance of dissent.

A house close to me with 3 beneficiaries went on late last spring at a hopeful £350k. I thought £299k max. It's just sold at £295k, but after a winter of being empty and unheated, it didn't look too good!

bxboards

I bought a house for under 45k recently.

4 storey townhouse, reroofed and insulated in 2009, new gas central heating put in in 2013, with 2 really large cellar rooms too in a nice conservation area. Previous owner had had it for 30 years, and let it out, and basically wanted a quick sale and didn't want to re-let after previous tenants moved out.

Right place, right time - it came up on Rightmove, I viewed at 4:30pm same day and made a cash offer at 5pm. I said no survey needed, and I guaranteed to complete in 28 days, no messing. Was rather surprised it was accepted! I spent about another 2k on it, really just tidying up but a good solid 200 year old house, and I'd been happy to live in it.

katie4

our home was up for £80k stuck to our guns and they accepted on £66k

Oakdene

On the market for £120k, offer accepted at £104k.

hazyjo

Bit pointless really unless you're talking in percentages (£50k off a £1m house is peanuts - off a £250k house, it's huge). Plus, depends on the vendor's position, and what the market's like, and if it's overpriced or realistically priced to start with.


I've paid the asking price in a rising market, and I had an offer of £274k on a £300k house accepted when the market was absolute rock bottom and literally starting to creep up again within a week or two after in 2013.

ReadingTim

You can be as cheeky as you like. How the vendor will react is a completely different matter.

Many understand that housebuying is an elaborate courtship ritual, and a cheeky opening offer is like a cheesy opening chat up line: "'ere darlin', did it hurt when you fell from heaven?!?"

Some might bite your arm off.

Some however, may feel your cheeky offer is actually all you've got, and you're trying to punch above your weight. Others may take that offer as a value judgement on them, their lifestyle, the legitimacy of their parentage and refuse to have anything to do with you ever again.

Where you vendors are on that scale no-one knows - certainly not randoms off the internet. For the record though, I was in bed when the EA called to see if I wanted to make an offer on the place I'd viewed. Given I was lying down, that was the lowest offer I made which was accepted.

System

Were any of these places in London for those who made lower offers?