similar to other post, what do we offer?

LouiseW_3

hi,
i know there is another similar post to this but didn't want to take over and confuse the issue. My partner and i decided we could finally afford to take the plunge and go house hunting and found one in the right location for us which has been modernised to sell. I've checked the house price sites and the last time it is listed as sold was back on 2003 so not just bought then sold on quickly.
the problem is it went on the market on friday, we viewed on saturday and they already have 2 offers. its up for £115,000 but what do we offer now, knowing we really want it we could probably go to asking price but would rather not if we didn't have to!
does anyone have any advice on where we go from here, i don't want to end up getting ripped off. the last 2 houses to sell in the street went at the back end of last year for £109,000 and £110,000

please help us
Louise

john0612

Can't help sorry, it's a different system up here in scotland for house buying,

Best of luck anyway.

deemy2004

Okay the best way to handle is to find several properties maybe 3 or 4 and put low offers in on all of them, tell them you have offers pending on other properties then go with the one thats been accepted.

That way your not emotionally committed to one property and don't get sucked into daft bidding wars.

meanmachine_2

LouiseW wrote:

hi,
i know there is another similar post to this but didn't want to take over and confuse the issue. My partner and i decided we could finally afford to take the plunge and go house hunting and found one in the right location for us which has been modernised to sell. I've checked the house price sites and the last time it is listed as sold was back on 2003 so not just bought then sold on quickly.
the problem is it went on the market on friday, we viewed on saturday and they already have 2 offers. its up for £115,000 but what do we offer now, knowing we really want it we could probably go to asking price but would rather not if we didn't have to!
does anyone have any advice on where we go from here, i don't want to end up getting ripped off. the last 2 houses to sell in the street went at the back end of last year for £109,000 and £110,000

please help us
Louise

If the vendors have in truth already had two offers then the EA has undervalued the property. Thanks to the internet you KNOW that the property isn't undervalued, so I would imagine the EA is being *ahem* economical with the truth.

Please try to resist being played by these EA scum. All they want is to screw you out of as much of your cash as quickly as they can.

I don't know where you live, but nationally house prices have been falling. So a property that is over market value is unlikely to have attracted that much interest in today's climate.

again, I repeat, estate agents will say anything to try to panic buyers into making a decision. Take your time and weigh up all your options. Only then, if the property is within budget and meets your criteria would I suggest you make an offer. And I stress *offer*. This should initially be around 90% of the asking price.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

LouiseW_3

ok thanks,

after being panicked by my relatives about mortgages i'm not going to pay over the odds for a house.

i know there will be others and while i do like this one there might be better ones just waiting to go on the market. 90% is only slightly less than i had thought about offering so will probably go with that. this way we can offer a little bit more should we need to. I'm not sure if the EA will tell us what position the other buyers are in (if there are any) but am assuming as ftb we're in quite a good position.

the property is priced higher than others in the area, but after viewing a few the others need quite a bit of work doing and this also has quite large gardens compared to others in the area that only have a small yard and poor parking. (its in NE40)
will let you know how i get on
thanks again
Louise

meanmachine_2

Ok, so it's the North east. Don't know what the property market is like up there. Probably a wee bit more bouyant than down here in the South where it's pretty much flatlining. Tonnes of stock, very few buyers.

It's up to you. But don't feel pressured by anyone. You're the one with the cash. You call the shots.

deemy2004

Yeh
Don't do something you'l regret in six months time.

mountainofdebt

I would offer only what I was comfortable in paying - certainly no more - and being a FTB (and hence not in a chain) your seller may prefer your offer than other higher offers that come from buyers in a chain.

LouiseW_3

we've decided to put in an offer but i'm leaving it to my other half to judge the amount in the morning after sorting out mortgage. I have been taking advise from the debt forum for the past year and by september we'll have paid off a substantial loan and in october i will also be getting a big payrise... so if we base our offer on what we can afford now we shouldn't get into any trouble further down the line.

starting to feel a bit sick though as the more real its getting the more i feel like i'll be upset if we miss out - but there will be other houses!

have decided to stop trying to analyse the EA conversation this morning as really don't think there were any hidden clues!!

cootuk

You could put in a lower offer and if anyone else bids then they should come back to you anyway to see if you want to offer more. If it's going to be a home for a very long time then £100K +-10K isn't a great deal to worry about imho given how much the mortgage costs over a 25yr period anyway. You've obviously seen a few, so is this the place that really grabs you?

GDB2222

LouiseW wrote:

starting to feel a bit sick though as the more real its getting the more i feel like i'll be upset if we miss out - but there will be other houses!

have decided to stop trying to analyse the EA conversation this morning as really don't think there were any hidden clues!!

You really have to stand back a bit and be less emotional. Is the house unique in some way - eg position? What about it makes you so keen on it?

This is a big transaction, and you want to get the house at a good price. You can only do that if you are prepared to walk away from the house. If you feel sick at the thought of losing the house, then you are in a very weak bargaining position.

You can probably make *any* house into a lovely home, so follow Deemy's advice, find 3 or 4 houses that suit you and make offers on all of them.