First time buyers what to offer?

Beccy069

Hi all,

Not sure if this is posted in the right thread or not but I am looking for some advice regarding an offer I want to put in for my first house.

We have found the perfect property for us location wise, although there will be some cosmetic work that needs doing and although the bathrooms are ok they will need re doing in the next year or so.

The property is on the market for £195k and has been up since the end of July, an offer has already been accepted on this house although they haven’t sold their house yet so we are in the perfect position. They’re wanting to move out right away as they are already have another house which has no chain.

So with us being first time buyers and them wanting to move our right away, I am wanting to offer a cheeky ballpark figure of 178k is this reasonable? Or am I aiming to low? The highest I will go up to is £187 due to our own financial situation.

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks.

cheeky-peach

Nothing stopping you offering that but you may find that money is more of a driver to to seller than your position as FTB with no chain. Do you have a rough ballpark figure of what the current accepted offer is? If it is close to the 198k then your offer is likely to be too low.

datlex

The end of July isn't very long - I suspect that they didn't put it on the market until they had found a house they liked and their existing buyer is doing likewise. As for an offer, it will depend on what they paid, hence what equity they have in the place and cost of house left. Basically they need to be able to afford the new property. Offer low to indicate you are interested, they will probably tell you no. You can then go with higher. Keep in mind you don't know what the offer is, they might already have an offer of over £187. I suspect given the property has already had an offer that they will have been offered at least £190k.

AnotherJoe

Beccy069 wrote: »

The property is on the market for £195k and has been up since the end of July, an offer has already been accepted on this house although they haven’t sold their house yet so we are in the perfect position. They’re wanting to move out right away as they are already have another house which has no chain.
.

This seems contradictory. If they've accepted an offer then its not on the market.
Do you mean there is an offer but the buyers aren't proceedable ?

need_an_answer

By all means put in a lower starting offer,but the question will be if it is rejected then what are you prepared to go to in order to secure the house?

if £190k for example is what the owners are wanting then a low start may flag you up as a cheeky offerer so you may need to be thinking more about what your next offer is rather than the first one as most likely it wont be accepted straight off.

tbh if 187 is your highest due to circumstances then it may be that the property is too expensive for you at present.

A lot depends on how prices are in your area and how things are selling.
At the moment where I live the market is still moving and not far off asking price so in that situation the offers you are considering would be too low,however other areas of the country are different....but I think you may need to be prepared to go to your max on this house if you really want it.

novelty-socks

How much do you know about the status of the other offer? In this kind of situation, I think a cheeky low offer is ok, but if (when?) it's refused I'd be ready to make your second offer a decent increase, to show that you're not messing around and are serious about buying the house.

All that said, I'd go as far as to say that unless the seller is in a real hurry to sell, your offer is likely to be rejected outright unless it's a decent amount higher whatever they've already accepted.

lookstraightahead

I personally would always consider buying at 10% below asking. This accounts for you being a bit cheeky, the seller being a bit cheeky with the asking price etc. Also you are a first time buyer and ready to go, with no chain. The market is unpredictable at the moment as well. Remember you're the one with the purchasing power, they're not 'in charge', you are.

lookstraightahead

Also ask the estate agents for comparables - what price houses were on the market for any their actual sale price. Plus time on market. You could do this as a percentage rather that a house similar.

societys_child

lookstraightahead wrote: »

Remember you're the one with the purchasing power, they're not 'in charge', you are.

Erm, hardly, when they already have an offer, and no offence to the op, but we know how cantankerous some first time buyers can be

Crashy_Time

societys_child wrote: »

Erm, hardly, when they already have an offer, and no offence to the op, but we know how cantankerous some first time buyers can be

Many so called offers fall through, with Brexit looming you should be taking 20% off as a starting point.

lookstraightahead

societys_child wrote: »

Erm, hardly, when they already have an offer, and no offence to the op, but we know how cantankerous some first time buyers can be

An offer that can't complete? What use is that really compared to the op? And maybe these first time buyers are not cantankerous! the people who have offered are not in a position to buy. That's as useful as a chocolate fire guard.