advice on making an offer plz!!!

emmamc252

we have seen a house that we like, we're first time buyers. the property was up for 230,000 has only been ip 8 weeks and they have reduced it to 222,950. we decided we were going to put a low offer in to start as we thought whilst they had reduced it so quickly they must want to sell rather than wait for the best price. the area we live in is relatively expensive and the market is still strong as ever at the moment. we put in our first offer of 195,000 expecting to be rejected but more as a starting point so they knew we were interested. thought in the mean time we could get some advice from the experts,t hat would be you guys!!!!
we put the offer in yestaday evening and got it rejected same day, unsurprisingly, basically we want to know where do we go from here? how long should we wait before putting in a higher offer, how much higher should we go etc?
we won't go any higher than 210 and i don't know if we would go that high as there are others that we like too that aren't that much but we really like this one. we obviously want to get it for the best price possible so here's the questions,

1, how long do we wait before puting in a nother offer?
2, how much higher should we go? 198, 200? really don't know what is appropriate? we do want it as cheap as we can get though?

please give us some advice!!! we're new at all this and its very daunting!!!!!

poppy10_2

Wait at least a week - preferably 2.

Then offer £198.

macaque_2

emmamc252 wrote: »

we have seen a house that we like, we're first time buyers. the property was up for 230,000 has only been ip 8 weeks and they have reduced it to 222,950. we decided we were going to put a low offer in to start as we thought whilst they had reduced it so quickly they must want to sell rather than wait for the best price. the area we live in is relatively expensive and the market is still strong as ever at the moment. we put in our first offer of 195,000 expecting to be rejected but more as a starting point so they knew we were interested. thought in the mean time we could get some advice from the experts,t hat would be you guys!!!!
we put the offer in yestaday evening and got it rejected same day, unsurprisingly, basically we want to know where do we go from here? how long should we wait before putting in a higher offer, how much higher should we go etc?
we won't go any higher than 210 and i don't know if we would go that high as there are others that we like too that aren't that much but we really like this one. we obviously want to get it for the best price possible so here's the questions,

1, how long do we wait before puting in a nother offer?
2, how much higher should we go? 198, 200? really don't know what is appropriate? we do want it as cheap as we can get though?

please give us some advice!!! we're new at all this and its very daunting!!!!!

They havn't found a buyer in 8 weeks despite having dropped the price. That does not align with your theory about the market being as strong as ever in your area. If you are going to make another offer it has to be another 5 or 10 above the first offer.

HugoSP

I suspect that the £200k psycological barrier may have a lot to answer for here.

Try and work out what they are actually hoping for. Some people have a hunch for this. Think about what they are doing with the money. Have they bought and paid for somewhere else, or is it an investment, or do they need to accept a minimum amount?

How desparate are they to move?

shelly

Cut out all the timewasting, go back to view the house and ask the vendor directly what is the minimum they are willing to accept. Tell them you have a budget and a figure in mind but don't want to waste their time or yours with offers that will be rejected. Worked for us.

telfordwhite

why not go up to 199/200k, tell them it's your final offer and that it stands until such time as you find somewhere else. Make it perfectly clear you'll go no higher. (unless of course you are prepared to go higher in which case try and make it appear you'll go no higher...:rotfl: )

emmamc252

thanks for all the opinions, particualrly interesting was the post saying that if ti hasn't sold in 8 weeks maybe the market in our area isn't so great, house prices here are consistently higher than the surrounding areas, but most property does not sell within 8 weeks, infact i think very few properts sell that quickly so thats quite interesting coz i suppose i have an insular view of whats normal as i have lived here all my life.
i did like the idea of going round again and trying to ask them, i just feel a bit weird as we have already been round 3 times so they know we ain't got nothing else to see, do you think it might be worth ringing the agent and asking them? would they try and find out for us or is that not really what you do. as you can tell we are complete novices at this!!!

thanks so much for all of the help so far!!!!

shelly

emmamc252 wrote: »

i did like the idea of going round again and trying to ask them, i just feel a bit weird as we have already been round 3 times so they know we ain't got nothing else to see, do you think it might be worth ringing the agent and asking them? would they try and find out for us or is that not really what you do. as you can tell we are complete novices at this!!

Personally I wouldn't ask the agent this type of question. He/she is working for the seller, not you, so will want to get them as much as they can.

Book another viewing. When you get there tell them that you are looking at another property as well as theirs but it will all come down to budget. You want to know what is the sort of offer they are looking at getting because if its out of your budget then you won't waste any more time on it.

We did this for a couple of houses when we were looking and soon found out that they wanted more than we were willing to offer so saved our time and theirs.

GabbaGabbaHey

shelly wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't ask the agent this type of question. He/she is working for the seller, not you, so will want to get them as much as they can.

It's a myth that the estate agent is working for the seller - the estate agent is working for the estate agent, and nobody else!

The extra commission which they would receive by getting an extra few thousand on the price is just not worth it to them (on a 1% fee, they will only pocket an extra £50 for a £5,000 increase in the selling price), and most estate agents would much rather have a confirmed sale than hang on for an extra few pounds, especially if the house has already been on the market for 8 weeks.

I would ask the estate agent. Some will tell you, others will not, but it's worth a try.

CROWN_3

You could offer slightly more (£2000) on the condition that the seller clears off to rent when you are ready to complete. This has worked for me on all my purchases over the years. Never had a chain.

Or you could wait 6 months and get a much nicer property for the same price. House prices are falling don't be suckered in too early.

SquatNow

I'de suggest putting £70,000 of you money in a waste-paper basket and setting fire to it... it's far less hassle, and the result is the same.

Now is NOT the time to buy. When estate agents go on TV (Channel 4 today) and admit the market has gone into freefall, (Quote: "Skydiving in the dark, no-one knows where the bottom is") then it's a bad time to buy.

I'm sure I'll get abuse for saying that, mostly from the property investors on here who are crapping themselves at the though of a crash, but if I don't then we are doing you a dis-service.