Too "nice"? - may have over-bid and now regret it...

Rowan_Morrison

Sensible advice sought please...

We've been looking to upsize for some time, and recently viewed a house that was already reduced from the original asking price about six months ago by 75k. We both really liked it, but to be honest the asking price it was right at the top of what we wanted to saddle ourselves with, having worked hard to get our current mortgage right down.

The EA managed to coax a verbal offer out of us earlier than we had planned, and caught slightly on the spot, and not wanting to give an offensively low offer, we gave a figure 75k lower again than current asking. Within no time the vendors accepted.

Initially we were delighted but having had time to reflect, we didn't really do the research on the sold prices for comparable properties in its area. Our bid, although it's about 150k below their initial asking price from last year, is still between 50-100k above what the most recent similar houses on the street have gone for.

I'm sure the obvious question will be "why did you start so high?!" Which is a fair one! All I can say is, not everyone is equally hard-nosed. Going any lower than 75k below asking just felt impolite - and we considered our bid against the original asking price from 2018, which was a mistake. On reflection we should have started the bidding 50-100k lower than we did; we would probably have come up a bit, but would most likely have ended up somewhere in the region of 50-75k lower than we have done.

As far as the status of the move, we are still very much at an early stage in the process. The vendors don't yet have a property of their own to go to. They also haven't taken the property off the market, nor have they marked it as "under offer". In turn our own house won’t be market ready for a couple of weeks yet. So from that perspective, nothing is set in stone, and nothing would really be lost on either side if we walked away now.

I have a suspicion that there is no way of "recalibrating" the price, for want of a better word. If I was in the vendors' shoes and someone came to me with a bid they then wanted to reduce, I'd tell them to do one! So I fully expect they will do the same to us. Which is a shame, as we would be keen to go through with it, provided our initial over-inflated bid was reduced.

I do think the EA and the vendors take a grain of the responsibility here. Had they priced the house realistically from the off we wouldn't have bid the inflated amount we did, but hey I'm fully aware 95% of the fault is ours. I suspect right now we're the only folk who won't be able to buy it at the realistic price. We'll chalk it down to experience and not feel the need to be so "nice" in future!

Does anyone have experience of this, and might know a course of action available from here on in whereby we could "correct" our bid without the vendor telling us where to shove it?

stator

You can adjust your bid at any time, for no reason at all. You don't owe anything to the estate agents. The vendors may be annoyed, but who cares. It's not unusual for the vendor to demand a higher price right before exchange. It's not unusual for them to accept a higher offer right before exchange.


If you're looking for an excuse (and you don't really need one) then get the surveyor in. Once he comes back with his report, try to renegotiate.

You haven't said if you are using a mortgage or not, a mortgage survey might not be sufficient. If you appoint your own surveyor, you can talk to him about it before hand. Tell him you want his genuine oppinion of the purchase price rather than just a 'yay or nay' .


If you don't want to book the survey yet, you'll just have to strap on a pair and phone the EA and be prepared for their rude attitude when you lower your offer.

Rowan_Morrison

Thanks. Yes, we would need a mortgage, so a survey would be involved. The idea of getting our own surveyor in is a good one.

The other suggestion I'd read was to get a buyer's agent. The vendor does seem to have the advantage in that respect. But if a buyer's agent is going to charge a big fat percentage anyway the exercise could be somewhat pointless.

AnotherJoe

If you are looking for a plausible excuse to reduce your offer, then state that your property has been valued at £x less than you hoped and so you are regretfully having to reduce your offer by £x and you fully understand if the vendors decline.
All seems very hazy anyway, your house not yet for sale (let alone under offer), vendors nowhere to go, odds this wil go through are low, and you aren't really in any position to make an offer unless this is a cash transaction in which case you should have got them to take it off the market, but I presume it isn't.

quantumlobster

You're not proceedable, and you have no lever (e.g. survey) to reduce the offer - you have no cards to play.

Your only hope is that the vendors don't tell you to go jump in a lake.

Of course, this might be a difficult-to-sell property, in which case things are a bit different. But if there's any kind of demand for this kind of property, at this kind of price point, then you're probably up a gum tree if the vendors don't gaze kindly upon you.

getmore4less

Neither of you are ready to proceed.

Don't spend any money on progressing this one and keep looking.

If you think it is £100k over then there should be something better value around for your money pot.

Given we are already talking £150k off initial and you think there might be another £100k we are not talking £1/2m properties but closer/over £1m

eddddy

In your position, I'd say something like: "I've re-evaluated the property, and concluded that it seems overpriced by about £100k, so I'm withdrawing my offer."

And leave the ball in their court. See if they come back to you, suggesting that a lower offer will be acceptable.

Bear in mind that the EA would much rather sell it for £100k less, than not sell at all.

So the EA will put pressure on the vendor to accept a lower offer (as well as put pressure on you to increase your offer).

But if the seller resists the pressure, there's not much you can do...

hazyjo

I had a budget, and an area I wanted to buy in. If a house came on for £150k over the market average, I can't see how I'd not know it was overpriced, and tbh wouldn't be sure why I was looking at it and offering £75k below.

You even say you were delighted at having that offer accepted.

You also say the asking price was at the top end of your budget - but then you've got it for £75k less. So £75k less on that mortgage? Surely that's a huge chunk?

From the figures you mention, I'm guessing we're in the £850-1m+ ballpark - making properties VERY hard to value and usually with far less buyers looking so hard to establish their value too with offers as there's not going to be a queue of buyers or an open day. Also easy to talk about £100s of thousands like single thousands when you're paying a high price.

Not sure why you offered when you don't have a buyer, but hey ho. More fool them for accepting tbh.

How long ago did the comparable sales take place? The market has changed drastically in the last 3-6 years in many areas. My last house nearly doubled in price.

Personally, I would still be keeping a close eye on the market and keep viewing. Absolutely nothing wrong with that at this stage as neither parties are yet proceedable.

I would wait until I have a buyer before going back to them. Chances are you will have to drop/take an offer. I would say to the EAs/vendors 'We do have an offer, but it's on the low side and to accept it, we'd have to offer less on our purchase' and see what the reaction would be. I bet they'll drop further.

Wouldn't blame the EA. Surely you must know how much houses cost in the area you're looking at. Unless it's the only one you've looked at, and not been watching the market there.

laptop80

Just my 2 pence - I wouldn't put any sort of offer in unless you're ready to move on it and the property is immediately taken off the market. Otherwise you're just giving them leverage with other potential buyers; you've gained nothing by making a verbal offer.

Crashy_Time

You should first ask the seller why they think their house is worth 100k more than the last similar sale.