Offer Advice

KatieDee

Some of you may recognise my username from another thread, in which I asked advice on pushy vendors! :rotfl:

Well, fortunately we have found another house that we love. It has been on the market since July of last year and has not received any offers. Viewings have dried up more recently and they dropped the price by £5,000, to £220,000.

We put in an offer for £200,000, 10% less than asking price. The EA said she felt this was reasonable and it wasn't a million miles away from what the vendor had said she was looking for - there was no umming or ahhing and she seemed quite happy with it.

She put the offer to the vendor and she said she was "looking for a bit more" and suggested £210,000. I said we couldn't offer anywhere close to this and suggested that perhaps we just had different expectations. The EA then reiterated our offer was reasonable, the property has been on the market for a while with no offers and she thinks the vendor should accept, but asked if we could increase our offer at all.

Is £202,000 a reasonable increase, or is it likely to get laughed at? We absolutely won't pay over £204,000 for it, as it still needs some money spending on it and it's already so much more than the other house. Should we just go in at that and save the hassle?

Vendor just wants to downsize to something more manageable, is happy to go into rented. We have a mortgage offer (which obviously needs to be applied for again) and a solicitor is already appointed.

babyblade41

Sometimes vendors have an absolute bottom price and it really is their prerogative, I would have met half way and a bit. say 207K, that way everyone thinks they are gaining.

If it's a house you love then another 5 isn't beyond the realms of possibility

ACG

How gutted would you be if someone offered £201k and got the house?
£2k is going to add about a fiver a month to your repayments and a few hundred pounds to your deposit. If you would not be bothered about losing the house for the sake of a grand or 2, stand firm. If you would be then I would just crack on and get the offer made.

The agent probably just wants you to show some willing so they can look like they got you to up your offer and try to twist the vendors arm.

£204k sounds like a very odd figure, but I am sure you have your reasons for that figure.

KatieDee

ACG wrote: »

How gutted would you be if someone offered £201k and got the house?
£2k is going to add about a fiver a month to your repayments and a few hundred pounds to your deposit. If you would not be bothered about losing the house for the sake of a grand or 2, stand firm. If you would be then I would just crack on and get the offer made.

The agent probably just wants you to show some willing so they can look like they got you to up your offer and try to twist the vendors arm.

£204k sounds like a very odd figure, but I am sure you have your reasons for that figure.

I think I just want to feel like I've got a good deal with the property. They're obviously struggling to sell and I don't really want that to become my problem by paying a premium for the house. I think £205,000 is the higher end of what I'd feel comfortable with. £204k is very specific, now you mention it :rotfl:

I've kind of given up on the idea of getting the "perfect" property now. When something nice does come up it ends up in a horrible bidding war and I just cannot handle the stress and competition. This house is great, not perfect but suitable, so I'm not interested in chasing the vendor and over offering. I would be a tad annoyed if I missed out for the sake of a few extra pounds a month though.

babyblade41 wrote: »

Sometimes vendors have an absolute bottom price and it really is their prerogative, I would have met half way and a bit. say 207K, that way everyone thinks they are gaining.

If it's a house you love then another 5 isn't beyond the realms of possibility

I think £207,000 is too much for this particular property. The street doesn't have lots of sales to compare with, but about four houses have sold in the past two years and most for less than what the house is on for, with slightly more garden for your buck. I think given the market at the moment, I'd rather save as much as possible. This house is also £35k more than the other house (at asking price).

babyblade41

you only think they are struggling to sell, they may not be that much in a hurry.. for the small difference and you want the house then go for it, if it's a couple of thousand that stands in your way then maybe look elsewhere if you are not prepared to up it

KatieDee

babyblade41 wrote: »

you only think they are struggling to sell, they may not be that much in a hurry.. for the small difference and you want the house then go for it, if it's a couple of thousand that stands in your way then maybe look elsewhere if you are not prepared to up it

Perhaps you're right. A few thousand is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

FTBuyerGlasgow

What happened with the other house Katie?

Very difficult when the vendor is happy to sit on their house, one near me is a lovely bungalow but it's been on the market for 3 years with an asking price at least £100k more than it's worth.

I think some people market a property but have absolutely no desire to sell.

KatieDee

FTBuyerGlasgow wrote: »

What happened with the other house Katie?

Very difficult when the vendor is happy to sit on their house, one near me is a lovely bungalow but it's been on the market for 3 years with an asking price at least £100k more than it's worth.

I think some people market a property but have absolutely no desire to sell.

She definitely wants to sell - I think it's just coming to an agreement. We were quite straight with her at the viewing, explained our position, etc. I think we'll go in at a little higher to meet her half way and then see what comes of it.

The other house is actually still in limbo. Their solicitor doesn't return from holiday until Tuesday so we saw no reason to rush a decision. We've spent the weekend viewing houses and have seen what we can get for a similar amount, without the added pressure.

The EA did call us with a sincere apology from the vendor, saying that they had sorted their financial issue and were happy to complete on our originally requested day, with the work done, and she has been "tidying the house in anticipation of us moving". I feel pretty rotten about it, but I just cannot feel the same about the property.

gettingtheresometime

You do realise that although EAs, like any other professions are in competition with each other, they do talk to each other?

KatieDee

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

You do realise that although EAs, like any other professions are in competition with each other, they do talk to each other?

I imagine they do, yes. What does this have to do with anything?

comeandgo

I still don't think you have found your house. You know when you do and you would not risk losing it for a few thousand pounds.