London - how much lower than the Rightmove asking price should I offer?

dan_first_time_buyer

Hi All,

I am going to put my first offer down hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I am finding properties on Rightmove in London.

In this current climate, if a property it's advertised as £450K, would offer 10% less be a good strategy?

I guess it really depends, but it would be great if you could give me some general pointers, e.g. factors I should take into account.

Thanks,
Dan

lisyloo

I would suggest posting on the house buying, renting and selling board.

One main factor is how much do you want the house.
Note that Some people don’t like to messed about and if you go in too low won’t think you’re serious and won’t deal with you further.

As a selling I’d find 10% too low but not so low I’d be insulted.
Remember the estate agent works for seller so take what they say with a large pinch of salt.

sal_III

You should look at RM/Zoopla and check the recent price for SSTC/Sold properties of the same type in the same area, then offer that if you want a realistic chance of getting the property.

There is no X% under/over rule. Some vendors that are in a hurry to sell and have large equity might be happy with large underbid, others who are not in a hurry to sell and/or have low equity, so likely need every £ of the sale for a deposit on their next home will not entertain any underbids.

rajeshk4u

If the property has been priced very low compared to others, it would be harsh to offer a very low offer.

Conversely, if they have priced it very high, then you can offer something much lower.

westernpromise

The most persuasive way is always to set out your reasoning. Your bid should be arrived at by looking at what comparable properties are on at / have recently sold for.

Sellers can come up with any figure they like, but quite often the asking price is something an agent has thought up to win the instruction that bears little relationship to actual value.