Should I make an offer without a buyer for my flat?

louisera

Hello,

My flat has been on the market for 2 weeks with no interest- we previously had a buyer (5k under asking) but their mortgage didn't go through so it fell through. The flat is on for 325k (one bed in SE London).

I'm moving to bristol and have seen a couple of houses I love, both around the 300k mark. Just wondered anybody's thoughts on putting in an offer before I've secured a buyer? Both houses I'm looking at were recently reduced so vendors clearly not being inundated with interest, and we found our last buyer after only a week or so on the market (we had two offers) so am feeling fairly confident.

There's also the option of us reducing our asking price to get a buyer quickly - we'd lose money but as the houses we like are less than what we're selling for, we could take the hit.

Anyone got any thoughts on whether this is wise or not? We can't buy until we've sold.

Thanks!

[Deleted User]

You can make an offer to show you're interested if you want to, but they will keep it on the market until you're in a position to consider buying.

p00hsticks

Personally, if I was the seller I wouldn't entertain any offer from you unless you're in a position to afford the new property without having to sell the current one - otherwise you're not in aposition to proceed with the purchase.

m0bov

First thing EA will ask is have you got a property to sell and is it under offer, until such time then you will not be taken seriously as your not proceedable.

Davesnave

You can record an expression of interest with the EA, but you are no better placed to buy than anyone else at the moment.

As to whether you should reduce, it depends why the previous buyer's mortgage "didn't go through." If your flat is considered overpriced by lenders, other purchases may fall through too.

hazyjo

I often list reasons why it's not a good idea. I would not offer on a house that was on the market until I had a buyer.


1. It makes it more appealing to others if there's an offer on it, and gives viewers a sense of urgency and forces their hand. The EA will tell viewers there's an offer on the table (they prob won't even bother saying you're not proceedable, they just play one off against the other). Plus it makes it look like a decent property to viewers if someone else wants it.


2. It makes the vendor less inclined to drop the price as they know what you're willing to pay so may hang on. May mean you overpay.


3. Doesn't give you much leeway on asking price.


4. You can't really put your price back up, so I'd be very careful re dropping it too low. By all means tell the EA you're open to reasonable offers to help you secure it, but I'd not want it listed low for long.


5. It makes you limited as to who you sell to. They may not have a complete chain beneath them yet. Form the chain from the bottom up, then view properties.


6. The vendors may now be deluded that people will be queuing round the block to buy their house (even if it's taken months or years to get a buyer).

Crashy_Time

Reduce your asking price first, then take it from there.

aussie_in_wales

I did this when buying my house in Wales and selling my flat in Bristol. I actually hadn't even put my flat on the market.

This was a couple of years ago and the Bristol market was crazy. The vendor did accept the offer but still kept the house on the market. My flat sold the day after it was put on the market and the house taken off the market.
I ended up sofa surfing for two weeks as the flat sale, as predicted went through more quickly than the house sale and I had to threaten to pull out of the house sale to get the vendors to hurry up and move.

So I guess it depends on the vendor, estate agent and market.

Davesnave

aussie_in_wales wrote: »

I guess it depends on the vendor, estate agent and market.

The Welsh market can be slow.

We made an offer on an house in Wales that had been on the EA's books for around 2 years. It was rejected out of hand as being way too low, but the property was large and there was so much work needed.

Shortly after, we purchased this house in Devon instead. I kept the Welsh house in my Rightmove folder and glanced at it occasionally.

Eventually, around 3 years later, the price suddenly dropped and it sold fairly quickly then. It went for what we'd offered 3 years before.

An extreme example, perhaps, but a couple of years for more expensive, overpriced Welsh houses isn't unusual. Even here, in the rural West Country, I could how you houses on the market for 2 years or more.