Is there anything to be gained by offering when not proceedable or is it best to wait and see?

Wkmg

Hoping to bid on a house. It’s been on at guide £950,000 since January and was on for 9 months before that at OIEO £975,000.  It came off the market almost immediately after dropping to £950,000 and has now just reappeared at the same price (EA says the person who offered had a sale fall through so pulled out). We’ve seen it, we like it and having looked at the sold prices on the street for the last 20 years it seems like £950,000 was a fair price pre Covid. It’s probably one of the least expensive houses on the street but it has major potential to extend. It’s our dream house so not looking to low ball them and try our luck. It’s a house we really want for the next 20 years and short term market fluctuations aren’t as important to us as getting our dream house.

Our current house was on the market 6 months ago and got several offers over asking price (£350,000) within the first week of going on the market. Unfortunately we lost out on the house we wanted to buy and ended up withdrawing from the market. Last time we didn’t offer on the house we wanted until we had an offer on ours as that’s what their estate agent had advised us. The people who got the house we wanted put their offer in a week before us and actually got it for £15,000 less than we offered.

We want to get our house back on the market asap. We’ve tried contacting our agent from before to see if they can get our old advert back on line but haven’t heard anything back as they have presumably shut up shop for obvious reasons.

The only other background on the house we want to buy is that it is vacant (not sure if owners are in a care home, doubt it’s a second home, could be probate but don’t think so) and the EA told us they had an offer 2 days ago that was rejected (I smell BS!). Our absolute high ceiling is £925,000 not just because we think that’s what it’s worth but also because that is all we can borrow. We are thankfully not concerned about job security (both doctors) and even if interest rates went up by 5% we could still afford monthly repayments.

Does anyone think there is anything to gain by offering now without our house on the market? I can’t imagine anyone would accept an offer from someone who’s house isn’t on the market. We would be offering based on an 85% LTV mortgage (mortgage broker assures us getting an AIP will not be a problem). We would 100% need to sell our home to complete. If there’s nothing to lose we would offer but if it would make us look like we weren’t credible we wouldn’t want to offer (we’re both 34 and feel sometimes EAs haven’t taken us seriously).

Thanks for any advice. If there’s nothing to gain we will just wait till our house is on the market but we love this place and want to get it. 

Slithery

Personally I wouldn't entertain any offer until you have a buyer for your property.

blue_max_3

You have nothing to lose by making an offer and being upfront with them. Much more interest in a house for a third of the price. If they discount you, tell them you're getting it on the market as soon as possible. If you engage, you may snag it. If you don't, you may miss out. Nothing is certain in this market.