How to deal with estate agents?

Unicorn_cottage

Competsoph said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

@Competsoph Where is the property?

South Yorkshire. Hardly the epitome of marketing success. 

I do appreciate your comment and I wasn't neccassarily expecting to get it for 140k but wanted to put myself in the running. I agree that the house will go for the price someone is willing to pay for but in the same breath I feel you need to be careful to not getting roped in by EAs. I don't know exactly how many others are interested or what they have offered so have to go in based on my opinion of what it is worth to me. That also said I don't want to get my hand bitten by getting carried away bidding crazy money that will leave me uncomfortable for the sake of getting it above someone else. There will always be more houses, though I do have to admit I particularly like this one!

😊

@Competsoph - house buying is more than cold hard cash though it is somewhere that will be your home and as you said you particularly like this one. I would pursue finding out more about the open day so you can gauge what is happening. Ahhh South Yorkshire. Sheffield has a strong market.

abanksee

Unicorn_cottage said:

Competsoph said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

@Competsoph Where is the property?

South Yorkshire. Hardly the epitome of marketing success. 

I do appreciate your comment and I wasn't neccassarily expecting to get it for 140k but wanted to put myself in the running. I agree that the house will go for the price someone is willing to pay for but in the same breath I feel you need to be careful to not getting roped in by EAs. I don't know exactly how many others are interested or what they have offered so have to go in based on my opinion of what it is worth to me. That also said I don't want to get my hand bitten by getting carried away bidding crazy money that will leave me uncomfortable for the sake of getting it above someone else. There will always be more houses, though I do have to admit I particularly like this one!

😊

@Competsoph - house buying is more than cold hard cash though it is somewhere that will be your home and as you said you particularly like this one. I would pursue finding out more about the open day so you can gauge what is happening. Ahhh South Yorkshire. Sheffield has a strong market.

At a time like this, you do need to consider the cold hard cash side of it though, especially if its only your first home. You dont want to get stuck somewhere because you let your heart rule your head.

10k under asking is probably a reality at the moment, it's a totally uncertain time. That's under 6%.

Unicorn_cottage

abanksee said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

Competsoph said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

@Competsoph Where is the property?

South Yorkshire. Hardly the epitome of marketing success. 

I do appreciate your comment and I wasn't neccassarily expecting to get it for 140k but wanted to put myself in the running. I agree that the house will go for the price someone is willing to pay for but in the same breath I feel you need to be careful to not getting roped in by EAs. I don't know exactly how many others are interested or what they have offered so have to go in based on my opinion of what it is worth to me. That also said I don't want to get my hand bitten by getting carried away bidding crazy money that will leave me uncomfortable for the sake of getting it above someone else. There will always be more houses, though I do have to admit I particularly like this one!

😊

@Competsoph - house buying is more than cold hard cash though it is somewhere that will be your home and as you said you particularly like this one. I would pursue finding out more about the open day so you can gauge what is happening. Ahhh South Yorkshire. Sheffield has a strong market.

At a time like this, you do need to consider the cold hard cash side of it though, especially if its only your first home. You dont want to get stuck somewhere because you let your heart rule your head.

10k under asking is probably a reality at the moment, it's a totally uncertain time. That's under 6%.

The house I bought in Bristol was my first home and has been nothing but a positive financial and emotional experience. Why would the OP get stuck somewhere? They clearly like it and once they see it in the flesh they will know for certain. Your advice is only your opinion which could potentially mean the OP loses the house. There is a lot of stuff going around these forum that it is a buyer's market when there is absolutely no proof of that. The market has been on hold and once it starts to move again it will be full of chains of people desperate to get moving.

abanksee

Unicorn_cottage said:

abanksee said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

Competsoph said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

@Competsoph Where is the property?

South Yorkshire. Hardly the epitome of marketing success. 

I do appreciate your comment and I wasn't neccassarily expecting to get it for 140k but wanted to put myself in the running. I agree that the house will go for the price someone is willing to pay for but in the same breath I feel you need to be careful to not getting roped in by EAs. I don't know exactly how many others are interested or what they have offered so have to go in based on my opinion of what it is worth to me. That also said I don't want to get my hand bitten by getting carried away bidding crazy money that will leave me uncomfortable for the sake of getting it above someone else. There will always be more houses, though I do have to admit I particularly like this one!

😊

@Competsoph - house buying is more than cold hard cash though it is somewhere that will be your home and as you said you particularly like this one. I would pursue finding out more about the open day so you can gauge what is happening. Ahhh South Yorkshire. Sheffield has a strong market.

At a time like this, you do need to consider the cold hard cash side of it though, especially if its only your first home. You dont want to get stuck somewhere because you let your heart rule your head.

10k under asking is probably a reality at the moment, it's a totally uncertain time. That's under 6%.

The house I bought in Bristol was my first home and has been nothing but a position financial and emotional experience. Why would the OP get stuck somewhere? They clearly like it and once they see it in the flesh they will know for certain. Your advice is only your opinion which could potentially mean the OP loses the house. There is a lot of stuff going around these forum that it is a buyer's market when there is absolutely no proof of that. The market has been on hold and once it starts to move again it will be full of chains of people desperate to get moving.

Overpaying for a house can mean ending up in negative equity if you have a small deposit etc and lets not kid ourselves, prices are going to drop.

I havent given any advice to the OP, I've simply said you advice was very bad saying 'dont think about what the house is worth to you'. I don't think anybody is daft enough to take advice from us on here before making such a life choice! But people should bid based on what the house is worth to them, if that is asking then pay it, if its over asking then pay that.

Of course chains are going to get moving because they're well down the line, but in 5 months time that wont be the case. My friend has already negotiated 7% from his chain free house purchase this afternoon. The market is slowly moving. I dont believe there will be a crash, but itll be a 8-10% drop. The questions is how many houses will be for sale.

Unicorn_cottage

@abanksee You say my advice is bad but that is your opinion. Your friend could be a mythical figure. There will not be an 8-10% drop equally across the country. As I have said before it is location dependent. If the OP has done their research they will know what stuff goes for as it seems like they have. The assumption that you can just offer less is not a solid strategy. House buying is so much more than pure financials. You need to understand the position of the vendor and potentially others in the chain.

abanksee

Unicorn_cottage said:

@abanksee You say my advice is bad but that is your opinion. Your friend could be a mythical figure. There will not be an 8-10% drop equally across the country. As I have said before it is location dependent. If the OP has done their research they will know what stuff goes for as it seems like they have. The assumption that you can just offer less is not a solid strategy. House buying is so much more than pure financials. You need to understand the position of the vendor and potentially others in the chain.

I never once said you can just offer less did I?

I simply said offer what the property is worth to you. If that is asking then just go in and pay asking. Not sure why you keep wrongly quoting me.

Unicorn_cottage

@abanksee You said "10k under asking is probably a reality at the moment."

abanksee

Unicorn_cottage said:

@abanksee You said "10k under asking is probably a reality at the moment."

Certainly to open a bid with, but that is up to the op. It's already been reduced 15k rather quickly due to 'lack of interest'. Like I've said repeatedly, if the house is worth the 150k price then absolutely, submit your offer and get the deal tied up. 

Never once advised the op what to bid except what they feel it's worth.

GDB2222

Unicorn, I understand that you went through a spate of offering too little, but the OP is not in that position. He hasn’t yet made a single offer.

Also, you apparently bought at a time of buoyant house prices. That’s not the case right now, and it’s hard to say what the position will be in a year's time. A lot of companies have had a really bad time during the lockdown, and they may not recover. 

If I have understood your advice correctly, it can be summarised as 'offer the maximum you can afford, regardless of what you think the house is worth'. I don’t share that view, although I accept it worked well for you. 

blue_max_3

I bought my place in 1988. We got £10k off, but it dropped in value by about 30% as we entered a recession. In hindsight, we probably paid too much. But we sold a place to buy it at 100% profit after 3 years, so swings and roundabouts.
I lived in my place for 30 years and never once regretted it. If it's somewhere you feel comfortable, the purchase price will soon be forgotten. Regret is harder to live with.