How to deal with estate agents?

Unicorn_cottage

GDB2222 said:

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. 

The OP has made an offer after advice from this forum. I am simply showing the other side of the coin. People are always concerned there will be a crash. The last time was Brexit.

eidand

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!

😊

Look, if you really like the house / area and think the house is worth the asking price and you know you're going to be there a while then go ahead and offer the asking price. 10k means nothing where a property is concerned even for one that is relatively cheap. Yes, this is a money saving forum, but the reality of the market is simple, some houses really are worth what the seller is asking for and you risk losing it for the sake of a few k.

Even if the market drops that doesn't mean this will be applied to all properties on the market, that's not how the housing market works. You won't see everything drop by 10% for example, You can however protect yourself against going into negative equity, by applying for a longer fixed term, say 5 years instead of 2 years, or 7 or 10, taking advantage of the fact that the rates are very low at the moment. Then if you want to remortgage, you have enough time for the market to bounce back, plus you would have accrued equity as well. 

If you want to buy a house you have to go both with you heart and mind, at the same time, not just with  money saving attitude.

Competsoph

Again, appreciate all the discussions it really helps to see all aspects of this experience! After some thinking and discussion with my partner, we honestly don't feel the house is worth 150k h. Unfortunately I doubt the vendor would accept less as 1. This is what she paid back in 2016 when she purchased the property and 2. The apparent amount of interest and viewings etc. 

The challenge is, after viewing (as I can only really give a full honest opinion after this) I will need to put forward my final offer and although I don't think the house is worth 150k, I doubt I'll be able to offer less than this to be in with a chance. 
Do I go in at 150k even though I don't feel this is worth it to increase my chance of pursuing the property? Do I stand my ground and offer less around 145k? In the grand scheme of things 5k doesn't make a huge difference..

I guess I'll have to wait and see .
😩

numbercruncher8

If you don't think it's worth it, then don't pay it.
I had a similar situation, now that I remember. There was a really nice house that ticked all the boxes. But the price rose due to interest. I could have afforded it, but the nagging feeling was that it was too much. And the percentage price was not too dissimilar (£15k, price £300k). 
I passed, ultimately I bought something cheaper. It wasn't as nice looking for sure, but I got an extra bedroom and more space.

Stuff about 'regret' is a trick, IMO, maybe the estate agents will try and get you to have the FOMO feeling. Do I regret not pushing the boat out for the first house? It's impossible to know how it would have turned out, and it had totally slipped my mind until this reminded me of it. Truth is, there are always houses coming on the market and you make your own reality in one of those.

In my opinion it is more important that you get a good deal rather than letting emotion let you overpay for something. Look at all the other properties and compare that way. If there is nothing comparable in that price range, maybe its your expectations that are wrong. However if there are lots of properties for on that are cheaper, your instincts could be right.

Competsoph

Hi all,

Quick update should anyone be remotely interested. EA rang today and have offered viewing for Saturday! 🙌🏽🤞🏽

After telling me 13 others are interested, he also told me today that he rang me first to book viewing and offered me all slots. Unsure if there is anything further to this but felt surely I would not of been the first if really so many others interested, or am I potentially in best position hence him prioritising me? I’m a dedicated over thinker and know many do not even consider hidden messages/subtle signs but just trying to understand as much as potentially possible about behaviours during this tricky experience! 

Unicorn_cottage

@Competsoph - Totally interested! How long do you get for the viewing? Make sure you hang about a bit to see if anyone else turns up!

Competsoph

@Unicorn_cottage thank you! ☺️

He offered ‘the first slot’ being 12 and then also mentioned 12:30 and 13:00 almost as a throw away comment as I joked my partner is on nights. I aim to get there a little early and take my time and definitely intend on camping out to see what other interest is about!

Unicorn_cottage

@Competsoph - that's interesting...30 mins...seems very long...they usually give you about 10!

Competsoph

@Unicorn_cottage really? That’s quite short compared to viewings I’ve had previously. Or at least I thought. Who knows, this is a literal minefield 🙉
Wish me luck! 

MysteryMe

Good luck OP,  it's always best to reserve judgement until you've been in a property so I hope it lives up to your expectations. If your offer does end up being accepted don't get too excited until you have had a proper survey done.