FTB, advice on next move please

BinaryMind

Hi all, 

I'm a Long time reader 1st time poster and would appreciate some advice please.

My partner and I viewed a flat 12 days ago, it was previously priced at 415K in January, reduced to 400K in late Feb, and dropped 2 price bands to 350K on 15/May when housing market was reopened.

During the viewing, EA said there were 15 viewings prior lockdown so the flat will be sold very quickly with the 50K drop. Two days later, the EA called and said they received an offer just under 350K, we then made a move too and offered 350K the following day. 

In the past week, the EA had told us that the other buyer had matched our offer, but in another phone call he also said our offer is the highest and we are very close to getting the flat. He said that 350K is a guide price, vendor didn’t think we were serious,  and that he’s confident another 5K could seal the deal. I replied I’d have to think about it, but this morning when he got back to me about some plumbing questions I had earlier, he changed his tone and said the vendor wants 365K ideally and will talk at 355K.

The flat is in a well managed art deco purpose built building and the area is very well thought after, albeit market has been quite slow last year. Two other similar flats (also purpose built) nearby were sold at 338K and 352K, both marketed at 350K in January and sold within two weeks.  We think 350K-355K is what the flat is worth right now but willing to pay perhaps a couple of grands more for the convenience of living on the same road as my mum.

 We are not quite sure how to proceed with next offer, given the confusing message the EA had given us. Should we do nothing but wait now, or increase our offer steadily, or just give our best and final offer now. What do people usually do? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

GoingOn30

Sounds like the EA is giving you the run around. There is no guarantee that there is any offer other than yours at all. If you don't think it's worth more than 355 then don't offer more than that. It's a buyers market right now so make the most of it!

dani17

I will never go for a blind auction.offer what you think it is the right price. and do not care about what the EA say. 

princeofpounds

If they weren't prepared to accept 350k ultimately, it is highly unlikely they would ever have listed it at 350k. So I wouldn't buy the stuff about the vendor being 'willing to talk at 355k'.

As for the other bidders... well, maybe they exist maybe they don't. You'll never know. And that is true at any price level. You always have to take that risk.

Either stick with 350 or budge to 355, but whatever you do, make it your final offer. I would advise stick, but given what you mention about being close to family it's hard for strangers to value that.

jonnygee2

During the viewing, EA said there were 15 viewings prior lockdown so the flat will be sold very quickly with the 50K drop. Two days later, the EA called and said they received an offer just under 350K, we then made a move too and offered 350K the following day. 

So they had loads of interest and then they lowered the price by over 10%? Yeah right.

eidand

do not trust what EAs are telling you, one bit. Most of the time it is a big, fat lie.
Funny, when I am viewing houses and ask about interest, there seems to always be an offer at close to asking price that was submitted that day or over the weekend!
Some houses I've viewed in December, are still on the market now .... funny how that worked out. I would never offer close to asking based on this "fake" interest. In this market, proceedable people are valuable, you might want to use that to your advantage. 

Competsoph

Oh my goodness, please DO NOT listen to the EA. Firstly they aren’t allowed to divulge what figure others have offered so saying someone has bid at 350k is false. Secondly, they may well have made up the 15. We recently viewed a house with apparently 15 viewings. We hung around. Only saw one other couple..... 

Go with what YOU are happy to pay, NOT what they can force you into paying. Good luck, be strong! 

Marvel1

Final offer on what you feel it's worth to you and that's it done, and they either accept great or again they say maybe just more, but don't offer more.

hazyjo

Competsoph said:

Oh my goodness, please DO NOT listen to the EA. Firstly they aren’t allowed to divulge what figure others have offered so saying someone has bid at 350k is false.

They are allowed, they just mainly choose not to (to the best of my knowledge, unless something has changed).

cybervic

Two other similar flats (also purpose built) nearby were sold at 338K and 352K, both marketed at 350K in January and sold within two weeks.  We think 350K-355K is what the flat is worth right now but willing to pay perhaps a couple of grands more for the convenience of living on the same road as my mum.

The two that were sold in Jan were pre-covid, it's all over the news today there's been a sharpest monthly house price drop for 11 years. I wouldn't go all out right now. 

It sounds like your vendor is probably not accepting the current market trend. Personally, I'd wait a bit say a week or two before making another offer. Don't go over 355 if that's what you think it's worth. Mortgage valuation may come back much lower than what you think. 

steampowered

Unless you need to move desperately, it's worth being patient with these things. The market is a bit more uncertain than usual because nobody really knows what impact coronavirus will have on house prices. They could well drop significantly, there could well be only a small impact.

It's very possible that the vendors might wait a few weeks to see if they get any interest/offers over the next few weeks, but ultimately come back to your offer if they don't get any higher offers.