How cheeky an offer is a too cheeky

seradane

Yeah, sometimes that's how it goes.

We had a very similar situation when looking, a well-located property, probate sale, poor condition and not huge. Had been on the market 2 years! With at least one accepted offer recently that had fallen through due to the buyers deciding it was too much work. We offered 30k/10% below asking, which put it in line with other properties of similar condition sold on the street, and it was turned down. I think part of the reason was that the inheritance was going to a single person - so the reduced amount feels like a big deal.

The property we did end up buying was also a probate sale... but there were three inheritors (?) so a similar offer below asking would only mean a reduction of £10k per person, which is a lot easier to live with than £30k less! 

Nebulous2

We bought an old house two years ago in a small town where property doesn’t sell very well. Lots of probate properties. Looking at sold prices they often sell well below asking. The key point is two years, when double council tax (and reality) kicks in. 

Grumpy_chap

House_buyer_2020 said:

A little update - I put the offer in by email last night and got a reply from the agent at 8:30 this morning saying it was “too low for their client to consider”
I’m not convinced they actually put it to them

I always understood that EAs were obligated to forward every offer to the vendor. 

As you say, though, it sounds like this did not happen as you sent an e-mail yesterday (Sunday) evening when the office was closed and the swiftness of the rejection does suggest that the EA simply did so on autopilot as soon as the PC was switched on.  They hardly had time to get into the office, send the offer on and receive a reply back from the vendor by the time you received the rejection.

Something fishy going on?

EDIT: Unless the vendor has said "do not forward any offers below £x"

youth_leader

I agree with Grumpy_chap, I also believe the EA is obligated to forward all offers and with your timescale, cannot believe this happened. 

numbercruncher8

The vendors can stipulate a minimum amount, I would guess a renovation job would attract speculative offers.
As an aside I saw a similar probate last year at an identical price and probably identical condition, needed everything doing.
The street price was around £300k, so by the time fees were taken into account it was not going to add up. Perhaps if you could do all the work yourself and get discounts on materials, but that is an extremely thin market they are aiming for. 

It sat on the market for about 6 months and then got taken off. I suspect it will be emptied out, maybe repainted before coming back.

Cheeky asking prices exist just as much as cheeky offers.

peterhjohnson

Story: I was looking to buy in a very busy rising market. Saw this no-chain house that was priced about 15% higher than it should have been. Put in cheeky offer of the "right" price. Vendor rejected offer but reduced the sticker price to 7% over the odds. I told the agent I was still interested but would not increase my offer. Several weeks later, the vendor accepted my original offer. 
Moral: Overpriced houses can be an opportunity for the cheeky-but-patient :-)

rash.m2k

Alter_ego said:

If your offer doe's not embarrass you,  it's too high.

I totally agree! I was watching a shaf rasul video (he's a multi million pound property investor), he said exactly the same thing.
So rather than listen to what random people say on the internet - with zero credentials on their property buying expertise; listen to someone who has proven property buying experience and make an offer that you feel embarrassed about.

House_buyer_2020

Thanks all, I’m sure they are supposed to pass all offers on but I suspect the vendor has said they won’t accept anything below x so they didn’t bother forwarding it on, it’s no skin off my nose!