Lack of negotiation but still want the house...

Thrugelmir

If you are going to make an offer. Do it.  Don't bother with a commentary. Your real opponent is another bidder that might materialise. 

Irishpearce26

toellandback said:

Thanks all.

There's obviously financial considerations with risking the extra £Xk - we can get an excellent mortgage rate with a 75% LTV but obviously the more we pay, the more of our savings we lose to our deposit. We have next to no furnishings as we rent in a furnished flat.

It's not badly priced against the market though internal sq footage and garden space is smaller than most other 3 beds (and one of the bedrooms is practically a cupboard). I'm finding it quite difficult to compare prices in the area as there's not a tonne on the market (it's definitely slowing down, only maybe 2 properties added each week in the whole town and most are either in a worse area or completely run down...)

Sounds like managing expectations with reality is needed. Its doesn't have to be a show room with all the furnishings when you buy it, you buy non priority furnishings as you go. The key is making sure you get a house you like in an area you like in a way you can afford to pay the bills and still be content. If you cant then adjust your expectations and don't stretch so much on the house so that you can accommodate what you want to put in it etc.

toellandback

Thanks @Irishpearce26, this is exactly the kind of sense check that I just can't seem to give myself! 🙈

mustiuc

I am amazed how many expectations have people when buying houses and how easily they want "discounts" because of "issues" found in the house. A loose window lock... Bam 5k reduction. Boiler not serviced for 1 year... 5 yrs ago? Boom, reason to drop another 5k the cost for a new one, etc.
I paid 6.5k (5.5%) extra just to make sure the house is mine. Did I knew about the doggy window locks? About 15yrs old  (not really) serviced boiler? About old door handles and doors not closing properly? Of course I knew about. But I wanted the house and not keen to get into a bidding war. Once I found out there are other buyers  making stupid/under offers, I put the offer and asked them to remove the house from the market.
Did I "regret" it? I completely forgot about it the following week.
I never found another house similar for the price and I am so happy offering more on this one, cuz I would've been  still renting now.
I cant wait to sell and get an "10% under" or reasons to drop the price because of dried marks of water on bathroom taps. 

Irishpearce26

toellandback said:

Thanks @Irishpearce26, this is exactly the kind of sense check that I just can't seem to give myself! 🙈

No worries, buying a house is a big life decision so make sure it fits in with your lifestyle and expectations. If you really like the house and have the money to buy it but may mean you sacrifice the big telly or fancy dinning table then do it. You can save up and buy those down the line. If you want to proceed with the house take others advice, inform the seller you've got money from your parents and £309 is your best and final offer. If its a no then carry on looking. Good luck.

[Deleted User]

mustiuc said:

I am amazed how many expectations have people when buying houses and how easily they want "discounts" because of "issues" found in the house. A loose window lock... Bam 5k reduction. Boiler not serviced for 1 year... 5 yrs ago? Boom, reason to drop another 5k the cost for a new one, etc.
I paid 6.5k (5.5%) extra just to make sure the house is mine. Did I knew about the doggy window locks? About 15yrs old  (not really) serviced boiler? About old door handles and doors not closing properly? Of course I knew about. But I wanted the house and not keen to get into a bidding war. Once I found out there are other buyers  making stupid/under offers, I put the offer and asked them to remove the house from the market.
Did I "regret" it? I completely forgot about it the following week.
I never found another house similar for the price and I am so happy offering more on this one, cuz I would've been  still renting now.
I cant wait to sell and get an "10% under" or reasons to drop the price because of dried marks of water on bathroom taps. 

Same here! I didn't drop the price for our house despite the ancient boiler and electrics. The whole house needed re-decorating including new carpets, but we knew that would be something we'd do over time. It didn't even cross my mind to make a list of things I wanted to change and try to get the vendors to pay for it by accepting a reduced offer. 

Mani_London

i think if you like the house than just go for it. you even are not sure whether they will accept your increase offer or not. 

getmore4less

For context my partner and I are FTBs, very fortunate to have a gifted loan/deposit from my parents (£75k).

Is this a loan or a gift?
Or a loan presented as a gift.

toellandback

getmore4less said:

For context my partner and I are FTBs, very fortunate to have a gifted loan/deposit from my parents (£75k).

Is this a loan or a gift?
Or a loan presented as a gift.

It's a loan presented as a gift. We will pay them back when we sell up / when we can afford it but for the official record it's a gift.

Re the justification behind the lower offer, we compared to similar priced houses in the area (i.e. £325k) and ones that had recently sold for about the same price and thought we had made not ridiculous points e.g. virtually no fitted storage, no integrated appliances, single glazed windows, tiny garden so no scope to extend, no off-road parking... Which other properties offered but this one doesn't. I'd also heard that 5-10% below asking price is a good place to start negotiations, so didn't think we were being too cheeky but 🤷 you never know how the seller receives it I guess. The EA who showed us round also admitted that nobody else had made an offer as everyone thought it was overpriced...

I think we will see if we can get another viewing in and then decide if we want to up our offer and by how much.

AdrianC

toellandback said:

getmore4less said:

For context my partner and I are FTBs, very fortunate to have a gifted loan/deposit from my parents (£75k).

Is this a loan or a gift?
Or a loan presented as a gift.

It's a loan presented as a gift. We will pay them back when we sell up / when we can afford it but for the official record it's a gift.

Congratulations on your honesty to us... Now, how about you display similar honesty to your solicitor and lender?