First time buyer questions...

[Deleted User]

Hello all,
I am in quite the unexpected situation! I started renting a new house last month. However, a house came on the market this week that is in the area I love (a village in Scotland) and very reasonably priced (£68,000). I am considering putting in an offer, but also aware that the house has received a lot of attention (7 viewings in 2 days) and someone has already put in an offer for £71k (which was declined as the house had only just gone on the market). I am considering offering £75k. My questions are:
- Is this a reasonable amount for the property, or should I go slightly higher?
- Is it possible to make certain stipulations, such as certain items of furniture I'd like to keep?
- Is it also possible to suggest something that might give me the edge over other offers, i.e. in this case, the seller has not yet found a property to buy in the area they wish to move to. The estate agent mentioned something re: going into temporary accommodation. If I suggested that they could stay in the house for, say, 4 months rather than seeking temp accommodation, is that a good idea?
Very new to this so your help is appreciated! 

jemima82

Hi

impossible to say if £75000 is a good offer - what’s the home report value, what have other similar properties gone for recently in same location?

If you post a link to the property (leave out www as new & somebody will link it for you), you’ll get more advice.

not a good idea to let sellers live in the property after completion. See comments here & on other threads. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6255185/can-i-let-the-sellers-stay-in-the-house-for-3-weeks#latest

SameOldRoundabout

Offer what it is worth to you. Put forward your position (how much deposit, an AIP in place, the fact you have time to allow them) and hope. If you want furniture you can negotiate that on top of your offer once it’s accepted. 

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your insights! The home report says the value of the property is £68k (as it is advertised for). For me, it is probably worth up to £80k, but I would obviously rather pay less than this because I'll have additional fees to pay etc. Thank you for the thread regarding sellers staying in the house, I'll take a look. It was also partially selfish as I have just moved home and could do with a bit of a break before having to move again - these things seem to happen at inconvenient times though! 

[Deleted User]

Sorry, should have mentioned that there aren't really similar properties I can go on but the closest is a detached one bedroom house that went for £91,500 last year. It's a bit bigger and obviously being detached is a benefit!

MovingForwards

If the HR says it's valued at £68k any offer over that which is accepted the extra money comes from you, plus your % deposit, so make sure you've enough money to cover the deposit, extra money, legals and other fees.

Furniture will be negotiated separately, be aware some sellers try and ask for the equivalent of buying brand new. This is second hand furniture, even if it's a day old. (My seller asked if it was ok to leave me a few things).

Speak with your solicitor about your offer as they are involved a lot earlier, they also know the local market, assuming they work in the area you're looking to buy.

You need to look at like for like sold properties, not under offer, to see what kind of offer to make. If it's in a very popular area it could go way over the HR valuation.

[Deleted User]

Thank you MovingForwards for your advice! Sorry to be naive, but at what stage is the solicitor involved? I got the impression from what I've been told that I would make the offer first, without the solicitor's involvement. Please correct me if I'm wrong. 
I can afford more than £68k but also don't want to be offering much more than the property has been valued at purely for the sake of competition. I'm thinking something around £76k will put me slightly above those for whom £75k seems like a nice rounded figure (making assumptions here of course). 
You're right about the furniture. The furniture there at the moment certainly looks used. It was more for the sake of not having to buy my own, since I'm not fussy and could do without the initial hassle and cost of moving a sofa, if this is avoidable...but not really a big deal if it comes to it. The area isn't popular at all, it's in a remote village of approx 150 residents so I'm surprised it has had the attention it has, though that may be due to the low price. 

davidmcn

The solicitor is normally involved from the start in Scotland - especially if there's competition and it goes to a closing date, you'll be expected to be submitting a formal offer.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for letting me know...that's annoying!

Dark_Star

Sometimes submitting an odd number can give you the edge. e.g £76, 789 as this can coincide with lucky dates of birth for the seller, other random numbers they like or just be that little bit more than the other would-be buyers... 

MovingForwards

Solicitors don't tend to charge for making formal offers, or it wasn't marked as a standalone item in my quote. However I only offered on one property.

I did things a little different. Viewed the property, made an offer and had it rejected, received a counter offer which I accepted subject to a few of my terms and whatever the standard Scottish ones were which my solicitor would confirm. Then I emailed and instructed my solicitor to make the formal offer, said what terms I had said and also confirmed it was subject to the usual ones he would include. 

Furniture you can pop to BHF and other furniture charity shops and kit your home out cheap, they also deliver; no lugging things upstairs by you! They do new beds / mattresses.