Best Offers - How high to go?

nicknameless

lookstraightahead said:

nicknameless said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

jenni_fer said:

lookstraightahead said:

I would offer nothing over asking price. I wouldn't do it in a shop, or buying a car, or paying fir a holiday, and I won't do it on a house. 

it's all a game.

Sadly, in the current climate round here, not playing the game = never moving.

Exactly. All these people who are just suggesting to walk away/not play the game/stick to the original offer they don't know what they're talking about. They are people who I suspect either bought a house ages ago or bough a house in a less desirable area where bidding wars don't normally happen.

The area I live in and also the surrounding areas are desirable and ALL the people I know, both sellers and buyers, had to go through the last and final offers system.

Don't worry about overpaying, if it's your forever home it won't matter and if you sell it you'll get it back. Happened to me: I paid 7% over home report valuation when I bought, but when I sold I got 13% over the new home report valuation.

Really honestly not my experience, despite the fact that you think you know what's happening everywhere.

I bought a house, in an extremely desirable area, for 10% under asking, with three offers on the table. Ours was the lowest. But we were in a moving situation and the vendors had been bitten a few months previously by accepting a higher offer and then it falling through as, unsurprisingly, the bank 'undervalued' the house.

Bidding wars are a very recent phenomenon and everyone has a choice as to whether they really want to be part of something that will either stay, or more likely disappear.

Lol, of course you did!!!!

You're so good that sellers want to sell you their home for peanuts! EA ask you "how low can you go?"

Sure, mate, we totally believe you.

If you paid 10% under asking, believe me, you didn't buy in a desirable area. Maybe desirable for you.

Also, bidding wars have been around for a long time, and surely have been around forever in desirable areas for desirable properties. Bought my first property 5-6 years ago via best and final offer and since them it's been exactly the same.

Again, I don't think your property/area is as desirable as you think it is.

10% under asking price? haha lol, get the hell out of here lol

I wish I knew me as well as you do

I live in an AONB and conservation area with direct main line train station and listed buildings. I think it's desirable, but you're right, everyone has their own definitions.

The problem is (rather ironically) you are applying your personal situation, decision and outcome to everyone else's and implying not achieving an equivalent outcome to your own is either incompetence or a fools errand.  Other people are relating vastly different experiences and outcomes, yet tenaciously you cling to a single view of how to proceed in their situations.

The last 4 houses we have viewed and had a serious interest in (within a defined geographical area - desirable - you decide) all went SSTC within a week and the one we offered on (above asking) we didn't get.

We want to move.  We don't want to wait for a prophesied market correction or cooling.  Will your advocated approach get us a property that we want do you think given the above?

I don't disagree actually with what you're saying. I'm just saying I wouldn't get into a bidding war, and in my experience didn't need to. I've seen loads of properties come back onto the market because people can't get the mortgages/ banks 'under' value, which is awful for everyone.

We're all different of course, I just don't want to play and didn't need to.

I understand - even in your situation you are still reliant on there not being significant competition for that property which came back to market.  One of the properties I am talking about was exactly that situation.  The one we are offering on presently similarly and already had offers in the bag.  So your position still relies on not having other proceedable buyers for that property at that time.

Greymug

lookstraightahead said:

I just don't want to play and didn't need to.

And yet you felt the uncontrollable need to reply in a thread about playing the game.

peterhjohnson

MysteryMe said:

 There is no point over paying, there will always be other houses. 

Yes and No :-)

When I moved last year, I was lucky that a great house came on the market at the right time. I knew I was lucky because I'd been watching the market for over 6 months and researched the history of sales further back via Rightmove. That told me that I could get a the sort of house I wanted but that they didn't come up every month.

After I moved, I left my searches/notification running and can see that I "missed out" on no more than two "better" places in over a year.

Of course, for some people/criteria, there really will always be other houses :-)

Gavin83

zappahey said:

t2havock said:

. Don’t forget to write a letter to the vendors telling them why you love the house and how you could see it being your home too. Most likely, they’ve loved their home and want to know it’s going to someone who’ll love it just as much.

If someone wrote such a letter to me, their offer would be going right in the bin as I'd think I was dealing with some nutter who's going to be nothing but trouble. The offer would need to be spectacular before I would even consider it.

I'd probably consider it a bit of an advantage. If they're that desperate to be writing letters to me I'd assume they're desperate enough to pay as much as they can for it. Therefore I certainly wouldn't be accepting any low offers from them and I wouldn't be prepared to negotiate further down the line. Based on this I figure sending such a letter is likely a bad idea.

steve866

lookstraightahead said:

nicknameless said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

jenni_fer said:

lookstraightahead said:

I would offer nothing over asking price. I wouldn't do it in a shop, or buying a car, or paying fir a holiday, and I won't do it on a house. 

it's all a game.

Sadly, in the current climate round here, not playing the game = never moving.

Exactly. All these people who are just suggesting to walk away/not play the game/stick to the original offer they don't know what they're talking about. They are people who I suspect either bought a house ages ago or bough a house in a less desirable area where bidding wars don't normally happen.

The area I live in and also the surrounding areas are desirable and ALL the people I know, both sellers and buyers, had to go through the last and final offers system.

Don't worry about overpaying, if it's your forever home it won't matter and if you sell it you'll get it back. Happened to me: I paid 7% over home report valuation when I bought, but when I sold I got 13% over the new home report valuation.

Really honestly not my experience, despite the fact that you think you know what's happening everywhere.

I bought a house, in an extremely desirable area, for 10% under asking, with three offers on the table. Ours was the lowest. But we were in a moving situation and the vendors had been bitten a few months previously by accepting a higher offer and then it falling through as, unsurprisingly, the bank 'undervalued' the house.

Bidding wars are a very recent phenomenon and everyone has a choice as to whether they really want to be part of something that will either stay, or more likely disappear.

Lol, of course you did!!!!

You're so good that sellers want to sell you their home for peanuts! EA ask you "how low can you go?"

Sure, mate, we totally believe you.

If you paid 10% under asking, believe me, you didn't buy in a desirable area. Maybe desirable for you.

Also, bidding wars have been around for a long time, and surely have been around forever in desirable areas for desirable properties. Bought my first property 5-6 years ago via best and final offer and since them it's been exactly the same.

Again, I don't think your property/area is as desirable as you think it is.

10% under asking price? haha lol, get the hell out of here lol

I wish I knew me as well as you do

I live in an AONB and conservation area with direct main line train station and listed buildings. I think it's desirable, but you're right, everyone has their own definitions.

The problem is (rather ironically) you are applying your personal situation, decision and outcome to everyone else's and implying not achieving an equivalent outcome to your own is either incompetence or a fools errand.  Other people are relating vastly different experiences and outcomes, yet tenaciously you cling to a single view of how to proceed in their situations.

The last 4 houses we have viewed and had a serious interest in (within a defined geographical area - desirable - you decide) all went SSTC within a week and the one we offered on (above asking) we didn't get.

We want to move.  We don't want to wait for a prophesied market correction or cooling.  Will your advocated approach get us a property that we want do you think given the above?

I don't disagree actually with what you're saying. I'm just saying I wouldn't get into a bidding war, and in my experience didn't need to. I've seen loads of properties come back onto the market because people can't get the mortgages/ banks 'under' value, which is awful for everyone.

We're all different of course, I just don't want to play and didn't need to.

Best and finals is different to a bidding war. 

nicknameless

Lost out again.  Cash buyer this time.  Need @lookstraightahead to find us a property!

jenni_fer

nicknameless said:

Lost out again.  Cash buyer this time.  Need @lookstraightahead to find us a property!

Sorry to hear that.
We're still waiting to hear anything at all. Supporting email written and we think we'll go in at £12k over when they ask.

nicknameless

jenni_fer said:

nicknameless said:

Lost out again.  Cash buyer this time.  Need @lookstraightahead to find us a property!

Sorry to hear that.
We're still waiting to hear anything at all. Supporting email written and we think we'll go in at £12k over when they ask.

Thankyou.  Back to your original Q - it seems position was everything in our case, not the offer, although we did offer 5% above asking.  It seems that 1/3 cash deposit, no chain, all ducks in a row is still not good enough.

We'll just wait for the next bus I suppose but hard to feel positive about it atm.

Good luck to you.

MysteryMe

steve866 said:

lookstraightahead said:

nicknameless said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

lookstraightahead said:

Greymug said:

jenni_fer said:

lookstraightahead said:

I would offer nothing over asking price. I wouldn't do it in a shop, or buying a car, or paying fir a holiday, and I won't do it on a house. 

it's all a game.

Sadly, in the current climate round here, not playing the game = never moving.

Exactly. All these people who are just suggesting to walk away/not play the game/stick to the original offer they don't know what they're talking about. They are people who I suspect either bought a house ages ago or bough a house in a less desirable area where bidding wars don't normally happen.

The area I live in and also the surrounding areas are desirable and ALL the people I know, both sellers and buyers, had to go through the last and final offers system.

Don't worry about overpaying, if it's your forever home it won't matter and if you sell it you'll get it back. Happened to me: I paid 7% over home report valuation when I bought, but when I sold I got 13% over the new home report valuation.

Really honestly not my experience, despite the fact that you think you know what's happening everywhere.

I bought a house, in an extremely desirable area, for 10% under asking, with three offers on the table. Ours was the lowest. But we were in a moving situation and the vendors had been bitten a few months previously by accepting a higher offer and then it falling through as, unsurprisingly, the bank 'undervalued' the house.

Bidding wars are a very recent phenomenon and everyone has a choice as to whether they really want to be part of something that will either stay, or more likely disappear.

Lol, of course you did!!!!

You're so good that sellers want to sell you their home for peanuts! EA ask you "how low can you go?"

Sure, mate, we totally believe you.

If you paid 10% under asking, believe me, you didn't buy in a desirable area. Maybe desirable for you.

Also, bidding wars have been around for a long time, and surely have been around forever in desirable areas for desirable properties. Bought my first property 5-6 years ago via best and final offer and since them it's been exactly the same.

Again, I don't think your property/area is as desirable as you think it is.

10% under asking price? haha lol, get the hell out of here lol

I wish I knew me as well as you do

I live in an AONB and conservation area with direct main line train station and listed buildings. I think it's desirable, but you're right, everyone has their own definitions.

The problem is (rather ironically) you are applying your personal situation, decision and outcome to everyone else's and implying not achieving an equivalent outcome to your own is either incompetence or a fools errand.  Other people are relating vastly different experiences and outcomes, yet tenaciously you cling to a single view of how to proceed in their situations.

The last 4 houses we have viewed and had a serious interest in (within a defined geographical area - desirable - you decide) all went SSTC within a week and the one we offered on (above asking) we didn't get.

We want to move.  We don't want to wait for a prophesied market correction or cooling.  Will your advocated approach get us a property that we want do you think given the above?

I don't disagree actually with what you're saying. I'm just saying I wouldn't get into a bidding war, and in my experience didn't need to. I've seen loads of properties come back onto the market because people can't get the mortgages/ banks 'under' value, which is awful for everyone.

We're all different of course, I just don't want to play and didn't need to.

Best and finals is different to a bidding war. 

Indeed, and as I already posted the reason I instructed the EA to go to best and final was because I was not interested in protracted negotiations with two buyers who had offered the same amount. It wasn't a game, it wasn't EA BS and it wasn't to start a bidding war. One best and final off and that was it. 

thriftytracey

Here is our experience.

We want to relocate to a desirable area where houses are in short supply.  We had been searching since April and this would be our forever home.  In July we finally viewed a bungalow that ticked quite a few boxes (not all and we have made compromises in our searches) and was in a great location (a probate sale).  We knew it would go to best and final.  I wrote a long letter to the EA offering £15k over the asking price of £350k and emphasising we were in a short chain and did not need a mortgage  The property needed new kitchen and bathrooms (and it really did need them it wasn't just a case of not to our taste).  We did not win and I imagine the successful buyer probably offered £25k over.  

We were gutted and my husband admitted to me today he was still depressed about it.  But you have to draw the line somewhere.  Yes, we wanted the property but not at any price.  However, at the end of the day money wins every time.  There were several beneficiaries and they went for the maximum amount they could get.

Since then there has been nothing - the very few new properties since have been apartments or terraced houses.

I am resigned now to not moving.  We don't want to move to another area.  I will be calling the estate agent tomorrow to advise that although we are still looking in September we have a long holiday booked which we intend to take.  If we lose our buyer so be it.  If we do then I think we will take the house off the market and wait until the market is calmer whenever that will be .....