Tried and Failed to buy the property we rent - try again or move on

iishappy

We approached our property owners at the end of 2021 to try and purchase our rental property that we have rented for 26 years (the property is owned by a large company)

After enquiring to purchase they came back with a price above what similar/better properties on the estate had sold for in the previous months, so after fully researching and compiling information over a couple of weeks as to our offer we fired an email back 8% below the price they wanted which was a generous offer to which we got the following reply.

“I have discussed your offer with our clients and forwarded them your email giving the background to your offer, unfortunately though house prices have continued to increase since then.  They have checked the appraisals again with the agents as well as on line and it would appear that the value has increased, (Picture from Zoopla) as such they would only consider a sale at £175,000 or above.  As you will appreciate, this property forms part of a rental portfolio and as such our clients have no particular wish to sell, consideration was only given following the direct enquiry from yourselves.  Unfortunately in this situation there would therefore be no option for negotiation.”

We only want to pay fair money for the property we don't want a discount for renting or anything like that or even that the property is really tired and in need of modernising. What would be the best way to approach the property owners again should we decide to, we could increase our offer a bit maybe 5% tops but with them referencing Zoopla and Zoopla is way off on our close/estate is it even worth it? From their previous response would you just leave it and move on to pastures new /

As it’s a large company is there a better time to re offer tax year or anything else we could or should do? Maybe just remind them we are still interested ?

Thanks

_Penny_Dreadful

They’re not interested in selling to you unless you’re willing to pay over the odds. If they were serious they wouldn’t have used Zoopla for the estimation. My advice would be to purchase one of the similar or better properties on the estate instead. 

iishappy

_Penny_Dreadful said:

They’re not interested in selling to you bless you’re willing to pay over the odds. If they were serious they wouldn’t have used Zoopla for the estimation. My advice would be to purchase one of the similar or better properties on the estate instead. 

That's what we thought when they sent the picture from Zoopla, the wife is uncomfortable moving a few hundred yards on the same estate looks like we will have to move away somewhere new. Gonna be hard though family home kids spent all their lives here.

Titus_Wadd

Think about buying locally on the open market, just window shop on Righmove or similar and see what's available for the amount you can comfortably afford (keeping enough aside to cover removals).  You might see something tempting that outweighs the convenience of not having to pack up and move.

It doesn't sound as though they are interested in selling at all.

pinkshoes

iishappy said:

That's what we thought when they sent the picture from Zoopla, the wife is uncomfortable moving a few hundred yards on the same estate looks like we might as well move away somewhere new. Gonna be hard though family home kids spent all their lives here.

It's not as hard as it seems.

My parents sold our "family home" that me and my brother grew up in after buying it brand new and owning it for 27 years!! I was gutted at first, especially as I'd moved away and loved the nostalgia of going back. 

Other than the odd look on Google Maps (to see if it has changed) or Zoopla to see if it ever comes up for sale again (out of curiosity) I don't really think about it!

They clearly don't want to sell, so just see it as fate starting a new era in life!

DullGreyGuy

_Penny_Dreadful said:
If they were serious they wouldn’t have used Zoopla for the estimation. 

Zoopla isnt necessarily what they have used but its an easy tool to share and support their argument rather than some asset management modelling tool (or whatever large scale real estate investment companies use).  I've know others to do similar, use an actuarial modelling solution to make their decision but a basic publicly accessible tool share with the customer. 

iishappy said:

We approached our property owners at the end of 2021 to try and purchase our rental property that we have rented for with them referencing Zoopla and Zoopla is way off on our close/estate is it even worth it? From their previous response would you just leave it and move on to pastures new /

As it’s a large company is there a better time to re offer tax year or anything else we could or should do? Maybe just remind them we are still interested ?

Well if you dont offer you know the outcome so its up to you if you want to continue renting it or have a slim chance they've changed their mind. 

Its a punt and there are too many variables to try and second guess if one time or another may be more favourably received... just be realistic about the chances of success so you arent disappointed when the answer is no

MFWannabe

It’s always worth asking again and you know not to get your hopes up 
Then if it is a no again you can start looking at other properties 

EssexHebridean

If you like the area, and the children are happy at schools locally etc, then why the hesitation to look elsewhere close by? It sounds like you could actually end up in a nicer house, and with the security/stability of owning  it too. 

mi-key

You have to think as well that if they have owned it for that long, it was probably paid off years ago. The property is worth more to them than just the market value as they get an income from it, plus they don't need to sell it. It's always worth making another offer, but if they refused 8% then they probably won't accept 5%

peterhjohnson

I'd suggest waiting some time before trying another offer. Circumstances could change and maybe the company would be desperate to sell at another time. But I wouldn't delay trying to buy somewhere locally either

FreeBear

iishappy said: the wife is uncomfortable moving a few hundred yards on the same estate

At least you would save on removal costs... I know of one guy that moved a few doors down and the family pitched in to cart all the possessions the 100 yards or so. Have pictures somewhere of him gingerly maneuvering a ruddy great milling machine down the road on a set of skates