The Offer in Excess Conundrum

Floopy2009

I am sure this has been discussed numerous times but would like peoples take on my situation if possible.

So been to see a property on Friday with OIEO 220,000. It was a four bed terrace, no off road parking and a a ok standard size garden. Off set near a reasonable busy road but you couldnt hear anything in the house and also bedrooms at the front.

Fairplay to the owner who took me round, he went through everything they had done from the bathroom, new bolier, decorating down to what the neighbours were like names etc. More value than any estate agent who has taken me round previously for viewings and that showed with the viewing being 45 mins long.

Explained reason they were leaving which was they needed more space for the 5 kids and that the house he was renting out for many years the tennant had now left, so they are going to move into there and update, etc.

After viewing the property i had a look at previous sales, They bought it for 200,000 three years ago with the owners previous to them 190,000. So with the work they have done its about i would say about 8,000 - 10,000 under the 220,000 OIEO

In my head i am thinking maybe go for 215,000 as a water tester as that feels fair but feel will it get their back up but on the other hand i know they want a quick sale and i have no chain, or maybe just offer the 220,000 and thats it.

I know people will say on here pay whats it worth to you, but would like people opinions what they would do

Thanks in advance

Emmia

I don't see it as a conundrum, offer what you think it is worth. No need to overthink it.

Hoenir

Floopy2009 said:

Fairplay to the owner who took me round, he went through everything they had done from the bathroom, new bolier, decorating down to what the neighbours were like names etc. More value than any estate agent who has taken me round previously for viewings and that showed with the viewing being 45 mins long.

Not going to tell you anything negative that's for sure! 

The OIEO clearly sets out their stall. Go to low and don't be surprised by an outright rejection at the current time. 

How many properties have you viewed so far in person?   

lookstraightahead

I have always ignored OIEO - it's a marketing ploy to promote a bidding war - which is even more silly in today's market.
offer what you want then be prepared to walk if they say no - and really do walk. A house is just a house until you make it a home.

Floopy2009

Hoenir said:

Floopy2009 said:

Fairplay to the owner who took me round, he went through everything they had done from the bathroom, new bolier, decorating down to what the neighbours were like names etc. More value than any estate agent who has taken me round previously for viewings and that showed with the viewing being 45 mins long.

Not going to tell you anything negative that's for sure! 

The OIEO clearly sets out their stall. Go to low and don't be surprised by an outright rejection at the current time. 

How many properties have you viewed so far in person?   

Yeah i totally get they would not say anything negative, but was just saying in general it backed up with regards works etc and looking back at the house sales archives online before they bought it. With the work they have done i got the  possible plans of an loft conversation i got the impression with children getting older, needing more space but mainly the renter from the othe propetty leaving then due to the financial commitments of two properties and cost of the a loft conversation etc their hands were tied. But then again it could be smoke and mirrors.

Property Viewing wise from January so seen a few let me tell you lol why do you ask ?

peterhjohnson

Find local comparable recent sales and make a sensible offer based on your research :-)

theartfullodger

You offer exactly what it's worth to you.

About 20 years ago there was a house oieo ? £40k ish   I offered at least 20% below.  Got the rudest bluntest rejection from agent I'd ever had. I thanked them calmly & politely.  

A week letter i made exact same offer.  Accepted.  Owned it some 20 Years.

Albermarle

After viewing the property i had a look at previous sales, They bought it for 200,000 three years ago with the owners previous to them 190,000. So with the work they have done its about i would say about 8,000 - 10,000 under the 220,000 OIEO

Have you any idea, how the local market has moved over the last 3 years?

jonnydeppiwish!

lookstraightahead said:

I have always ignored OIEO - it's a marketing ploy to promote a bidding war - which is even more silly in today's market.
offer what you want then be prepared to walk if they say no - and really do walk. A house is just a house until you make it a home.

Whilst I agree with you, it does allow vendors to appear in searches just below specific search thresholds, rather than a bidding war in this current market.

That said, we have a house around the corner with an asking price of OIEO £1m. Pretty sure it’ll go for well in excess of £1.6m

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143496977#/?channel=RES_BUY

MobileSaver

Floopy2009 said:

They bought it for 200,000 three years ago ... So with the work they have done its about i would say about 8,000 - 10,000 under the 220,000 OIEO

I wouldn't recommend that method as a reliable way of valuing a property. Even if they hadn't spent a penny on updating it, the average UK property is now 12.8% higher than it was three years ago meaning on average their £200k house would now be worth £225k, obviously your particular area might be more or less than this.

As @peterhjohnson and @Albermarle have said, all that really matters is what are comparable properties in your area selling for? If you want/need to move to that area then you can only buy something that is available so you either pay the price or you don't get to move. 

@lookstraightahead's approach sounds fine in theory but in practice how many times do you walk before accepting that it's you losing out rather than the sellers? We had one infamous poster here who fifteen years later found himself in his fifties renting a bedsit in an undesirable part of the city because in his opinion all sellers had been asking silly prices for the last 15 years...

So whether £215,000 is a reasonable offer or not depends entirely on that local area. If comparables are higher then yes you may offend the seller and not get a second chance whereas if comparables are lower then you can justify your offer and hopefully get at least a second bite of the cherry if the offer is declined. 

The other important factor of course is whether others are interested in the property; you don't need a red hot market, just one other person interested can mean the difference between you getting the property or not - only you know whether this particular property is a WIBNIF or whether it's ideal for your needs and so would be crazy to lose for the sake of offering say another £5k.

Hoenir

Floopy2009 said:

Hoenir said:

Floopy2009 said:

Fairplay to the owner who took me round, he went through everything they had done from the bathroom, new bolier, decorating down to what the neighbours were like names etc. More value than any estate agent who has taken me round previously for viewings and that showed with the viewing being 45 mins long.

Not going to tell you anything negative that's for sure! 

The OIEO clearly sets out their stall. Go to low and don't be surprised by an outright rejection at the current time. 

How many properties have you viewed so far in person?   

Property Viewing wise from January so seen a few let me tell you lol why do you ask ?

You've seen the local market. Know the prices property is selling for.  All helps to guage what a reasonable offer would be. As always there's the premium that people pay if it's the property they really view as a longterm home.