Accepting lower offer from buyer

ss2020jd

Hi all,

I’m selling my mum’s house with Lasting Power of attorney to pay for her care home fees. 

We had three valuations but went with the most conservative (lower) one as we were hoping for a quick sale so priced accordingly and liked the independent agent. Also aware the decor is a bit dated and could do with new carpets etc but otherwise it is a nice 3 bed (one box room) house end terrace with garage in a nice area with small garden. I won’t post the link here due to privacy issues and my mum doesn’t want people knowing the house is empty etc. 

Anyway this is the second week and we’ve had quite a few viewings but only one proceedable offer which was initially very low so was rejected but they have since come back with an offer £13,000 under the asking price, which again is much lower than my mum was hoping for. The agent has said because they are first time buyers and that the interest is waning with no more viewings booked that this should be considered. My mum is hoping they can at least go up a bit more to maybe closer to £317,000 and I am aware that as attorney it is my obligation to get the best price for her so I will tell the agent this. 

I have looked at comparables and things have recently sold in that price range (after showing as reduced) but of course I don’t know what they have actually gone for. I don’t want it sitting there for ages having had to be reduced or equally getting a higher offer from a chain buyer. Any advice or experience welcomed. 

I had hoped my selling days and associated stresses were over! 

FlyMeSomewhere79

First time buyers are a good option to take because they don't have a chain behind them that could be god knows how long and collapse anywhere at anytime. I was lucky to recently sell mine to FTB's.

Also and I hate being morbid but I don't know what your mum's age or state of health is but if god forbid she suddenly declines and passes, you've then got a house that's got to go through probate which has caused relatives of mine some real headaches.

My mum is 72 and widowed and I may have all this to deal with in years to come to and I don't look forward to it! Thing is if there's no more interest then you'll be left having to drop the price to get more interest anyway. I had to do that with mine last year.

propertyrental

Hard to advise but factors include

* how urgently you need the money for care home fees

* how much it's costing to run the house (mortgage? insurance, utilities etc)

* what % of the price does £13K represent?

Given you started from the lowest of 3 valuations (much diffenece between them?) I would reject and hold out. These buyers may increase their offer again and if not you can always go back to them later to see if they are still interested.

p00hsticks

Personally I think that if you are only in the second week on the market I'd be tempted to stall them a bit - maybe not completely decline their offer but say you wish it to remain on the market perhaps until the end of the month ? Although of course, this in turn means they are likely to continue looking themselves and could see something they prefer in that time. 

@propertyrental makes a good point about how much it is costing you in terms of council tax, insurance, utiliiies etc each month - we sometimes hear of people hanging on for months in the hope of getting a few £k extra when in reality it has costs them that much or more to maintain the property in the interim... 

ss2020jd

Thanks for the replies and I appreciate the great points made. Some things I hadn’t considered there.

The £12,000 represents 96% and if the agent can get them to go up to 316,000 for example that would be 97%.

Agreed about the bills and maintenance costs too and also considering my mum’s health as she is 84. The other thing is that I suppose the quicker it is sold the more she could be earning interest on the money as well which could effectively offset some of the reduction, if everything goes smoothly, of course. 

Yes that is a risk holding out especially if interest is waning so I think I’ll go back to the agent and see if there is any movement from there before making a decision.

Edited to add that difference between them was that a couple of the other agents said in the range £325-£330 but definitely £325,000 but of course they can say anything! 

Bigphil1474

OP, don't forget EA's valuation is a marketing price not necessarily the value of your home. They'll have an idea of the market and roughly what's right - in a buyers market, the price might be a bit higher so that you can come down, or a bit low to drum up interest fast. The EA want the house to sell sooner rather than later so they get their cut.

Personally, I'd say a marketed price of £325k is expecting offers between £310-£325k, unless it's really hot and gets offers over. The initial offer received isn't far off, but a bit low in just the second week (IMO). If it was me, I'd bounce back and tell the EA what you would accept - if that's £316k, tell them that. Can't see a buyer who really wants the house walking away over £4k (unless they offered right at the top of their budget).

We looked at a house that had been up for sale for over 6 months at £360k, we offered £345k, they turned it down, we went to £350k and they responded with minimum of £360k, so we walked away. They did sell it for their asking price a week or so later.

ss2020jd

Thanks @Bigphil1474 that’s good to know about the marketed price and the expected offers. He did mention that an offer from a FTB might be acceptable at 320k when he did his valuation so I suppose I naively thought that might be a achievable but it’s only worth what somebody is willing to pay, I suppose.

I do think it’s a bit low at this early stage as well - they did initially start at £300,000 about a week ago and small increments since so I can tell the EA just wants it done and dusted. They have said they can’t meet the £320,000 my mum would be happy with as they need money to do the work but hopefully they will come back with something in between. I did tell them the absolute minimum that we would accept so we will see. 

It sounds like those sellers were lucky. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do that after 6 months on the market and would have accepted your £350k offer!

Albermarle

First time buyers are a good option to take because they don't have a chain behind them that could be god knows how long and collapse anywhere at anytime. I was lucky to recently sell mine to FTB's

On the other hand there are lots of threads on here about FTB's panicking over relatively small issues in survey reports and wanting discounts. Whereas  more experienced buyers would see these issues as par for the course, especially for older properties.

NameUnavailable

As above - my worry with FTB's and a house needing some work is that they get spooked by the survey and run away or make an even lower offer!

I would also want to know what kind of deposit/mortgage they need - i.e. how much leeway will they have if the mortgage valuation came in lower or to do necessary works which they possibly haven't considered at this stage.

2 weeks isn't long, although the offer seems close/fair. I think I'd speak to the agent, get reassurance on the above points and then decide and maybe counter offer.

ss2020jd

Yes I did think about that and realise that can be an issue with some FTBs. I remember being one myself! Many moons ago. 

The EA has come back and said he can’t get them to go any higher than £315k - that’s their best and final offer. 

He says they really seem like a lovely genuine couple, they love the house and want to make it a family home etc etc. 

I have told them I’ll talk it over with my mum and think about it overnight but I am leaning towards probably accepting it. I have been reading about prices usually being around 97% of asking at the moment. 

Albermarle

He says they really seem like a lovely genuine couple, they love the house and want to make it a family home etc etc

From an EA, you can probably take this guff with a pinch of salt.

One tactic is to say you accept the offer, but you will not reduce further later based on a survey finding any minor issues, most of which would have been obvious during the buyers viewing. ( obviously if their survey finds a major issue that is different )