How much do I offer?

Linton

jimbog said:

it’s been said before that if a seller isn’t insulted by your first offer you’ve offered too much 

Disagree.  If you are serious about buying offer sufficient to ensure that the seller replies.  If you offer silly money you will most likely get a simple refusal and have learnt nothing about what the seller really wants.  You then have to restart on the back foot with a seller who may have concluded you are a time-waster    You should aim to get to the final negotiating stage where you are both in the same ball-park as soon as possible before someone else has a chance to make an offer.

ReadySteadyPop

Linton said:

jimbog said:

it’s been said before that if a seller isn’t insulted by your first offer you’ve offered too much 

Disagree.  If you are serious about buying offer sufficient to ensure that the seller replies.  If you offer silly money you will most likely get a simple refusal and have learnt nothing about what the seller really wants.  You then have to restart on the back foot with a seller who may have concluded you are a time-waster    You should aim to get to the final negotiating stage where you are both in the same ball-park as soon as possible before someone else has a chance to make an offer.

This one has been on the market for a year or two so this probably isn`t going to happen here. The house just sounds very overpriced.

Linton

ReadySteadyPop said:

Linton said:

jimbog said:

it’s been said before that if a seller isn’t insulted by your first offer you’ve offered too much 

Disagree.  If you are serious about buying offer sufficient to ensure that the seller replies.  If you offer silly money you will most likely get a simple refusal and have learnt nothing about what the seller really wants.  You then have to restart on the back foot with a seller who may have concluded you are a time-waster    You should aim to get to the final negotiating stage where you are both in the same ball-park as soon as possible before someone else has a chance to make an offer.

This one has been on the market for a year or two so this probably isn`t going to happen here. The house just sounds very overpriced.

Start off with a reasonable offer based on comparables.  If the seller is not prepared to make a counter offer walk away.  Come back later if you have not found anything else.

Successful house buying depends on finding the sweet spot where both sides are happy.  If there isnt one there is no chance of a deal.

MeteredOut

Linton said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Linton said:

jimbog said:

it’s been said before that if a seller isn’t insulted by your first offer you’ve offered too much 

Disagree.  If you are serious about buying offer sufficient to ensure that the seller replies.  If you offer silly money you will most likely get a simple refusal and have learnt nothing about what the seller really wants.  You then have to restart on the back foot with a seller who may have concluded you are a time-waster    You should aim to get to the final negotiating stage where you are both in the same ball-park as soon as possible before someone else has a chance to make an offer.

This one has been on the market for a year or two so this probably isn`t going to happen here. The house just sounds very overpriced.

Start off with a reasonable offer based on comparables.  If the seller is not prepared to make a counter offer walk away.  Come back later if you have not found anything else.

Successful house buying depends on finding the sweet spot where both sides  neither side are happy.  If there isnt one there is no chance of a deal.

Fixed that for you

BarelySentientAI

ReadySteadyPop said:

Linton said:

jimbog said:

it’s been said before that if a seller isn’t insulted by your first offer you’ve offered too much 

Disagree.  If you are serious about buying offer sufficient to ensure that the seller replies.  If you offer silly money you will most likely get a simple refusal and have learnt nothing about what the seller really wants.  You then have to restart on the back foot with a seller who may have concluded you are a time-waster    You should aim to get to the final negotiating stage where you are both in the same ball-park as soon as possible before someone else has a chance to make an offer.

This one has been on the market for a year or two so this probably isn`t going to happen here. The house just sounds very overpriced.

You think every house is very overpriced, regardless of any information available.  There is little in this case, other than the OP's partner's random guess, that suggests it is.

ognum

I have recently sold a flat, one viewer offered £235K for a property on the market for £285K.  I rejected the offer and told the EA not to accept any further offers from the viewer.  If she offered that low how could I be sure she wouldn't reduce her offer at exchanged.  She tried to offer again, I refused.  Sold the same week at asking price.   Be careful about being too insulting.

powerful_Rogue

Britannia12345 said:

It's a good price for the property but I think it hasn't sold because it is very old fashioned. Similar properties that have been modernised are going for way more. 
I just have visions of the agents !!!!!! themselves laughing if I put an offer in that is too low or is it like haggling in a market - I offer low and they go back and forth? 
My partner suggested offering £250,000 but that seems a bit low. On the other hand they are probably keen to get rid as it's been for sale for so long. 

So it's been priced to reflect the work that needs doing to it.

Jami74

Britannia12345 said:

 It's been empty for a year or two. 

Do you know why? 

I'm also a first time buyer, so have no expertise to offer at all. But I'd be more concerned if say, there had been other offers accepted but never made it to completion than if the sellers had to wait for probate. 

The estate agent for the property I offered on made it clear that the sellers had already dropped the price and couldn't go any lower. I offered a cheeky £5k below their 'offers over' price which they turned down after 3 agonising days and then they accepted the 'offers only' price. I'm happy as it's within my budget. I probably would have gone up another £5k but glad I didn't because there's been a couple of little things crop up that might cost me that.

RHemmings

Jami74 said:

Britannia12345 said:

 It's been empty for a year or two. 

Do you know why? 

I'm also a first time buyer, so have no expertise to offer at all. But I'd be more concerned if say, there had been other offers accepted but never made it to completion than if the sellers had to wait for probate. 

The estate agent for the property I offered on made it clear that the sellers had already dropped the price and couldn't go any lower. I offered a cheeky £5k below their 'offers over' price which they turned down after 3 agonising days and then they accepted the 'offers only' price. I'm happy as it's within my budget. I probably would have gone up another £5k but glad I didn't because there's been a couple of little things crop up that might cost me that.

By using one or more of the plugins available that track Rightmove prices, it is sometimes possible to see the sales history of properties. E.g. if there have been a number of sales that have fallen through, That can be partially informative. If there have been many failed sales, then it's worthwhile trying to find out why.

Note that sometimes when properties are removed from Rightmove (Zoopla, etc.) and added back again, the previous listings aren't linked. Hence, the information is not 100%. But, it can be interesting, and eye-opening, looking at history. One property I saw near to me had had nine offers, and was still on the market, having returned to the market nine times. 

ReadySteadyPop

RHemmings said:

Jami74 said:

Britannia12345 said:

 It's been empty for a year or two. 

Do you know why? 

I'm also a first time buyer, so have no expertise to offer at all. But I'd be more concerned if say, there had been other offers accepted but never made it to completion than if the sellers had to wait for probate. 

The estate agent for the property I offered on made it clear that the sellers had already dropped the price and couldn't go any lower. I offered a cheeky £5k below their 'offers over' price which they turned down after 3 agonising days and then they accepted the 'offers only' price. I'm happy as it's within my budget. I probably would have gone up another £5k but glad I didn't because there's been a couple of little things crop up that might cost me that.

By using one or more of the plugins available that track Rightmove prices, it is sometimes possible to see the sales history of properties. E.g. if there have been a number of sales that have fallen through, That can be partially informative. If there have been many failed sales, then it's worthwhile trying to find out why.

Note that sometimes when properties are removed from Rightmove (Zoopla, etc.) and added back again, the previous listings aren't linked. Hence, the information is not 100%. But, it can be interesting, and eye-opening, looking at history. One property I saw near to me had had nine offers, and was still on the market, having returned to the market nine times. 

Many sellers do this rather than accept that they won`t get the price they paid when interest rates were at zero.