Am I Overpaying?

subjecttocontract

I think I would be prepared to pay slightly over the top for the right house but not £25K over the top. If it's really worth £260K I might be prepared to offer £270K if the house was exactly what I wanted. Bare in mind that paying over the top will affect your mortgage valuation/offer.

It also depends on the sellers position. You are an FTB so can complete quickly which may be an advantage to the seller. Can the seller proceed immediately or has he still to find his next property ? Is there a chain ? All these things have an effect on the property price.

There are lots of ways to negotiate a deal e.g. offer a lower price than he's asking but agree to pay his legal fees. Find something wrong with the house that might require some expenditure, promote your ability to complete quickly etc, etc. Alternatively walk away but leave a reduced offer on the table, he may come back to you in a few weeks if he doesn't get a buyer at his inflated price.

Albermarle

If you carry on with the sale, then at some point the mortgage provider will value it, so that should give you some point of reference. Although will not necessarily be pinpoint accurate.

marcia_

 What postcode is the house? Im in L8 i

saajan_12

subjecttocontract said:

There are lots of ways to negotiate a deal e.g. offer a lower price than he's asking but agree to pay his legal fees. 

Poor advice - This isn't to get over some threshold by the govt / bank, OP is looking ot avoid actually paying too much, so redirectign the money to seller's legals doesn't save anything. Besides it adds complications as to how you legally bind such a payment outside the official purchase price, and could be considered fraud if it results in lower SDLT or CGT. So no benefit, all the downside.

subjecttocontract

Poor response.....you have failed to understand the principle.

GrubbyGirl_2

why are you worried that your neighbour will sell their house for £15k less than the price you paid for yours?  If you buy for £285k that's the baseline estate agents will use to value any other houses in that block to come up for sale.  Also, if you're planning on staying there then over time the only way is up.

FrancisBegbie

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

why are you worried that your neighbour will sell their house for £15k less than the price you paid for yours?  If you buy for £285k that's the baseline estate agents will use to value any other houses in that block to come up for sale.  Also, if you're planning on staying there then over time the only way is up.

Exactly what I’m thinking and I absolutely love the place 

bobster2

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

why are you worried that your neighbour will sell their house for £15k less than the price you paid for yours?  If you buy for £285k that's the baseline estate agents will use to value any other houses in that block to come up for sale.  Also, if you're planning on staying there then over time the only way is up.

I am not crashy - and generally disagree with him.

But the idea of choosing to pay a higher price to set a new baseline for the street is just daft!!

silvercar

FrancisBegbie said:

silvercar said:

What does Zoopla say it’s worth? Not that accurate, but can give you an idea, especially for a house that hasn’t been extended since the last sale date.

£240k but that’s obscene 
It’s never going to happen 

So maybe the current owner bought for less than its worth. If the current owner got a discount of £15k as the seller was desperate, maybe the valuation is reasonable.

You need to factor in what you will do if you don't buy this. How long will it take for something similar to appear? 

Herzlos

What they paid for it is irrevelant, what's it worth now is important. 

Is it worth that to you now? How long are you willing to wait for another one coming up for sale in the hope that (a) it's cheaper and (b) you manage to buy it?

Will you care that you overpaid a bit in 10,20,30 years time?