Offer Rejected - What Next?

moggins

We've made an offer on the house we want to buy which is £3,500 less than the asking price of £90,000. This is based on the fact that even before a surveyors report it was obvious that over half of the hardwood double glazing in the house is blown and is going to need replacing. The offer has been rejected and the estate agent has told us not to increase our offer, that our offer was reasonable and he will immediately let us know if there is any other interest in the house.

We really love the house though and don't want to lose it, should we increase our offer?

bridiej

A house is worth what you're prepared to pay for it. Personally I'd say that if you love it that much then go for it!

divadee

This is a tricky one cos if you love the house you will be gutted if you lose it.


but i would hold fire just for a little while, it really is a buyers market at the moment, and hopefully the seller will realise this and realise what a great offer you have put in. are you first time buyers? if you are you are in a fantastic position.

get your mortgage offer sorted, find a good solicitor so if they do come back to you you can move in a really quick time. Make sure the agent also tells the seller what a great position you are in.

Let us know how you get on

moggins

No we're not first time buyers but our mortgage is a transferable one, but they have no chain

We have seen a couple of other houses in the area that we really liked too but this house seemed to fit our requirements as a family completely.

mrcow

moggins wrote:

We really love the house though and don't want to lose it, should we increase our offer?

No you shouldn't. If even the EA has advised you not to, then it's obviously overpriced. Three grand is a lot of money (it will probably pay for all your moving costs, solicitors, survey and mortgage fees), and you shouldn't throw it away.

Why don't you ask the EA to advise the sellers that your offer is open for say two more weeks, and after that, you are withdrawing it. A lack of further activity may push the vendor into accepting?

You may love this house, but there are plenty of properties out there, and something more suitable at the right price will come up. So don't stop looking.

Whilst looking for our current house, we lost a house that we'd put an offer on and I was gutted (to the point of tears). We found our current house about three weeks later, and looking back, I'm so pleased that we lost the first house. Sometimes these things are meant to happen.

WiseInvestor_2

The estate agent takes a percentage of the sale price in commission so it's to his/her advantage to secure the best deal for the seller. It sounds as though you're dealing with a really genuine operator here so I'd trust the advice and hold fire

Good Luck!

meanmachine_2

Sounds to me like the EA is getting frustrated with greedy vendors who have a 2004 mindset.

In fact, the EA doesn't act in the seller's interest, but their own interest primarily. And that means securing a sale as quickly as possible.

In the current climate, the buyer and the EA are now much closer in their aims - to secure a sale. It's the vendors who seem to be preventing this by clinging on to every last penny rather than being sensible and taking a very generous offer.

frugal_dougal_3

moggins wrote:

The offer has been rejected and the estate agent has told us not to increase our offer, that our offer was reasonable and he will immediately let us know if there is any other interest in the house.

:think: I hear warning bells !!

On the face of it the EA is being incredibly helpful to you. Or is he ?

Valuing a house is only ever a matter of opinion, and is done by comparing properties with other similar properties, which are then compared to other properties ad infinitum.

In other words he has absolutely no reason to say this to you unless he has an ulterior motive, such as a friend who is also interested for instance.

Call me an old cynic if you wish but I've seen plenty of these shady deals.

tiger

frougal dont you think this Ea looks more reasonable then most ea.his advice is that he will let them know if someone else is interested seems abit genuine (may also be another bdding & counterbidding)
could it be possible that he suspect no one had offered /will offer anything close the offerthey made.
am not sure about this house buying/selling but my advice is always give less than the asking price.i mean if u selling something then you definately want the highest price for it.so i believe you should go any high

mrcow

tiger wrote:

frougal dont you think this Ea looks more reasonable then most ea.

I don't know though.......why would the EA want to be 'reasonable'? After all, they don't give two hoots about whether the buyer gets the best deal. They are paid to get the best deal for their clients in the quickest time possible, and if I were the vendor in this situation and found out what the EA had said, I'd be well pee'd off.

Frougal could well be right. The EA is either:

1. On the make with a possible outside interest (or some other reason why he doesn't want these vendors to agree a sale).
2. Competely not confident that the the house is worth the valuation and that this will be highlighted at survey stage.

moggins

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'm going to hang fire for a while as I really do trust the ea. He's been wonderful all along, obviously knows his business and knows everything about the area, his vendors etc. I don't trust many people straight away but my gut instinct is to trust him. He's right, our house has only just gone on the market, we can afford to wait and see.