What to offer?

sophieu

We are interested in a house up at £214950. The vendors have already moved, therefore it's vacant and the EA told us that one offer has already fallen thrugh. What sort of offer do you think is a fair offer?

Nenen

Depends to some extent on your position, e.g. if you are first time buyers (or STR) with no chain below and a substantial deposit with mortgage agreed in principal then you are an attractive buyer and should be in a good negotiating position.

I think current advice I've read on these boards is to offer 10 - 20% below asking price. However, so much depends upon how desparate the vendor is to sell, how long it has been on the market and how much you love the property!

Do you think the property is realistically priced compared to others in the area? If it is realistically priced and you love it then you could lose it by offering too little (this has happened to us and I'm still kicking myself). However, if you offer an amount that will push you to your financial limit and you need to move in the next few years you could be in serious trouble. Also, if hosue prices do drop will you regret paying 'over the odds' for this one? These are questions only you can answer and unfortunately no one really knows what will happen to the market at the moment.

Taking all this into account, how much do you like this house (i.e. would you be gutted if you lost it) how much could you comfotably afford and is this a house you would be able to live in long term (5+ years) if the market drops and you go into negative equity?

jonewer

Not more than £200,000

slipp_digby

How long has it been on the market? If the venders have moved out have they reduced the asking price yet, or are they still hoping to get theri original asking price? Why did the other offer fall though? Do you know how much it was for?

sophieu

We have an offer on our house and are able to move ASAP. The property has been on the market since before the beginning of December but there has been no reduction in price. The EA says the previous offer was below £210000 but whether you can really believe that I dont know (was it very much lower).

We have about £21000 for a deposit and a mortgage agreement in principle.
Any more ideas?

We have an off