Advice needed on offer size

tanikk£

Hi

We found a 1st floor flat that matches all our expectations, it is in good area and good size etc.
It is on the market for £250.000, and the current owner bought it for £217.500 about 21 month ago, no improvements made.

We were thinking to offer something in the region of £235K (estimate based on average house price growth for flats in this area for last 2 years), but looked at prices for similar flats sold in this and nearby blocks and now in doubt:

31/10/2007 £218,000 - for similar 1st floor in nearby block, no double glazing but better positioned (garden faced)

Really confused what to offer, we like the property but don't to want end up paying dozens of thousands extra at a falling market (we do need to buy now despite that fact)

carolt

Offer £218K max, with reasons. You can always come up in price if you see fit, but much harder to reduce.

If you don't ask, you don't get. In the current market they may be glad of the offer, any offer. They may just be trying it on with the price in the hope of finding a bigger mug.

How long have they had it on for? If it was priced earlier in the year eg September when prices peaked, they may not have factored in recent falls.

tanikk£

Thanks for your reply. The area is a hotspot and homes go quickly even now.
As I see from internet , seller tried to rent it out for £950 before in December, but then withdrew it from the market and decided to sell instead.

There were some sales up to £233 in these blocks last year, but I am not sure what sort of property was that, might be an additional bedroom or significantly improved.

Being him I would not even consider £218K as it would give me no profit or even some loss after almost 2 years. There is some interest to the property according to EA, it's been on the market for a week roughly and some offers were passed already (of course if EA are not lying)

seraphina

Whereabouts in the country are you?

I'd probably offer £215k based on what the other flat you mentioned sold for. Tell the estate agent to keep you informed, and then say nothing. Don't give away how much you like it or your budget.

If the owner has tried to rent it out - and failed - it suggests it's not his primary residence, so it sounds more like it's a financial committment for him, rather than a place to live IYSWIM?

If the EA then comes back and says that £215K is a no go, you need to decide what to do. If I were you I'd play the waiting game - give it a fortnight and see if it's still on the market.

tanikk£

London commuter belt

EA says £220K will not definitely work, the vendor has an offer already, but not accepting it yet, as it is a bit low and an offer slightly lower than asking price would be close to seller's expectations ... confused ...

We can pay more, but if survey shows that the flat costs significantly less that we offered and that is what bank will lend us, we might struggle to find extra cash to add to deposit. Are there any paid services in Internet where you can get a valuation close to what a survey would show ?

pinkshoes

tanikk£ wrote: »

London commuter belt

EA says £220K will not definitely work, the vendor has an offer already, but not accepting it yet, as it is a bit low and an offer slightly lower than asking price would be close to seller's expectations ... confused ...

We can pay more, but if survey shows that the flat costs significantly less that we offered and that is what bank will lend us, we might struggle to find extra cash to add to deposit. Are there any paid services in Internet where you can get a valuation close to what a survey would show ?

Offer subject to survey? I.e. if the mortgage company go to have a look and think it's worth much less, then lower the offer - everyone will thus have the same problem if it's valued much lower than what they're asking!

If they paid £217.5k, then they'd probably not accept less than £232k (5% increase and £4k in buying and selling costs).

The renting thing is probably insignificant. If they changed their mind so quickly, then they probably decided they'd rather just sell than have the hassle of renting.

By all means offer low, but it hasn't been on the market that long, and has already had interest, so don't set your heart on it if someone comes in with a higher offer that gets accepted.

If you're planning on living in it for a few years, then a temporary price drop won't affect you.

tanikk£

EA said he could pass my offer of 235K, but did not see any point, as someone else offered much more ... where is the crash that everyone talks about ? ) I suppose I had to go for asking price if I really wanted the property ...