Another 'what to offer' thread

Stevie1

There is a house we've seen that we like.

It has just come onto the market, latest sales prices for that road is £195K from 2005, this is priced at £245K. It is generally OK, has a good sized extention on the back but needs some updating internally (cosmetic).

The sellers are holding for 'near asking price' which I feel is overpriced. They need to sell due to relationship breakdown but don't seem in a rush to accept our other (lower but not insulting) offers.

On one hand we don't want to miss out, on the other don't want to be pushed to offer top whack....

corine39

Hi Stevie

It is always difficult to know if you are pitching at the 'right level' and not being a mug! The good thing is that you don't sound desperate to buy the house, yet they are getting more and more desperate to sell. Always a good position to be in.

Have you checked Rightmove to see what similar houses are selling for within a mile of that area?

Have you checked nethouseprices to see what similar houses have sold for within a mile of that area?

If the figures come out in your favour, that is lower than £245k, go back to the estate agent and enquire what the delay is and why the vendors have not come back to you with an answer. Also state that you think your offer is fair based on (and quote your researched figures).

Hope this helps - let us know how you get on

exil

2 questions here

1. do you REALLY want the house?

a. Yes - we want THIS house and no other b. No - we like the house but we'd be prepared to walk away

2. do vendors REALLY want to sell (from the signals they're sending out)?

a. Yes - they need the cash in their hands or to buy their dream house elsewhere b. No - they only want to sell if the price is right

1a and 2a - compromise. try to meet 1/2 way

1a and 2b - they're in charge of the situation. you may have to meet their offer

1b and 2a - you're in the driving seat. if you feel hard-nosed enough, try to drive their price down

1b and 2b - the deal is likely to fall through. look elsewhere

Stevie1

Corine, as I said the latest sales figures (not many for that area) show a sale is 2005 for £195 however, I cannot comment on the condition of that house. There is another house for sale on the road for £185K but it is a real mess + not extended which can explain the price difference. I think we can definitely enquire why they think they should get asking price considering other ‘sale’ and for ‘sale prices’.

Exil, I don’t know how much they want to sale except for the reason the house is on the market which I have stated above. It is also vacant but has only been on the market for a week which is why, I think, they are holding out. The seller said he’ll be willing to negotiate but they (soon to be ex) wife could be a problem…:(

We are keen as we’ve seen nothing for months and the sale on our house is due to go through in a couple of months EEK!

We have made two offers which they rejected, we are willing to go up in small increments but don’t want to overpay due to the situation of us liking it straight away…

si-mate

You may have seen my similar thread last week. We are in exactly the same position. I think the key point is if you could bear it if you didn't get the house. We really liked the one we offered on, but could live with not getting it so are not going to pay more than we believe it is worth. So if we can't agree on a figure then we will walk away.

pinkshoes

Stevie1 wrote: »

It has just come onto the market, latest sales prices for that road is £195K from 2005, this is priced at £245K. It is generally OK, has a good sized extention on the back but needs some updating internally (cosmetic).

The sellers are holding for 'near asking price' which I feel is overpriced. They need to sell due to relationship breakdown but don't seem in a rush to accept our other (lower but not insulting) offers.

On one hand we don't want to miss out, on the other don't want to be pushed to offer top whack....

In case you weren't aware (:rolleyes:), prices have risen alot since 2005... so perhaps £245k isn't far off the mark??

I know it's an unstable housing market at the moment, but you have to work out how much you really want it, and if you're willing to walk away. I would say that £215k would be a good starting offer. IF there's not been many sales in the street, then that's maybe a sign that it's a good location to live in.

Are there other properties you like?

unclebuck_2

You might want to take the historic data for house prices and input this into Nationwide BS house price calculator. This will take the value from 2005 and add house price inflation to give you an idea if its fair value or over priced.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/calculator.asp

Stevie1

Pinkshoes - we have seen nothing else we liked (certainly nothing we liked below the 3% stamp duty) and I suppose that house prices have gone up a lot since 1995!

It's just that another house (same style) on the other side of the road is on for £185K. Granted, it needs a lot of work but if you did all that it would still not cost £65K, so I can't see how the agents arrived at that figure (but am going to ask!)...

Stevie1

Thanks unclebuck, according to this calculator the price is right...however, it also underpriced the property I have just sold by about £30K so not sure how reliable it is...

carolt

Disagree with pinkshoes - in some areas, prices have gone up, in others prices have stayed flat or even gone down since 2005 - see upmystreet.com for local graphs. National data will tell you nothing helpful.

With prices on their way down, don't overpay.

Do be wary buying from a divorcing couple - we had one house we were going to buy fall through because the woman selling it was going through a divorce, but had not agreed ownership of house with her ex. Result that she did not have any legal right to sell it, as ownership was disputed. Not only that, but she tried to drag us into the whole messy business, by asking us, via estate agents, to sign something lying saying we had committed to it by certain time - forget details, but took advice from father-in-law at the time (a lawyer) who said not to touch it with a bargepole as we could potentially end up in court for aiding her! Make sure that ownership is agreed and price agreed between them.

Stevie1

Thanks all

Sadly, although our position is strong because we can move quickly, their's is too because the house has been on the market for just about a week.

We have not seen anything at all for a long while and this is well below other properties we have offered on + the area is great. It does tick all the boxes and we also like it. Don't think we are prepared to walk away as homelessness approaches rapidly :eek:

I have been trying to comfort myself with the thought that we can always get the surveyor to rip into it (I am sure things will be found). OH says it is false economy as we'll have to pay what they'll reduce off the price to make things good :rolleyes:

Any one has experience of negotiating with the seller directly - better or worse than throu EA? He seems like a alright bloke and is willing, although I am not sure if it is such a good idea now...
Either way, next step is to ask EA to explain why it is on for so much more than anything else!