Stamp duty and houses on at above threshold

Kez100

I think you are assuming the vendors are applying logic. It's far more likely they are applying greed. It's up to them what they want for their house and if they want to wait for a higher offer good luck to them.I've known someone on the receiving end of this type of person who, once they got asking price then put their asking price up! My mate walked away but not until he had gone grey in desparation.

merlinthehappypig

The problem is that you have fallen in love with the place and want to get it bought.

As a result the seller has the upper hand even though the market is definitely a buyer's one now.

This isn't a criticism, by the way, we've all done it, more than once in our case. It does show how difficult it is to negotiate dispassionately.

Common sense says walk away and let them sweat, but it's not that easy.

To give you a bit of encouragement we offered £440000 on a house in mid-January which was totally dismissed. The seller apparently wanted £470000-£480000. We didn't think that it was worth that so walked away.

The price has been reduced to under our original offer now and we have offered £400000 take it or leave it. The seller confidently expected us to want to proceed with our original offer now that she was generously prepared to meet it after all and got a bit of a shock when we wouldn't. Market conditions have changed a lot in a few months.

I genuinely think that the problems in the mortgage market and the impact of this on prices are being seriously underestimated. Even with an 80%+ deposit we are having the application scrutinised like they used to be before the last crash in the early 90's.

After talking to the EA and being given a deadline by us she is now seriously considering the new offer.

I doubt that we will get it for the £400000, but we certainly won't have to pay £440000.

In this market the pressure is firmly on the seller, even if it doesn't feel like that.

Good luck.

merlinthehappypig

Addy1 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. The comment about getting into bed with them made me laugh, I don't think I will ever look at them the same way again.

We have seen another property that we like, it is round the corner, however it backs on to a "passage" which is like a dirt track that leads to the back garages and is pretty quiet round the back. Buying with a police officer makes you pretty security concious, and it is worrying me a bit. It is the only one that even comes near to the standard of the first, and it is on at 145, which is quite abit above the first one. It also has a garage which looks like it could fall down any minute at the back, which is reached by this passage. I am not sure what problems this passage would cause, the garden is very long so it is quite a way from the house, and we have a huge dog.

However the vendors are really nice, and much more reasonable. They said at our first veiwing that they are willing to take offers.

We are trying to "buy with our heads" rather than fall in love with things, but this first house is so well maintained - new boiler, new windows, excellent garage/studio at the bottom of the garden, new roof, etc etc. that is seems for us, busy first time buyers, that it would be great for us.

The decor isn't our taste at all, but it is purely a paint job, and painting the kitchen cupboards.

I must have seen more than 60 houses now, I think the estate agents are a bit fed up of me, as I am the pickiest FTB in the world!

You can apply too much logic, of course. Without seeing the other houses you have seen and not knowing your area it's impossible to comment, but it might just be that the house is worth £137500 after all (to you anyway)

It's no good getting a bargain if you don't like the house!

Addy1

It is quite difficult in our area as there are a lot of ex rentals in a fairly bad condition.

My "essentials" include parking, DG, upstairs bathroom, quiet road (night worker), garden for the dog, only cosmetic stuff needing doing, house not flat, freehold, nice area and walking distance to my work, min 2 proper bedrooms! Fussy I know! But we are being realistic in our price range seeing as we have seen 2 that fullfill these AND that we actually like. If there really is a HPC we want to be able to stay in it for the long term.

Which for a house in our price range is quite a lot! So I think you are right about it being worth 137 to us. Our budget is 140, which is based on our deposit (10%) rather than multiples, so we could easily go up to 137 without much trouble.

My parents just keep telling me to be patient, but that is easier said than done!

Jorgan_2

I would be cautious over buying anything with a lane behind it. Check it out at various times of the day & night, they quite often attract a lot of anti-social behaviour.

Addy1

Jorgan wrote: »

I would be cautious over buying anything with a lane behind it. Check it out at various times of the day & night, they quite often attract a lot of anti-social behaviour.

That is my exact worry. It is only round the corner from where we live (literally!) and the area in general doesn't really have much anti social behaviour, but that could be because they are all up this passage!

My boyfriend being a copper reckons he has a "criminal" mind (!) and thinks that the house (it is on a very long road) is one of the least likely to be burgled because of access. It also has about a 75m garden so not too close to the house. One thing I am worried about is things like motor cross bikes being used along it.

Me and the dog will go for a walk round there later, I imagine tonight will be a particularly bad night for such behaviour, due to lots of bored easter teens dosed up on chocolate and E numbers!

(PS I will be quite safe, the dog is a labrador cross rottweiller and weighs 10 stone )

RubyShoes

Addy - you are not the pickiest FTB, I am! The EA's all used to laugh at me! I am moving to a new town because I couldnt find anything where I live, or in the next town to us!

My list included budget up to £140k (with intention of bringing down below 135k, and doing a deal on the SD) white double glazing (absolutely no brown) 3 bedrooms, garden a must have (grass, not paved) seperate dining room, or lounge diner (absolutely no kitchen/diner!). Atleast 2 parking spaces, and no double yellows outside. It must also have new woodwork, recently replastered, and look 'new' even if it was old!

It took me 6 months to find the house I am buying! It was worth the wait. I have compromised on a slightly smaller garden than I would have liked, and a smaller kitchen, but hopefully in time we could extend if we can afford it.

Keep being patient, the sellers sound like idiots. Do you really want to be going through a sale with difficult sellers? I know how difficult it is for me now, and I am a FTB moving to a house with no chain, and my sellers are pretty easy going.

I missed out on a few 'perfect' houses before I got this one. And with me being so fussy, I thought I wouldn't find a perfect house after the first one fell through. When the 2nd one fell through, I realised that I would find what I was after, if I was patient enough.

Good luck

Jorgan_2

Ruby, whats wrong with brown double-glazing? Some properties look a lot better with brown (hardwood effect) double-glazing.

Addy1

RubyShoes wrote: »

Addy - you are not the pickiest FTB, I am! The EA's all used to laugh at me! I am moving to a new town because I couldnt find anything where I live, or in the next town to us!

My list included budget up to £140k (with intention of bringing down below 135k, and doing a deal on the SD) white double glazing (absolutely no brown) 3 bedrooms, garden a must have (grass, not paved) seperate dining room, or lounge diner (absolutely no kitchen/diner!). Atleast 2 parking spaces, and no double yellows outside. It must also have new woodwork, recently replastered, and look 'new' even if it was old!

It took me 6 months to find the house I am buying! It was worth the wait. I have compromised on a slightly smaller garden than I would have liked, and a smaller kitchen, but hopefully in time we could extend if we can afford it.

Keep being patient, the sellers sound like idiots. Do you really want to be going through a sale with difficult sellers? I know how difficult it is for me now, and I am a FTB moving to a house with no chain, and my sellers are pretty easy going.

I missed out on a few 'perfect' houses before I got this one. And with me being so fussy, I thought I wouldn't find a perfect house after the first one fell through. When the 2nd one fell through, I realised that I would find what I was after, if I was patient enough.

Good luck

Ha ha I am glad I am not the only one! I forgot one thing, no ex-council. One estate agent had to give up on me because everything she had was either ex council or on a busy road.

I am just about to go and look round the back of the second house we like with the dog, but I just had a thought, any other potential buyers who hapen to be in the area will probably think me and the pooch are the ASBO kids, me in my hoody with my hard-looking dog wandering down dark alley ways!!

Addy1

oooh also I am very fussy about roofs and guttering. I spend ages looking up at them and I think half the time the vendor thinks I am a looney. Maybe that is why they won't accept our offer