FTB Looking for advice.

Cutfinger

We are FTB looking at purchasing a house currently on the market at £125,000. It has been on the market for 6 weeks with no offers. Our opening bid was £112,000 (Just below 10% of asking price) Looking at this offer now i feel we may of offered too much as a opening bid. When the estate agent inevitably phones tomorrow would it be okay to stick to our opening bid or is this a strange thing to do ? We may look at increasing our bid in the future what is the general amount increase's are made £500's or £1000's ? Also how long is a sensible amount of time to wait to make a second bid ? We don't want to appear to keen.

Ian_W

Hi Cutfinger,
Look at THIS THREAD - it's an almost identical situation with loads of advice.

As a FTB you're in a strong position and you need to keep stressing that to the agent, if you've got a mortgage offer & can complete quickly it's all grist to the mill.

Some will even say as a FTB you decide the selling price. IMO that's wrong - you set the price you will go UP to, the vendor sets a price they will come DOWN to [they may need to sell at a certain price to do what they want to, otherwise not worth them selling] - if the 2 meet you've got a deal. So first decide how much you are prepared to pay.

When the EA rings you listen to what they say but remember they work for vendor - may be a clue as to what they're after. Doubt, although on other thread they have, they'll expect to get more than 120k as SD kicks in over that. EA will want to try to get a sale and though they work for other side, can be helpful.

Hopefully, though doubt it, 112k might be accepted. Further offers depend on how it's refused and what's said. 500's probably too little in this day & age, 1 or 2 1000's probably more realistic to get acceptance. Do keep looking at other props and if poss have a fall-back.
Best of luck.

Cutfinger

Thanks Ian. My limit is £115,000 i'm thinking of letting the vendor stew over the weekend. If the vendor ends up refusing would a £2000 jump to £114,000 on Monday seem like we have too much ready cash ? Also how do you sound like it will be your final bid when in actual fact it won't be ? I'm having trouble thinking what would be the best way to word it. Is it the norm to say "This is our final bid" when it probably won't be ? I definately won't be going over £115,000 that's my limit.

meanmachine_2

My advice is that you offer £114K as your final offer and explain that you physically can't afford any more.

Once you've made your final offer then don't ever go above it as that could be seen as being a bit sly.

To be honest though, in the current climate 6 weeks isn't a long time, so they might not be ready to accept below 95% just yet. But who knows?

simonfr

Yeah, be up front with the offer you make, tell them its your last and final offer.
As long as your prepared to walk away, because something else will always turn up.

However i think its a bad time to buy, i think we are on the top of the rollercoaster, about to go down!!!

Ian_W

Simonfr wrote: However i think its a bad time to buy, i think we are on the top of the rollercoaster, about to go down!!!

Still in depresive mode, eh, still - glass still half empty. Give the Sams a call, you know you want to!!

Cutfinger - Sorry to digress. I'd listen and think thro' what the EA says, don't respond straight away, sleep on it - perhaps even leave it a day or two. Like MM says, 6 weeks, particularly if they've had a few viewings, might be quite early for the vendor to accept an offer under 95% - they'll probably still be hoping and maybe even expecting nearer 120k.
If the EA sounds like they're after a BIT more perhaps go in @ 113.5 & keep your final offer up your sleeve. If it sounds like they're after quite a bit more, I wouldn't, personally, p*ss about. Make your final offer at what you're prepared to pay, make it clear there's no more in the pot and be prepared to walk away. Leave it with the EA that you're now going looking at other props, if they change their mind and you haven't found anything, they can come back to you. Then it's wait & see time, but I'm sure you'll find somewhere as suitable or, as has happened to me, more suitable.

Cutfinger

Had a call off the EA today and low and behold they say they have had another offer at £113,000. I'm not sure if this is a lie to be honest. On the market for 6 weeks and now a bid comes in on the same day a £1000 more than our bid seems strange. I've told the EA i'll think it over. Not sure if i should match £113K and play the FTB card or (not sure if the other supposed bidder is a FTB or not) go in with 114K. Any advice what other people would do in this situation ?

Ian_W

That's good news in the sense that the figures are in your ballpark - not 120ish.
Try the FTB card without matching - not always the highest bid gets a property, sometimes it's the one best place to proceed. If it is a spoof bid to get you to up the anti - it's then their move.
At that level, if there is another bid, chances are it is another FTB I would think - so no real advantage to you.

meanmachine_2

To be honest, if you haven't "fallen in love with the property", which is never advisable, I'd say to the EA: Oh how lovely that the vendor has another offer. That allows me to walk away. Thank you very much, good bye.

Then if the Ea comes sniffing after you like a sick puppy, you'll know it's a bluff.

If they don't then you move on to the next property.

Sounds to me like the oldest trick in the book of EA scams.

But I could be wrong.

trevbob

Last time I was buying a property I encountered the "mystery bidder". Funnily enough when I pulled out the property took another 7 months to sell - I'm sure the vendor was delighted with the estate agent!

nelly_2

I think that house is yours, and yours at £112000. Phone them up and say you are really stretching yourself at 112, and tell them to tell the vendor that being a ftb is well worth them comming down that extra grand. Then say " ah well maybe we should start looking at cheaper places anyway, were starting to think we shouldnt be stretching ourselves so much".

That will let the EA know your offer is at your upper limit, and has a time limit, and with a very plausable reason for too.

You seem to have an EA who is actually being realistic, instead of lying about a £5000 phantom offer, he only lied about £1000,

Stick to your guns for a while see what heppens.