Offering on property
Discussion
Trying to buy at the moment and viewing a few this weekend. We do like the look of them, but are aware that they have been for sale for some time now.
If we want to go ahead, then I'm trying to decide quite what level of offer I make. Someone once told me that when buying cars/houses, that if you aren't a bit embarrassed by your first bid then it isn't low enough! With this in mind, I have in my head the figure of 20%, but that obviously means different amounts when you take the starting price into account. 20% of £100k is obviously far less than 20% of £400k (which is the level we're talking about.)
Is a bid of £330-350k fair on a property that's up at £400k? The agent has openly said they are very open to offers.
I'm prepared for a wide range of replies to this... I guess I just wanted a few peoples thoughts, from both perspectives, to help decide what I do.
If we want to go ahead, then I'm trying to decide quite what level of offer I make. Someone once told me that when buying cars/houses, that if you aren't a bit embarrassed by your first bid then it isn't low enough! With this in mind, I have in my head the figure of 20%, but that obviously means different amounts when you take the starting price into account. 20% of £100k is obviously far less than 20% of £400k (which is the level we're talking about.)
Is a bid of £330-350k fair on a property that's up at £400k? The agent has openly said they are very open to offers.
I'm prepared for a wide range of replies to this... I guess I just wanted a few peoples thoughts, from both perspectives, to help decide what I do.
CaptainSlow said:
I thnk it all depends on what you feel the property is worth. Going for a blanket reduction % isn't the best way to do it.
^^This.Just knocking 20% off the price isn't always the best approach. If someone did that to my house, I'd expect them to come up with some solid reasoning behind their offer such as being able to provide evidence of comparable properties selling for the price they have offered rather than just chancing their arm on me being desperate to sell.
However, the worst they can do is say no. Remember, you can always increase your bid but you can't decrease it.
I am in the same situation (although not with a big budget like yours!)
I would always go in low, they can only knock it back and possibly give you a counter offer which will give you a good idea on your next offer.
Its not like your putting the offer in face to face so don't feel embarrassed , let the estate agents do their job.
I would always go in low, they can only knock it back and possibly give you a counter offer which will give you a good idea on your next offer.
Its not like your putting the offer in face to face so don't feel embarrassed , let the estate agents do their job.
Turning this the other way round, if my house was up for offers I'd thoroughly research the very local market to get a fair indication of what my house was worth and I MIGHT take an offer of 95%. If someone offered me less, I'd want them to give me their justification, and if they cannot do so immediately it means they have not done their research and are simply taking a punt, which I'd consider a waste of time. Furthermore, accepting any offer depends on the credentials of the buyer: what are they selling, has it sold, have they got a firm mortgage offer etc?
R.
R.
We found that good, well priced places went quickly and the rest hung around for some time. Whilst its easy to bid low, be careful about pissing someone off. If I was selling my place and someone offered 20% less I probably wouldn't be interested in any further offers from them.
The reason is that buying (and selling) a place is a long and delicate process on both sides and either one can pull out upto the point of exchange. We had a seller pull out and we lost £1600 in fees and our offer was her asking price.
The reason is that buying (and selling) a place is a long and delicate process on both sides and either one can pull out upto the point of exchange. We had a seller pull out and we lost £1600 in fees and our offer was her asking price.
I'd also sound out the agent on what level may be sensible. Naturally they are being paid by the vendor and therefore are working for their client, but most would give you an indication if an offer was sensible or would risk pi55ing the vendor off.
Obviously only offer what you are willing to pay, but in general terms, I would say in my experience, a house on the market at £400k is not going to consider an offer of £330k. That being said, I've also seen a house come to the market at £2m, to sell at £900k after a year of being on the market!
Obviously only offer what you are willing to pay, but in general terms, I would say in my experience, a house on the market at £400k is not going to consider an offer of £330k. That being said, I've also seen a house come to the market at £2m, to sell at £900k after a year of being on the market!
jdw1234 said:
In 2011 I sold a flat for £375k.
Someone (developer) offered me £250k for a quick sale.
It didn't piss me off in the slightest. I thanked them for the offer and said if I needed to reconsider I would let them know.
Why would a low offer piss someone off?
I think if I've tidied the place up and made sure I'm in to specifically facilitate a viewing then a low offer would annoy me.Someone (developer) offered me £250k for a quick sale.
It didn't piss me off in the slightest. I thanked them for the offer and said if I needed to reconsider I would let them know.
Why would a low offer piss someone off?
I put a flat in an auction, I expected to sell for high 20's. Someone from the management company rang me before the auction and offered me 19k, which I turned down. He then rang me a week later with an even lower offer of 17k, saying he had just bought another one in the block for that money, and insisted that was all it was worth.It sold for 30k.
That means his offers were more than 30% under the value!
That means his offers were more than 30% under the value!
you may find that owners of empty properties are a lot more flexible on price , if you bid low on an occupied house they may take it as an insult , it is their home , i only ever bid on empty houses or deceased estates but i only buy 2 or 3 a year and turn them around , your buying position will make all the difference as well , i recently accepted 6% less than than the best offer on a house to avoid a chain , just make sure your agent is clued up and remind them that they work for themselves , not you or the vendor
To the OP - do your homework first.
I am hopefully exchanging this week having sold my flat for £460k. I put it on the market for £480k after the agent advised I could market it for between £480-£500k.
The flat nextdoor has now gone onto the market at £550k with a different agent (after having had it valued at between £460-£480k by my agent - it's a tad smaller than mine).
See why offering flat percentages off the asking price is not going to get you anywhere.
Find the prices of similar sold properties and offer some point underneath that, regardless of percentage.
I am hopefully exchanging this week having sold my flat for £460k. I put it on the market for £480k after the agent advised I could market it for between £480-£500k.
The flat nextdoor has now gone onto the market at £550k with a different agent (after having had it valued at between £460-£480k by my agent - it's a tad smaller than mine).
See why offering flat percentages off the asking price is not going to get you anywhere.
Find the prices of similar sold properties and offer some point underneath that, regardless of percentage.
It is, and has been for 4 or 5 years, a buyers market.
Two supposedly identical properties are never identical, and so comparing values is rarely valid.
Agents do not necessarily know what price a seller will accept. Indeed the longer a property remains unsold, the seller will, consciously or not, lower their expectations and the price they will accept, should a really solid offer be made.
The last property I bought was at my offer price which was around 25% below the asking price. I was in a strong position as a proper cash buyer. The property had been on the market for a very long time, as it was overvalued by the agent who informed me the sellers would not move by more than 5%.
I made the offer direct to the owner, not via the agent. The offer was in writing with proof of the cash in the bank. My offer was valid for on week (as I had a 2nd choice property in the background). The offer was accepted in 48 hours (in writing), and we exchanged contracts one week later.
Two supposedly identical properties are never identical, and so comparing values is rarely valid.
Agents do not necessarily know what price a seller will accept. Indeed the longer a property remains unsold, the seller will, consciously or not, lower their expectations and the price they will accept, should a really solid offer be made.
The last property I bought was at my offer price which was around 25% below the asking price. I was in a strong position as a proper cash buyer. The property had been on the market for a very long time, as it was overvalued by the agent who informed me the sellers would not move by more than 5%.
I made the offer direct to the owner, not via the agent. The offer was in writing with proof of the cash in the bank. My offer was valid for on week (as I had a 2nd choice property in the background). The offer was accepted in 48 hours (in writing), and we exchanged contracts one week later.
Book a viewing after 6pm when the agent won't be there. Ask the vendors their situation and how quick they want to move.
Have they found a place? Are they downsizing to a cheaper property? Etc.
You need to find out if they are motivated or not. Then depending on the level of motivation adjust your offer.
Sometimes it s not all about the price but offering a solution. This is as long as you are in a position to move quick and have funds in place.
As mentionioned above, there's no point in just taking a punt without backing it up with a valid reason on why your offering what you are.
Have they found a place? Are they downsizing to a cheaper property? Etc.
You need to find out if they are motivated or not. Then depending on the level of motivation adjust your offer.
Sometimes it s not all about the price but offering a solution. This is as long as you are in a position to move quick and have funds in place.
As mentionioned above, there's no point in just taking a punt without backing it up with a valid reason on why your offering what you are.
5678 said:
I'm told the seller has another house they will move into. Not sure how motivated that makes them.
It will depend on what, if anything, the property they are moving out of is costing them once they move out.If it's mortgaged then every month it's not sold it's costing them, plus they may also be paying another mortgage.
If they are pretty affluent and are doing this all without mortgages then they might be more inclined to dig in and wait for the right offer.......
Some interesting stories here.
We sold our house back in November, exchanged last week with completion this Friday. Our old house was a 3 bed end of terrace. I valued it in my head between £157,500 and £160,000. The agents suggested marketing it at £160,000, looking to accept £155,000. We actually sold for £158,500 within two weeks to a pure cash buyer (60 year old widow, currently in rented).
We have however had no luck in finding somewhere to buy. Only one house has come on to the market which we like. The agents valued that house at £240k to £250k, no other house on the street had sold for more than £240k in the last three years however the vendors wanted the house marketed at £275k. They had no viewings in the first three months of it being on the market. We viewed it and offered £240k which was instantly rejected and after a few other incremental bids were rejected we offered £250k. The vendors considered this for 3 days before rejecting it and taking the house off the market.
Our budget is set at £250k (don't want to spend on the additional stamp duty) however £230k-£250k should buy us what we want. One of the agents has said to us if a house is on the market at £270k and below in his view the vendors should bear in mind the stamp duty cost and be willing to drop to £250k.
We sold our house back in November, exchanged last week with completion this Friday. Our old house was a 3 bed end of terrace. I valued it in my head between £157,500 and £160,000. The agents suggested marketing it at £160,000, looking to accept £155,000. We actually sold for £158,500 within two weeks to a pure cash buyer (60 year old widow, currently in rented).
We have however had no luck in finding somewhere to buy. Only one house has come on to the market which we like. The agents valued that house at £240k to £250k, no other house on the street had sold for more than £240k in the last three years however the vendors wanted the house marketed at £275k. They had no viewings in the first three months of it being on the market. We viewed it and offered £240k which was instantly rejected and after a few other incremental bids were rejected we offered £250k. The vendors considered this for 3 days before rejecting it and taking the house off the market.
Our budget is set at £250k (don't want to spend on the additional stamp duty) however £230k-£250k should buy us what we want. One of the agents has said to us if a house is on the market at £270k and below in his view the vendors should bear in mind the stamp duty cost and be willing to drop to £250k.
Edited by mx stu on Wednesday 23 January 11:47
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