How to approach the bid
Discussion
We're intereted in a house for sale. Ours is sold STC. The house we're interested in is on offer at £299,995. However:
a. an identical house in the same road sold last month for £265,000 - verified via a sold house prices website. We don't know what condition it was in, but there was a skip outside and builders were in & out for a few weeks.
b. the house we're interested in has been tenanted. It's inhabitable, but tired and basic inside. It's currently empty of both tenants & furniture - does the owner need a quick sale?
So I'm trying to work out how to pitch our initial bid. Do we go in low (lower than £265k?) and haggle from there? If so, how low? Or alternatively do we go in and say "here's £265k, that's our BAFO" and be done with it?
a. an identical house in the same road sold last month for £265,000 - verified via a sold house prices website. We don't know what condition it was in, but there was a skip outside and builders were in & out for a few weeks.
b. the house we're interested in has been tenanted. It's inhabitable, but tired and basic inside. It's currently empty of both tenants & furniture - does the owner need a quick sale?
So I'm trying to work out how to pitch our initial bid. Do we go in low (lower than £265k?) and haggle from there? If so, how low? Or alternatively do we go in and say "here's £265k, that's our BAFO" and be done with it?
Go in at £249,995 even though you're not a first time buyer you can at least let them think you are in a position to take advantage of the zero stamp duty on homes below £250k. If one sold at £265 your offer would not be unreasonable. I think quite a few properties that are worth only marginally more than £250k will be reduced to attract the 'first time buyer'
Like in the days of maths homework show your workings.
Explain your thinking to show you've adopted a reasoned approach. You'll have to fudge it slightly to get to your very reasonable opening offer. You can then begrudgingly tick up a few £K to get the house within your price range.
Good luck.
Explain your thinking to show you've adopted a reasoned approach. You'll have to fudge it slightly to get to your very reasonable opening offer. You can then begrudgingly tick up a few £K to get the house within your price range.
Good luck.
so the bid is on hold Update - was advised by the agent that another offer of £260k was rejected and that the vendor has told the agent to reject any offer below £290k. Notwithstanding that, have offered £270k and £270k only, ie we won't come back to barter. Benefits are that we can move very quickly and the offer is based on values of other properties nearby which we've viewed since. No idea whether that will fly or not, but if not, the search continues!
If your offer doesn't make you cringe when you say it, it isn't low enough. It would be gutting if you made an offer and they accepted straight away, which would clearly indicate that it was too high.
Go low, go hard but explain the reasoning for your offer before you make it....it has to be realistic in your mind, otherwise your negotiation will fall apart.
Go low, go hard but explain the reasoning for your offer before you make it....it has to be realistic in your mind, otherwise your negotiation will fall apart.
Gaz. said:
R60EST said:
Go in at £249,995 even though you're not a first time buyer you can at least let them think you are in a position to take advantage of the zero stamp duty on homes below £250k. If one sold at £265 your offer would not be unreasonable. I think quite a few properties that are worth only marginally more than £250k will be reduced to attract the 'first time buyer'
The £265k sale could well be an act of desperation/bereavement/inheritance and not necessarily a guide to true worth, despite this I doubt the agent would even pass on the 249k offer on to the vendor.HCMH said:
If your offer doesn't make you cringe when you say it, it isn't low enough.
This can work against you too. I've dealt with several sales in which very low initial offers were made and the sellers would then no longer take the buyers seriously from that point onwards. Of course, you might well get lucky - depends on the position of the sellers.I think best bet is a well thought out and carefully explained offer based on the local values and how much you are willing to pay, less a bit to allow room for negotiations.
Try to think from the sellers point of view. If it was your house, how would you entertain a ridiculous low offer e.g. £250k - unless you're desperate to sell (repo) - you would curse the agent and tell him not to waste your time with such offers. I normally gauge their willingness to shift on the second viewing - politely ask if they would consider X - they can always say No and least you have an idea of where the market is.
fido said:
Try to think from the sellers point of view. If it was your house, how would you entertain a ridiculous low offer e.g. £250k - unless you're desperate to sell (repo) - you would curse the agent and tell him not to waste your time with such offers. I normally gauge their willingness to shift on the second viewing - politely ask if they would consider X - they can always say No and least you have an idea of where the market is.
I must be honest I struggle with this attitude to low offers. What`s better ~ a low offer or no offer? An offer of any description is a base to work from for both sides. No offer is exactly the equal of nowt, zip, doodly squat, zilch. I don`t "entertain" offers, I look at them as representing someone who is interested in buying your house and a starting point for negotiation. Can`t see the point of getting all precious at the percieved insult of a "ridiculous" offer. 
C8PPO said:
Update - was advised by the agent that another offer of £260k was rejected and that the vendor has told the agent to reject any offer below £290k. Notwithstanding that, have offered £270k and £270k only, ie we won't come back to barter. Benefits are that we can move very quickly and the offer is based on values of other properties nearby which we've viewed since. No idea whether that will fly or not, but if not, the search continues!
Don't forget that the agent is working for the seller, and in theory should be obtaining the best price for them. There are a number of tricks they may use to ensure they get the best possible price.Jasandjules said:
Hammer67 said:
Can`t see the point of getting all precious at the percieved insult of a "ridiculous" offer.
But some do. So it's a risk you take.bga said:
Jasandjules said:
Hammer67 said:
Can`t see the point of getting all precious at the percieved insult of a "ridiculous" offer.
But some do. So it's a risk you take.I look at the cost of change when moving house not the actual prices. If you drop your house by whatever figure and can negotiate a similar amount off your purchase then you`ve lost nothing.
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