Making an offer on a fixed price property.
Making an offer on a fixed price property.
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Discussion

spaceship

Original Poster:

897 posts

191 months

Sunday 10th April 2011
quotequote all
Hi folks, me and SWMBO are looking at buying our first house and are in the process of viewing some properties in our area.

They question I have is - is it reasonable (given the current financial climate) to make a lower offer on a property which is 'Offers Over' or 'Fixed Price'? Or is that just being cheeky? A couple of the houses have been up for sale for at least a few months, one or two approaching a year.

We are first time buyers, not in a chain and month-to-month on our lease on the flat we are in. So we are in quite a good position when it comes to making a purchase.

Cheers.

jonah35

3,940 posts

173 months

Sunday 10th April 2011
quotequote all
make an offer!

northandy

3,519 posts

237 months

Sunday 10th April 2011
quotequote all
They can only say no, no harm in asking.

I would make the offer at whatever you feel is reasonable price, and back it up with your position, house already sold/mortgage in place/ready to move etc.

fid

2,431 posts

256 months

Sunday 10th April 2011
quotequote all
No, it's not cheeky, particularly if it's something that's gone up in value for the current owner. If they want to sell it, it's worth what you're willing to pay. The reason everything's so bloody expensive in this country is because everybody seems to be more willing to hand over money than to be cheeky with their offers!

Scooby72

701 posts

197 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
Personally I think its bloody cheeky putting 'fixed price' on it.

Especially in the current climate, there's nothing selling at the moment, and I don't think it's unusual for a house to stay on the market for a year.

There's no such thing as a fixed price. It's only worth what people are willing and able to pay for it.


Jockman

18,253 posts

176 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
I think the OP's scenario reflects the different way that the Scottish house selling system works ??

There are many good reasons for this methodology, especially if you are the seller.

However, I would agree with my English friends - start a new trend by banging in an offer and see where it takes you.

You just never know..... smile


spaceship

Original Poster:

897 posts

191 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies folks.

I think you are right, it is a Scottish thing. I've been speaking to a couple of the guys in work (quite a few are English) and they have said the same thing.

Stick in an offer - the worst they can do is knock it back.

Viewed a couple of properties over the weekend and really like one of them. It's been on the market for close to a year and is up for offers over £120k. So was thinking on going in with an offer about 8-10% under that.

scratchchin

Sarnie

8,231 posts

225 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
Where in the uk is the property?

Jockman

18,253 posts

176 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
Spaceship - I viewed a commercial property near Chester, exactly 10 years ago. The asking price was £705,000 so I naturally offered £350,000. The vendor stated he wanted something closer to the asking price so we eventually agreed on £450,000.

Ok I know it was a commercial property in England but just sometimes fortune favours the brave.

Best Wishes to you and your partner, and it would be good to hear how you get on smile

spaceship

Original Poster:

897 posts

191 months

Monday 11th April 2011
quotequote all
I'll keep you posted as to how we get on and we appreciate the comments and replies.

The property is on the west coast of Scotland, west of Glasgow.

engineer21

233 posts

181 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
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iam in a similar position, first time buyer in scotland, viewed many houses on market and also put an add on local website saying i was looking for a house.

one guy replied to say he would sell but not on market yet, i viewed twice and then said i was intersted so he had a valuation/home report done, value is £155.000 to be honest a good price considering house condition etc but stuck in offer of 150k we settled on 153k and some ppl tell me you always need offers over!

always offer what you think its worth! worst answer is no!

Mr POD

5,153 posts

208 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
jonah35 said:
make an offer!
at least 20% lower than the asking price.

JungleJim

2,403 posts

228 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
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Scooby72 said:
Personally I think its bloody cheeky putting 'fixed price' on it.
I don't think its cheeky, its a fairly clear indication from the seller of their position - i.e they know what they want and they probably won't entertain offers much lower than that.

Having said that, when I see a fixed price property it limits my interest in it - say if its listed on rightmove I wouldn't even open the particulars so I think fixed price is probably detrimental to the sale of a house. Case in point - saw a house for sale at fixed price £450k, after a month on the market it has now become offers over £425k.

If I saw a house i really did like the look of that was fixed price I would still make an offer. Like you say a house is worth what a buyer will pay, and everything is negotiable.

JungleJim

2,403 posts

228 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
Mr POD said:
at least 20% lower than the asking price.
My offer of 97% of asking price was rejected because the vendors had already had a higher offer

MrAdaam

1,094 posts

182 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
Make the offer! Me and SWMBO are looking at places now to try and pinpoint property that has been up when we decide to buy in a year or so time. I'll be 20/21 when we buy so naturally want to get it as cheap as possible. Worst case scenario is they say no but the buyer has all the control in the current climate I'd imagine.

RemainAllHoof

78,739 posts

298 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
In the end, it depends on whether your need/desire for the property is greater than the seller's need/desire for the money. If yours > his, then perhaps offer 10% more to ensure nobody else snags it.

Mr POD

5,153 posts

208 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
JungleJim said:
Mr POD said:
at least 20% lower than the asking price.
My offer of 97% of asking price was rejected because the vendors had already had a higher offer
Plenty more houses with more desperate sellers, provided you don't fall in love with a house.

whirligig

941 posts

211 months

Tuesday 12th April 2011
quotequote all
We bought a house in a similar sounding area (Helensburgh) last summer and paid £5k under the fixed price (285k)- not a lot I know but it helped towards the stamp duty. Certainly worth putting an offer in a bit lower - esp if it's been on a while and you're in a strong position to move quickly.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

214 months

Wednesday 13th April 2011
quotequote all
Mr POD said:
JungleJim said:
Mr POD said:
at least 20% lower than the asking price.
My offer of 97% of asking price was rejected because the vendors had already had a higher offer
Plenty more houses with more desperate sellers, provided you don't fall in love with a house.
That may or may not be the case.

Take us for example luckily live in a very nice area and a lovely street - highly desirable great schools and Oxfordshire countrside at your doorstep. However when we bought our house it was the first time in 7 yes 7 years that any had been on the market and as per rightmove sold prices the only sold one in that timeframe. As such if you want to live there when one comes up there are many wanting to move to that area - case in question Ive been there a few years now and one came up for sale the wifes friend loved the area and the house yet couldnt accept that due to the fact when we bought at the bottom of the market to when this other one went on the market the price had jumped by C£100k. Well she viewed it and offered what we paid ie £100k lower, they rejected straight away saying they were holding out for the full price as they were in no rush to move - they went back and offered £15k more... I told them we had seen many people round there on that first weekends viewing (she viewed it the Thursday evening before) and stated it just wasnt worth it and she'd wait for its price to come down (note it was the perfect house for her she'd been looking on & off for best part of 5 years).

Result.... it sold before the following weekend for the full asking price.
Other Result - she is devastated has viewed so many since and nothing comes close plus since then values have gone up further.

Shame - sometimes as I said at the time if you really want it you sometimes have to pay a bit more if its perfect. We got lucky on price sure I'll take that luck when it comes along but if it was up for the current prices now I'd happily pay that amount.

Of course there will be cases where there are many similar for sale in which case walk away until you find the right one.


fido

17,856 posts

271 months

Wednesday 13th April 2011
quotequote all
Just wondering .. what's the opposite of a Fixed Price Property? Perhaps in these times of illiquidity we could have Variable Price Prperty e.g. 3 bed semi £300k-£350k . so you could decide your bid based on how posh or 'bling' you are.