House Offer

[hindle8907]

Well I just put an offer of 121,000 on a property listed as "offers over" 140,000.
I am willing to pay up to 130,000 for the house.
Its been on the market since Feb the owner has died and its the children selling so no chain, we are also first time buyers.

Anyone got any tips for the negotiations ?

[Wideboy]

Yes move into a smaller house and give me 50k as I need 230k for a decent house down here

[hindle8907]

Yes move into a smaller house and give me 50k as I need 230k for a decent house down here

Ouch, this is a three bed extended - semi, with garage and a adequate sized south facing garden.

:)

[ravingdavis]

Jeez I need to get out of Reading. It's going to cost me nearly £200k when I try and buy a place next year for a 2 bed apartment.

[HoL]

Well I just put an offer of 121,000 on a property listed as "offers over" 140,000.
I am willing to pay up to 130,000 for the house.

Anyone got any tips for the negotiations ?

Go round & spray "PAEDOPHILE" across the front door. Should knock a couple of grand off the price.

[andrewsmith]

Yes move into a smaller house and give me 50k as I need 230k for a decent house down here

Move north! ;)

Ant, see what happens, a friend did that on the terrace he's got and they accepted (£15k+ below list)

[Dave20046]

Well I just put an offer of 121,000 on a property listed as "offers over" 140,000.
I am willing to pay up to 130,000 for the house.

Anyone got any tips for the negotiations ?

Justify everything you say to them,keep it friendly but professional, and most of all keep communication good and as frequent as necessary (i.e without seeming over keen obviously) . If you're communicating via an estate agent hammer them and make sure they're passing on messages and maybe test them to make sure they aren't being devious and employing tactics to up their middle man cut.It's good that you've given yourself a cap, and as everyone will tell you think objectively and don't get attached

[Dave20046]

Jeez I need to get out of Reading. It's going to cost me nearly £200k when I try and buy a place next year for a 2 bed apartment.

£65k for a new build in sheffield city centre!

[timwilky]

The duchess ( Step mother) looked at a small bungalow last year for £370k. She had an offer of of £350k rejected. 2 weeks ago it changed estate agent for £320 and they have accepted her new offer of £280k.

So wave money under their noses when they realise nobody is prepared to pay inflated estate agents values.

[timwilky]

Stop telling southerners what they can get oop north, they sell their 1 bedroom flats and buy 3 bedroom detached with money left over around here. It is driving up the cost of housing.

Still with all the unfinished boxes on huge brownfield development and garden grabs there is more housing than buyers so that at least helps hold prices back

[Dave20046]

Go round & spray "PAEDOPHILE" across the front door. Should knock a couple of grand off the price.

'like' :lol:

[dizzyblonde]

Tell them your offer is a realistic offer on reflection of the cuurent market value blah blah blah. The problem you have is greedy relatives of the deceased who expect maximum return for their gold digging.

I've been watching a house that went on the market a few months back go from offers over 159k, slowly get reduced to 149, and now 139k. No upward chain. We won't be moving now which is a shame, as it really ticked so many boxes, and I bet if I offered 124,999 they'd rip my arm off to get shut......

[daveyrach]

Jeez I need to get out of Reading. It's going to cost me nearly £200k when I try and buy a place next year for a 2 bed apartment.

We paid £230k for a 4 bed detached with separate garage and large garden backing onto woods in Reading which was originally up for £350k, was on the market over 18 months.

[Artful]

I'm not sure if its the same everywhere but can you not give them a deadline to say yes or no?

Usually a wee bit of pressure goes a long way. If they think you have numerous properties to view, they might just be rushed into a decision.

Stand your ground! If you keep raising the offer price you wont seem convincing at all. Increase your offer maybe once more (£126000 for instance) and walk away with the knowledge that you have a firm offer on their table.

Good luck

[SoulKiss]

I'm not sure if its the same everywhere but can you not give them a deadline to say yes or no?

Usually a wee bit of pressure goes a long way. If they think you have numerous properties to view, they might just be rushed into a decision.

Stand your ground! If you keep raising the offer price you wont seem convincing at all. Increase your offer maybe once more (£126000 for instance) and walk away with the knowledge that you have a firm offer on their table.

Good luck

VERY different property system down here in Heathenland than where you are.

Even if you did put a deadline on them, and even if they accepted that offer, the very next day they could take another - its only at completion (the final stage) is anything binding.

[L3nny]

The sellers will have a bottom amount they can afford to sell the house for, if your offer is above it they will probably accept, if it is below they probably wont.

Most sellers will always reject the first offer however so put another one in a couple of grand higher if they do.

[L3nny]

The sellers will have a bottom amount they can afford to sell the house for, if your offer is above it they will probably accept, if it is below they probably wont.

Most sellers will always reject the first offer however so put another one in a couple of grand higher if they do.

[Bri w]

We paid £230k for a 4 bed detached with separate garage and large garden backing onto woods in Reading which was originally up for £350k, was on the market over 18 months.

£230k for 4 bed detached!

The one we're buying is a brand new 4 detached with garage, all singing all dancing, full carpeted, landscaped gardens, upgraded kitchen with all the white goods............................................. ..... £155k

[Spank86]

Generally speaking once a house is under offer and has been accepted by the seller the estate agents wont take any more offers.

[dyzio]

£230k for 4 bed detached!

The one we're buying is a brand new 4 detached with garage, all singing all dancing, full carpeted, landscaped gardens, upgraded kitchen with all the white goods............................................. ..... £155k

I could get a 2 bed flat for that :)

[L3nny]

£230k for 4 bed detached!

The one we're buying is a brand new 4 detached with garage, all singing all dancing, full carpeted, landscaped gardens, upgraded kitchen with all the white goods............................................. ..... £155k

Is it next to a nuclear power station or something?? That is crazy cheap. Near me that would be at least double that.

[L3nny]

Generally speaking once a house is under offer and has been accepted by the seller the estate agents wont take any more offers.

Are you joking?? I know a few people who have been gazumped. The estate agent will get the best price they can, even if the exchange date is the next day!

[Spank86]

Are you joking?? I know a few people who have been gazumped. The estate agent will get the best price they can, even if the exchange date is the next day!
NO, I'm, not joking. When I bought my place 2 years ago they treated it as a deal in progress from the moment the offer was accepted.

OK so If someone had gone direct to the seller they could have gazumped me but the estate agent took it off the website and wasn't offering viewings.

[L3nny]

NO, I'm, not joking. When I bought my place 2 years ago they treated it as a deal in progress from the moment the offer was accepted.

OK so If someone had gone direct to the seller they could have gazumped me but the estate agent took it off the website and wasn't offering viewings.

Ah ok, sorry I see what you mean, yes, they did the same for me although they didn't remove it from the website, they just put under offer next to it.

Things have died down a bit now so it's not so bad but in the "boom" 10 years ago estate agents were getting so many offers, all of which they have to forward to the seller, that a lot of gazumping was going on, happened to a mate of mine a week before he was due to move in. He lost about £1500!

The point I am trying to make is an offer is just that, until you sign the documents you haven't bought anything.

[daveyrach]

£230k for 4 bed detached!

The one we're buying is a brand new 4 detached with garage, all singing all dancing, full carpeted, landscaped gardens, upgraded kitchen with all the white goods............................................. ..... £155k

Ours had re-fitted kitchen and bathroom, decorated the lounge before we moved in. Whole upstairs still needs doing. Garden was massively overgrown. Expensive down south it is.

Is it next to a nuclear power station or something?? That is crazy cheap. Near me that would be at least double that.

No, the old lady who lived there died and the man moved to a home, their son let it out to his niece for 6 months or so then she moved out so he and his brother put it on the market, as I say it was on for 18 months at £350k then that dropped to £280k then £250k, we then offered £230k and they accepted. One brother lived in Hastings and the other somewhere in London so I think they just wanted shot of it in the end.

[Spank86]

The point I am trying to make is an offer is just that, until you sign the documents you haven't bought anything.
For definite, but it's not nearly so bad as it used to be, people used to get gazumped all over the place, these days you'd have to make an effort to do it to someone.

I guess estate agents have realised that in this climate every house off their books is one more deal done and the quicker the better, that way they make their money and move on to the next, gazumping drags things on and on while they wait for their cash.

[andrewsmith]

Is it next to a nuclear power station or something?? That is crazy cheap. Near me that would be at least double that.

Its in Teesside

enough said!

[daveyrach]

Its in Teesside

enough said!


Its in Reading in Berkshire, bout 40 miles from London.

[andrewsmith]

Its in Reading in Berkshire, bout 40 miles from London.

I was on about BriW's potential new gaff

[daveyrach]

I was on about BriW's potential new gaff

Oh sorry, we looked at houses up in Lincoln where my brother-in-law lives, 4 bed house bigger than ours with detached garage and large garden for £190k

[bladesuk1]

it's all about knowing the situation and timing it right. drop in the phrase 'vendor sales incentive' and as them to pay a 10% deposit as one of those. some mortgage companies will take that 10% as part of your deposit, although others just drop the value of the house to suit.
in your case, you know that they've no vested interest for themselves, so put in your offer and sit on it. if you want to be really cheeky, and they come back to accept say you've found somewhere else but you'd give them a bit less for it ;)

[hindle8907]

Offer Declined, Just got a call from the estate agents, too low.
I said ok and left it at that for now.
Trying to think what the next best step would be ? Raise my offer to 125,500 ?
If that gets declined I go away for a week tomorrow, so I could hold out putting another offer in for a week and let them sweat?
They have had no offers on this house at all and its been on since February.

[Roberrrrt]

Offer Declined, Just got a call from the estate agents, too low.
I said ok and left it at that for now.
Trying to think what the next best step would be ? Raise my offer to 125,500 ?
If that gets declined I go away for a week tomorrow, so I could hold out putting another offer in for a week and let them sweat?
They have had no offers on this house at all and its been on since February.

It's been a while since I bought a house, but vaguely remember getting some feedback from the estate agent on offers - i.e. ask how far off the mark you are and try to gauge it a bit? Clearly the EA will try to get you to up it a fair bit but in the context of it being sat on their books since Feb they might want to give you enough info to get shut.

[bladesuk1]

let them sweat. tell the estate agent that you're not going to raise your offer, and that you're going away for a week. when you come back, give them a call and see if there's been any interest. if not, your call: you could either put in a higher offer (although i'd make it an odd value like £123,680 as that'll make it look like you're stretching every penny) or leave it standing there. if they reject that offer, walk away as you're not going to get a deal out of them.

at end of the day, what's the house actually worth to you? are you bargaining just to get it cheaper, or is it genuinely all you can afford? these sorts of things make a difference. also, what game is the estate agent playing? are they trying to sell, or trying to inflate the price? if the estate agent wants rid as well, then that's in your favour.

in our case, we were stretching and near our limit, so we played hardball knowing the situation the seller was in and the fact that we could easily find other houses that we liked every bit as much elsewhere for the same or less. we also knew it had been on for a while, had one sale fall through, and that the estate agent was on our side. we ended up getting a great deal as a result.

[L3nny]

It's a buyers market at the moment, I doubt they have been inundated with offers but as I said before if they can't afford to sell it for what you can afford to pay then they wont.

Leave it till you get back, call the estate agent, say you are still interested, the offer still stands and you can maybe offer a little more and see what they say.

Going through estate agents is the most frustrating way of doing things, it would be so much better if you could just meet the seller and discuss offers face to face. The whole thing would be settled in 10 minutes rather than spending days going back and forth through a third party.

[hindle8907]

Going through estate agents is the most frustrating way of doing things, it would be so much better if you could just meet the seller and discuss offers face to face. The whole thing would be settled in 10 minutes rather than spending days going back and forth through a third party.

See I was thinking this, but would the estate agents do this "give me the vendors details" ?
After all this is what they are being paid for right ?

[Sir Trev]

EAs do a lot more than some realise. If they're good they earn their commission by helping the offer process along sure but they also help in the gathering of info and making sure the legal side is ready to go. You can go direct and cut them out but is it really worth the hassle? They're specialists and generally provide a good service.

Oh, and without trying to get into a my-area's-more-expensive-than-yours argument let me simply say that my four bed detached, big garden, garage, was the price some of you are talking about...when I bought it ten years ago. No wonder I'm skint!

[L3nny]

I am not sure exactly how it works, however when I bought my house I pulled out of one deal because the estate agent was messing us about and not forwarding our offers on quickly enough. But that was years ago when houses were selling themselves and they were probably busy with other deals.

Remember the agent doesn't really care about you or the seller, all they care about is themselves.

I suppose you could always just go and knock on the door and have a chat with the seller. Or arrange a second viewing and say you want the vendor to be there as you have a few questions you want to ask. If they are anything like me when I was selling they will be more than happy to meet you.

[LankyIanB]

You can be as mean as you like with your offers in a quiet market. My parents bought a house years ago that had been brought by a developer but had then stood empty for nearly two years. The process started with a REALLY low offer which was rejected. After a couple of days the offer was raised by £500. After a week and a bit of this, an offer was accepted. My parents were the only people putting in offers and I think the slow small increases eventually ground the vendors down.

One thing that affects "terminal sales" is that the death duties (if applicable) are based on HMRC's valuation of the property, not what the market is actually willing to pay. This puts families selling in this situation in a really nasty position as they need to get as much cash as possible from the sale to fund the taxman...

[Aidan]

When I bought my house a year ago, the estate agents (Romans in Berkshire) were horrendous. The seller wanted to sell, we wanted to buy, but every time we asked a quesiton, the agent put it to the seller as if we were being rude. In the end I googled the sellers name and contacted her directly, was polite and we got to an agreement far easier. When I come to sell, I think I'll try a site like housesimple where you can miss the estate agent out, save thousands of pounds and make life easier.

[daveyrach]

When I bought my house a year ago, the estate agents (Romans in Berkshire) were horrendous. The seller wanted to sell, we wanted to buy, but every time we asked a quesiton, the agent put it to the seller as if we were being rude. In the end I googled the sellers name and contacted her directly, was polite and we got to an agreement far easier. When I come to sell, I think I'll try a site like housesimple where you can miss the estate agent out, save thousands of pounds and make life easier.

We used Romans initially to put a house up for sale, they were useless, got the floorplan wrong online and even after we went into their office and corrected it and signed it off they never changed it. We dropped them in the end.

[Spank86]

I made my offers direct to the seller,

Made them when I was viewing the property, the estate agent was stood there and didn't seem happy but I ignored him.

[keith_d]

Generally speaking once a house is under offer and has been accepted by the seller the estate agents wont take any more offers.

Clearly not living anywhere around London..


If you get on well with the seller you could exchange mobile numbers. The guy I bought my house from was great. The solicitors tried dragging their feet with, "We're waiting for Mr H. to sign xxxx". Only to get Mr H. on the phone asking them what they were talking about 5 minutes later, and I'd do the same if he found a problem. Worked for me.

Keith.

One more thought - dealing through estate agents is like stepping in something nasty. Best avoided where possible.

[shonadoll]

Tell them your offer is a realistic offer on reflection of the cuurent market value blah blah blah. The problem you have is greedy relatives of the deceased who expect maximum return for their gold digging.

I've been watching a house that went on the market a few months back go from offers over 159k, slowly get reduced to 149, and now 139k. No upward chain. We won't be moving now which is a shame, as it really ticked so many boxes, and I bet if I offered 124,999 they'd rip my arm off to get shut......

What a lovely generalisation there- they may well be grieving relatives just trying to get rid of their mothers house, I know I just wanted my mums gone.

[hindle8907]

Well bit of an update things moved fast yesterday.
We have settled on 130,000 and I negotiated that they leave the white goods.
Washing machine, dishwasher , ect ect.
Its worth 130,000 and me and my partner are over the moon :)
Now let's hope the mortgage process goes ok !
Cheers guys

[L3nny]

Nice one!

[andrewsmith]

Well done!

[Tom_the_great]

Enjoy :)

[Roberrrrt]

Good lad! Look forwards to house warming org party ;)

[dyzio]

I made my offers direct to the seller,
Made them when I was viewing the property, the estate agent was stood there and didn't seem happy but I ignored him.


Good stuff Ant :)


How "inappropriate" is it to talk about money with the owners?
As in saying, "look, the bank will only lend me this amount, would you be interested?"

I'm about to have a viewing with the owners on a place which has been on the market for a few months...

Of course everything would be done via a solicitor, but to save everyone the hassle on this one bit...

[hindle8907]

I think its a good idea if this falls through I think I would go down the route of taking to the vendor about price rather than through the estate agents.
Still waiting on HSBC at the moment.

[Spank86]

How "inappropriate" is it to talk about money with the owners?
As in saying, "look, the bank will only lend me this amount, would you be interested?"
buggered if I know, but I did.

I offered 185 and they said they'd already rejected that from another party so I said OK, well the most money I have is 187 and I cant get any higher than that, It's a genuine offer and the best I can do, have a think about it, talk with your partner and if it's acceptable I've got no chain and no pressure so we could get things moving at your leisure.

[Luckypants]

How "inappropriate" is it to talk about money with the owners?perfectly fine, I made the offer for this house on the doorstep to the owner. We are good friends these days.

[hindle8907]

Hey Guys just an update, we now have the keys to our new home, it took around four months in total.
It's now having work carried out on the electrics and a few other jobs before we move in, hope to be in for Christmas though !

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo290/hindle8907/548728_4312736289731_1421006033_n.jpg


And the bike den :)

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo290/hindle8907/65364_4446119784235_678925458_n.jpg
Ant :)

[Bibio]

great news.. bet you and your missus is chuffed to bits.

[andrewsmith]

great news.. bet you and your missus is chuffed to bits.

Great news!!!
Your missus must be over the moon that she can hide you somewhere now ;)

[joshwalker094]

Hey Ant, nice gaff :) where abouts have you moved to?