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Property/DIY

Would you pull out?

16 replies

Saffy111 · 28/04/2016 00:37

We saw a house we really liked in a commuter village where prices and demand has been high but starting to drop off recently. Our full asking price offer and subsequent offers were still not matching another offer according to EA, so got into a bidding war with another couple over it and ended up offering 20k over the asking price, offer was accepted.

2 weeks later and we noticed a 3 bed detached house further down the road that has gone on the market for 20k less than the 3 bed semi we've offered on. If we hadn't offered 20k over the asking price on the semi, it would have been on for the same price as a 3 bed detached in the same road, we feel we may have been duped a bit by the EA and wonder if they could have even made up the rival bidders?! Our impressions of the agents have not been good so far for a number of reasons.

The detached house might be cheaper than usual round here because it needs updating, but everything looks fine and functional, just not modern in style or to our taste. It doesn't make sense that it's less than we are paying for a semi in the same road? Unless it's too good to be true and something is wrong with the place that would come to light in a survey or am I overthinking?

We're now worrying we've been duped by the EA into paying well over the odds for the semi and wondering whether we should pull out and look at the detached house instead, saying that it may also get offers well over the asking price which we can't stretch to and then we will have lost out on the semi! What would you do?

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TwinkleCrinkle · 28/04/2016 00:48

Sounds like they are on with different agents?
I would at least go and have a look at the detached house before doing anything else. Then at least you know the full picture.
Personally I would go for a detached if they are around the same price but chances are if you think it's good value so will everyone else and it may indeed go over ask

emanuela · 28/04/2016 06:23

Definitely go and have a look. If the detached is really ok and just in need of some decorative updating, I would buy that. Good luck!

BettySpaghettiHasLostHerHead · 28/04/2016 06:32

If I had a choice of detached over semi for the same price I would go for detached 10 times out of 10

SquinkiesRule · 28/04/2016 08:23

Go look at it, if you like it put in an offer and wait. Then pull out of the one you like the least.
I'd go for detached and needing to be updated any day over a fully done Semi.

AgathaF · 28/04/2016 09:00

Exactly what Squinkies said. No need to pull out of the semi before you offer on the detached. Just wait and see what happens. I wouldn't worry over what the EA said either. S/he may or may not have been pulling a fast one, but the market will dictate and you'll know soon enough if there's lots of interest in the detached, and lots of offers too.

Twitterqueen · 28/04/2016 09:07

You can do what you like, if you haven't signed any contracts yet. It's your money!
Have a look at the new one and discuss....

QuiteLikely5 · 28/04/2016 09:17

Thing is it's likely the other couple you were bidding with have their sights set on this one so best to move quickly!

As for the the house you've already made an offer on well they shouldn't have been so bloody greedy!

FuckyMcFuckFace · 28/04/2016 11:14

I'd definitely go and look at the detached. Chances are you would redecorate the semi anyway.

Readabook1 · 28/04/2016 16:58

I would go and see the detached one and then buy the house I like the most sod the £20k it is what you want as your home that counts Who wants to be in the wrong house ?

Saffy111 · 28/04/2016 17:06

Thanks for opinions, so we went to look at the detached house and really liked it, it would be a house for life, yes needs work doing but we could do that over time and it actually had a nice homely charm to it like going to visit your grandma's house, but in a good way lol.

We were told by EA that they'd had offers over the asking price, so we will prob go in at 410, then would you go up by 5's? We can only go as high as 420 our max budget, so if it goes beyond that it wasn't meant to be and we'll proceed with the semi for the same price! I can't see us getting it to be honest, a builder or property developer could do it up and sell it for at least 440-450 round here at the mo...

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SquinkiesRule · 28/04/2016 17:55

Sounds like a good house, hope you get it.

AgathaF · 28/04/2016 18:53

I wonder if they'll go straight to best and final offers, or sealed bids. Is £410k the asking price? If so then up in £5ks after that, but if it's lower then I'd increase your first bid to asking price. Really though, you want them to take it off the market for your offer straight away, rather than get other interested parties in a bidding war.

Saffy111 · 28/04/2016 23:39

Asking price is 400 but we can only go up to 425, EA said if our offer of 410 was rejected then they would ask for best and final offers tomorrow... We've decided to put all we have forward in that case, if 425 is rejected then we know we can't afford a detached house round here, even one that needs a lot of work doing, in which case we'll stick with the semi and not pull out.

Dh doesn't believe in fate but things will be decided for us tomorrow I guess!

Can't help worrying about this impending crash I keep reading about, although we are desperate to move for several reasons, and our next house will be for the long term, so I suppose we just carry on moving regardless now!

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Twitterqueen · 29/04/2016 09:46

Good luck! Please let us know how you get on

AgathaF · 29/04/2016 15:16

Any news yet?

Saffy111 · 30/04/2016 01:22

We didn't get the detached house : ( EA called late this pm and said that without their knowledge the vendor had agreed a private sale with a friend of a friend 😐 Apparently our offer was 10k more than theirs but the elderly vendors said it wasn't about the money, and even if someone had offered more they would go with this person as they had made a verbal agreement they would honour. Bizarre. Feel so confused, it's been such a curve ball, why did the vendor even bother showing us around and she seemed really interested in us, got our hopes up massively, no way we can afford a detached house round here and I kept thinking it was too good to be true!

So we won't be pulling out, confirms that the semi is the place for us, I just can't get my head around why this came along and happened, dh gets annoyed with me when I talk about fate and "what's meant to be", he's gutted, he really fell in love with the detached. I personally don't think the elderly vendors had any idea how much their house was really worth, and went with the familiarity / trust of buying from the friend of a friend as the safest option.

EA did say that the vendors had the house on the market previously a year ago, accepted an offer, then changed their minds about moving and pulled out. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, keep telling myself that!

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