Offering on a house

[Housebuying]

Posting for traffic!

Just wondering when buying a house (not London!) what sort of offer should you make? What % of the full asking price should you expect to pay, and whereabouts should a first offer be?

House has been on the market just over a month, and needs work (full rewire, new boiler). Would appreciate any advice!

WIBU to offer 85% of the asking price?

[caringcarer]

It would depend on has the house been priced to reflect the work that needs doing. Look on soldhouseprices put in postcode and look to see what other houses in same area sold for. You will need to match eg. same number of bedrooms. Look for the price range they actually sold for. Sometimes houses go on the market for a price and then if not sold get reduced. 85% sounds very low as an offer though. I can't imagine the vendors would sell for that. I have bought 9 houses in the past and most times paid about 95% or thereabouts of advertised price. The lowest I paid was about 90% of price. You will be in a stronger position if vender wants to sell quickly and you are not in chain. Is this your first house?

[ScotsinOz]

There is magic no percentage of asking price you offer - you offer what you think it is worth.

Work out what the maximum you will pay for the property and offer less than this (as they may accept). If they don’t accept they may counter your offer and you can negotiate.

If it is going to sealed bids you need to put in your best offer. Also remember than an asking price is really just a guide and properties often sell for more (especially when there are several interested parties).

Good luck.

[Housebuying]

We are not in a chain, and have met the vendors during viewings, and told them this. Looking at house prices locally, we think the house would be worth about £410k after the work is done. We are estimating work costs to be about £50k. Therefore we are happy to spend £360k, but thought offering £330k might be a better starting point?

I don’t want to insult them by being too low, but we don’t want to pay too much as we will need money to do the work

[dontgobaconmyheart]

50k for rewiring and a boiler? Are the changes you'd make decorative preferences or is there some structural issue with the home. If it's habitable and a matter of taste then I'd not expect to have a low offer accepted on that basis.

As above OP it's worth what you're willing to pay. I'd check sold prices in the road and find out what they paid for it when they bought it on the land registry to get a vague idea of their profit margin (if it's not a lot you are unlikely to get anything off). A month on the market in the current climate is nothing and indicates nothing unless you have any insider info that they are desperate to sell.

Always start low anyway- your first offer isn't likely to be accepted, remember the estate agent acts in the interest of the seller not you so take whatever they say with a pinch of salt. I'd just make an offer and go from there but manage your expectations; I don't think many people knock 20k off of asking within a month, 10k below is a fairly standard sell rate.

[vincettenoir]

Think about what you would be willing to pay for it and offer a bit less to start with. Suss our from the agents weather the vendors have already had previous offers that they have rejected as that should inform what you offer.

[BitOfFun]

I've had a full rewired and a new boiler- it cost nearer £5k than £50k!

[Seeingadistance]

There is no way a rewire and new boiler would cost £50k! Maybe £10k if it’s a huge house.

As pp suggests - look at sold prices in that area for similar properties. That’ll give you an idea of how realistic the asking price is.

Ultimately, what you have to do is decide what this house is worth to you.

[Stuckinanutshell]

330 on a 410 house?! Such a lower offer could be deemed so cheeky that any future dealings could be tense. You offer 330 and it obviously won’t be accepted unless the place is in dire need of urgent work. The vendor could think you aren’t serious and are a time waster who cant afford a reasonable sum and are unreliable as a buyer (eg if 395 was accepted they might think later you’ll pull out because you generally can’t afford it). Ultimately, you’ll have to offer higher anyway and even if a higher price is negotiated the vendor could be so insulted and irritated that they could make things difficult when it comes to allowing you in to measure.

These people are strangers and want the highest price on their house. They don’t owe you anything. If you start negotiations being cheeky (£50,000 less due to wiring and boiler) they could easily gazump you later because you’re already a pain to them.

My house needed new plumbing, wiring, and a double bricking of an extension that had damp. The whole place also needed cosmetic work (as in peeling wallpaper, stained carpet). Still didn’t offer £50k less!

[Stuckinanutshell]

Of course the above message of mine assumes the listed price is ‘reasonable’. Even then, if a vendor wants to play silly buggers and sell mud like it’s diamonds then you’re still in a tricky position. Either way - genuine price or not - 50k less is - IMO - not going to do you any good.

[MaybeitsMaybelline]

The house has been roughly valued at what it is deemed to be worth now, not after you have done it up. Whilst there may be some wiggle room I wouldn’t acknowledge 330k and you would piss me off to the point I wouldn’t entertain any further negotiations.

I am genuinely astounded that you think the vendors would be delighted to receive such a low offer and be open to working with you.

[Medievalist]

Not sure why you think London is different? I think how much you offer relates more to the individual house rather than a region. I don't think property is selling quickly anywhere at the moment.

As others have said, you need to have a feel for what an individual house is worth and how much interest there is in it. We're buying a house at the moment and are paying the full price because we love it, there was a lot of interest and we didn't want to lose it. (initially someone beat us to it but then withdrew). We did offer £10k below the asking price (£700k) but that was refused and we quickly agreed the full amount.

Are you sure the asking price doesn't reflect the work that needs doing?

[Housebuying]

The £50k is to include building work. Rewiring and new boiler would be £10k. They’ve had a couple of viewings and no offers. The house in its current state, when compared to others is worth about £380ish. As soon as we’d looked round the first time we had a call from the agent who said the seller was keen for us to know that the price is flexible.
Hence why we feel that it was worth starting low.

To the PP who asked why I think London is different, is because everyone I know that has bought in London has had to do sealed bids, or has paid the asking price.

[superram]

How much is it on for?

[DeathStare]

The house in its current state, when compared to others is worth about £380ish

Then offer somewhere around this amount. Offering £330k on a house worth £380k is not going to make them desperate to do a deal with you!

[Bluntness100]

I don't really understand, what building work? If it'd work you want but isn't needed to maintain the structure of the building then this is at your expense, not theirs. You can't expect them to pay for it.

If it's worth in your view 380 offer this,

[LaurieMarlow]

Offering £330k on a house worth £380k is not going to make them desperate to do a deal with you!

Well that depends on

A) how many other offers they have and

B) how desperate they are to sell

If the answers to those questions are a) none and b) very, a low offer could be accepted.

[Housebuying]

It’s on for £390k and we’ve been told they’re flexible. We will pay £360k as our top figure. I thought offering £330k, then meeting in the middle would get us to £360k. Which they can accept or reject, and we can look for something else.

We have nothing to sell, and are ready to proceed. They’ve found a house they want to buy.

[smellybelly1]

offer 350k, 10% under which is reasonable.

[HillRunner]

The house in its current state, when compared to others is worth about £380ish.

So why do you think they'll agree to 330?

[wobytide]

Got to applaud the drip feed, 4 posts before the actual asking price is unveiled. Bravo

[CormacMcLaggen]

Go in with your very best offer, otherwise you risk pissing them off.

Make it clear it's your top, best offer and go from there - you all know where you stand, then. :)

Good luck!

[Hahaha88]

If my house was worth 380 I wouldn't be selling it to you for 330 or even 360

[HillRunner]

When the seller says the price is flexible, they rarely mean to the extent you are thinking.

People pitch their house prices in terms of rightmove search brackets. If they were open to offers as low as you are thinking, then they'd be likely to be reducing the price to £375k (the next price bracket down). Give it a try by all means, but I wouldn't go in at 330.

[HillRunner]

The house is on for 390, it's probably worth around 380, and the seller says they're 'flexible'... I think the seller is prepared to go to 380, but not 360.

Why wouldn't you pay £380k? There is no way on earth that the work you're planning will cost £50k, particularly outside London.

[WaterSheep]

I wouldn’t acknowledge 330k and you would piss me off to the point I wouldn’t entertain any further negotiations.

This would be my reaction as well. It might mean waiting longer for a buyer, but I would worry that even if the offer increased you would play silly buggers and try to renegotiate at a later date.