Overpriced?

[nocake]

The house we want to buy seems to be massively over priced. The vendors bought it for £365k just 18 months ago and are now asking £450k. The only work they've done is a new boiler and decorate. We've done our research, looking at what houses in the same row have sold for and also working out local sale prices per square foot, and it seems that £380-390k is a more reasonable selling price. The vendors are moving to NZ in September.

So, how do we persuade them to accept an offer closer to the real value rather than the inflated figure the EA has given them... or is it a lost cause?

[lalalonglegs]

You can't persuade them of anything. You can make an offer and explain why you have pitched at that level but they can ignore your reasoning if they choose to. You are then free not to buy the house at the price they're asking and buy one of the ones at £380k instead.

[escape]

There is nothing worse than the seller/landlord not living in the real world when you really want their property. Again - fact is you can't make them do anything The other fact is that if their house is ridiculously priced for the location/market then it won't sell... simples.

[Mandy21]

Whilst the internet sites give you a general idea, its no more useful than that. You don't know the circumstances surrounding the purchase at £365k (might have been on the verge of being repossessed so vendors were willing to accept a silly offer). Also how do you know exactly what work has been done to it? It might have had new windows or landscaping - something that would add value but unless you went inside the property 18 months ago, you wouldn't know. I agree with the other posters, you can only make the offer at a level you're comfortable with, explaining your reasons. If the vendors are holding out for a higher offer, you either have to walk away or hope that nearer their departure date, they'll drop the price.

[specialsubject]

you offer on your figure, if you want the property. Tell the agent your reasoning.

the vendor will refuse. Tell them that the offer remains on the table if they want to come back to you later, and if you haven't found a house by then.

you can do no more. Someone may pay the full price, who knows?

[nocake]

We do know what has been done to it as the vendor told us today. It's had a new boiler and been redecorated - as I said in my original post. We have the photos that were used to sell it 18 months ago (Rightmove holds onto information for a long time) and they confirm that little has been changed. We also have the prices that houses in the same row, that are almost identical, have sold for.

I guess we just have to make it clear that our offer is based on good, publicly available evidence and see what they say.

[MrsJamin]

We made a lower offer on a house (dependent on house prices in area and significant work needed on it) and it was refused, even though the house had been on sale for over a year. We know of an other offer made soon after of 10k more which was also refused. The sellers are idiots and the house is still on the market. There's no getting through to some people. More fool them and well done you for sticking to your guns and not overpaying on a house. If you can send them links of local houses in a similar condition and spec and compare prices they may see the reality of their place in the market?

[fussychica]

This happened to us. Vendors wouldn't budge from their asking price even though we only offered 5% below. We left the offer on the table and walked away rather disappointed but we couldn't afford more. It's now off the market but remains unsold (it's empty). However, planning permission has now been granted for development at the end of the road which will mean construction traffic for 2 years or more - lucky escape for us!

[happynappies]

I'd just make the offer that you can afford, then be prepared to walk away. We were in a similarish position last year. Even the EA thought the property was over-priced and wouldn't sell, but the vendors couldn't be persuaded to drop the price. We made our final offer, and were prepared to walk away. It was soooo stressful. They took two weeks to think it over, then accepted our offer!