Offers over - is there any point offering less?

[CatAndHisKit]

I'm viewing houses and one I like is "offers over", it's very similar in size/period (but not as good a location) to other ones I saw in the same suburb, but in a better condition and nicer internally. I haven't viewed yet as it's a bit above budget but now I can see it's still there after three weeks so presumably no one offered over - should I view and offer about 4% less according to my budget, or would they be hugely annoyed?

[DramaAlpaca]

You can try, but don't be surprised if they don't bite your hand off. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old saying goes. It's a business transaction so don't worry about them being annoyed. They'll either say yes or no.

[catlady3]

I'd offer less than that personally. Isn't asking at least 10% more than what you want?

[Els1e]

I would say it’s worth a try. My current property was on at offers over but I ended up getting it for 6k less.

[bluejelly]

I offered 8k under and they accepted. Definitely worth a try.

[MadnessInMethod]

Offer less.

It's been on the market a few weeks now and hasn't been snapped up, so maybe they're starting to have a reality check on their price point.

[gonewiththerain]

Nobody in the area I live is accepting 10% less than the asking price, the most people are dropping is £10k including on offers over

[RossPoldark]

Where in the country is this? In Scotland many houses are traditionally placed on the market 'offers over' but there will be an accompanying Home Report showing the true market value which I would expect they would be looking for. Most vendors doing offers over are probably looking to generate interest and viewings with a slightly lower headline price than they actually want.

3 weeks doesn't seem very long to be going in with cheeky offers to be honest. On the other hand, if you don't ask you don't get so you have nothing to lose by viewing it and offering what you can afford or think it is worth.

[CoffeeandaBagel]

We were on OIEO and have just accepted an offer 7k under. Certainly worth a try.

Are you chain free? We probably wouldn't have taken the financial hit if ours hadn't been.

[CatAndHisKit]

Thank you for all replies - that's encouraging!
Yes, I meant to say this is in England (Midlands). I just thought that offer over means they won't accept any less due to ongoing purchase etc as otherwise why not do what the majority does and just list the asking price with a small discount in mind?

But great to hear that many posters accepted lower offers happily enough. I'm not chain -free but I'm hoping to get a buyer who's chain free so a very short chain. I've now viewed that house - rooms smaller than they appeared on photos and would need to alter the kitchen units a bit - extra cost! - it's also a chain their end, so if I offer it would have to be lower. I do like the owners though.

[Gillian1980]

We ended up accepting £10k under our offers over price. Had had very little interest and we were after a particular house, so we decided to just cut our losses and take the offer.

[Marmablade]

My aunt wanted offers over x but took nearly £20k under in the end to be shot of my uncle. You never know!

[filka]

Likelihood of success/being taken seriously depends how proceedable you are, that is whether you have an offer on your old house and what stage it is at, have a mortgage offer/proof of funding etc.

[minniemoll]

I bought my house for £5k under the OIEO price, but I was in a very good position as I'd sold mine, the house I was buying had fallen through, and both me and my buyers didn't need a mortgage. And it was on the basis that they weren't going down any further, no matter what the survey said (in the end I didn't bother with a survey, just got my builder to check that he couldn't see any major problems).

So yes, it's worth a try, especially if you're in a proceedable position.

[TwoLeftSocksWithHoles]

I've always thought that 'Offers over...' suggests that the Estate Agent doesn't really know quite how to value it. Similarly when they state 'Guide Price'

You have nothing to lose by putting in what you feel is a reasonable offer and if no one else has put anything forward they may be willing to negotiate. Although three weeks isn't a long time to be on the market.

The EA may be able to give you advice on how receptive the sellers may be - but I would start lower e. g. 10% and move up to 4% it shows flexibility.

Although having said those percentages I seem to recall Phil Spencer saying that slightly irregular figure make it sound more considered, e.g. 274,750 rather than 275, 000 (I think I'm rambling now) Anyway Good Luck🤞

[SilkieRabbits]

Its worth a try - ours was on 5 weeks and one price reduction after 4 weeks to guide price £600-£625k and we took £590k in the end after a week at new price. The EA was expecting us to reject and it was around £10k less than we wanted but we preferred it sold with lockdown etc and could afford to go down.

[WhereOnEarthDoIStart]

They don't want to accept less - that doesn't mean they won't . It may be wishful thinking on their part.

I had less offers accepted twice on houses with "offers over".

[DappledThings]

We had 3 valuations all at 590-599 so we went on at 599. Dropped to 575, still nothing, dropped to OIEO 550 and we ended up accepting 515! This was 3 years ago and it was a different market but certainly no reason not to offer lower.

[user1471538283]

Yes do! They can only say no. We accepted an under the offers only price for one of our houses