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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that with the current state of the housing market 'Offers in Excess of' is just a bit daft?

34 replies

OrmIrian · 16/11/2011 16:16

Because no-one in their right minds is going to offer more than they have to? And most people will offer as little as possible. So 'Offers in Excess' just means 'Give us the asking price!' or even' Offers not accepted'.

Tsk!

OP posts:
CogitoErgoSometimes · 16/11/2011 16:23

YABU. If a property is sought after (and there are still plenty in that category), 'in excess of' is a confident statement that will get nervous buyers bidding high so as not to miss out.

Original poster
OrmIrian · 16/11/2011 16:24

There aren't any 'sought after' properties round here. Everything is sitting on the market for months and months!

OP posts:
BerthaTheBogBurglar · 16/11/2011 16:30

Round here it means "we think we've priced this sensibly and we want the asking price, don't bother with offers below".

The alternative is "we've priced this at 20% over what we expect to get, so that people can offer well below the asking price".

"Offers in excess of" is a way to distinguish the two pricing methods.

In theory.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 16/11/2011 16:30

So it's a bold statement. Sometimes overpricing things gets people thinking the goods are better than they really are. Waitrose have been trading that way for years :)

clam · 16/11/2011 16:44

They can demand "offers in excess of" all they like. People still aren't going to buy it if it's too much.

slavetofilofax · 16/11/2011 16:51

Sometimes people will use 'offers in excess of'' because they simply won't sell for less than that. Maybe they don't want to or maybe they can't because otherwise they would lose money.

Either way, it's still up to a buyer if they want to offer it or not, and it saves them time putting in offers that would not even be considered by the vendors.

DamnBamboo · 16/11/2011 16:59

But if the asking price is a fair one, then it's not unreasonable at all.
Saves time all round haggling.
We used it on our house, we meant it. Our third viewer offered 5k less than that was we said OIEO which was swiftly rejected. 5 minutes later offered the price which was accepted.

A house will sell if it's reasonably priced whether it sayd in excess of, region of, not less than, between £xk an £xk etc..

PigletJohn · 16/11/2011 17:07

I insisted on OIRO, we had several offers very fast, and it went for 20% over the valuation in a week.

That tells me the valuation was too low, and a lot of buyers wanted it, but what do I know? Maybe the agent thought getting his commission after a weeks work was better than getting slightly more and taking longer. Maybe the market perked up.

A house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

mickeyjohn · 16/11/2011 17:16

We have just accepted an offer for slightly less than we paid for our house in 2006 - depressing but that's the state of the market I think!! I think a lot of people are putting their houses on for way too much - some round here have been on for 18 months and haven't dropped their price at ALL, which is bonkers if you want to shift it. I think OIEO is saying that it's basically your rock-bottom price and don't bother offering less than that! (having said that, we took 5k less than our rock-bottom price just to sell ours... woe!! Meant to complete next week and still need to send the solicitors a giant cheque for money that we don't have!!!)

Original poster
OrmIrian · 16/11/2011 17:23

[sad mickey! It's a horrible business.

We put our house on quite low and accepted an offer. And we sold quickly. No-one else was. I guess it jsut seems strange to instantly cut out so many potential buyers - I would have thought that having a buyer offering you 1k perhaps less than asking price would be better than no-one offering anything!

OP posts:
CalmaLlamaDown · 16/11/2011 17:35

I think it saves time - from people putting in unrealistic offers possibly? It is a clear, bold statement, i guess not everyone is in a hurry to move.

Serenitysutton · 16/11/2011 19:14

The reason I wouldn't do it as it tempts people into that exact figure- which as people have mentioned above might bE your bottom line figure. Eg we looked at a house up for 425 then then next week it had gone to offers in excess of 400. To me that means they expect 400 for it as 25k more was unobtainable.

cat64 · 16/11/2011 19:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Whathashappenedtomyboobs · 16/11/2011 19:31

YABU...I've just sold my house and we had it listed as OIEO. I would have never excepted the amount we listed it at. I wanted a quick sale as I have a house currently in construction, the OIEO was used purely as a marketing tool....basically the theory behind it is that you start at a low price to generate interest/get people through the door ideally on the same day. By getting 5-10 potential buyers throughout the door you generate a sense of urgency in putting in an offer - it works! I sold my house for 8k more than listed (I could have got more I think but I just wanted to sell) a friend of mine sold her's for 50k listed when using this method.

ThisisaSignofthetimes · 16/11/2011 19:33

Don't think its unreasonable if the amount is a realistic one. What I can't understand is the £x to £y, well I'm never going to offer you y am I?

Whathashappenedtomyboobs · 16/11/2011 19:33

50k more than listed price!!!

grumplestilskin · 16/11/2011 19:33

YABU, if its fully mortgaged and people cannot take less what's the point in "doing the dance", its not always a case of not WANTING to sell for less than XXX,XXX it's often a case of CAN'T sell for less

and if you really want to you can always offer less anyway, noone will shoot you and they can only say yes or no!

OIEO doesn't mean the asking price is high, it might be stupidly low ALREADY for a quick sale so there may well be a rush of interest

its up to you, do you want it and how much do you want to pay for it?

thousandDenier · 16/11/2011 19:36

If there was one in my area that I liked and had been on for a while, what's to stop me offering below to at least register interest? Would the EA just not bother to inform the seller of the offer?

Genuine question as I've never bought a house..

ThisisaSignofthetimes · 16/11/2011 19:40

thousand they are obliged to pass on all offers, but if the vendor has told them that they don't want to know about offers below a certain price, they don't have to pass the offer on. If you aren't sure that an offer has been passed on there is nothing to stop you posting an offer to the vendor.

grumplestilskin · 16/11/2011 19:42

nothing thousand, my neighbour was asking for OIEO a STUPID price but in the end (after 2 years with very little interest) he accepted an unseen offer from abroad of abotu 50K less than the asking price

LindyHemming · 16/11/2011 19:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
OrmIrian · 17/11/2011 10:30

Thankfully I am not looking to buy or sell atm - I just like nosing around rightmove. And I keep hoping my parents will downsize and move nearer me so I am interested in 2/3 bed bungalows with a reasonable garden.

The one that prompted this thread was right at the top of the price range and as far as I could see nothing that special. Similar were avaiable for 50k less - obviously there must be something about it that I missed Confused. Normally you would assume the vendors would be open to offers which is why the OIEO surprised me a bit.

OP posts:
Funnyface89 · 17/11/2011 11:13

I can see why people do it as mine is on for a price and not an "in excess of" and everyone that has made an offer is pitching them at atleast £20k lower than the asking price!

It is not even overprice as I brought it last year and it is on for alot less than I brought it for. I think the way the market is at the minute buyers are making stupid offers in the hope that the seller is desperate enough to accept it so they can move.

Was actually thinking the other day I may try putting it on with an "in excess of" because I am fed up with people trying to do one over on me!

pootlebug · 17/11/2011 11:55

Totally depends on what the price is and how the market is. OIEO on overpriced properties doesn't achieve anything apart from the property sitting there with no offers. On the other hand, in a popular area and with the right kind of marketing, it can work well.

CherylWillBounceBack · 17/11/2011 13:32

I think it's a terrific way to advertise the price providing they truly mean it.

'This is the lowest price I'm prepared to take'.

Saves time all round. Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't hideously overpriced, but it's up to the buyer to decide whether they want it.

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