Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

over offer on a house

103 replies

housemovehell · 06/01/2012 00:25

So dh and I see a house we like , it needs a lot doing. We both want to offer on it.

Dh says offer 15k below the "in excess of" price which we know has just been reduced by 15k. I say I think that's a bit insulting I think 10tk would be more reasonable.

He says ok. I find a bit more info which means about 2k more work than we had planned. So ask if we should still offer same. He says yes.

Tonight I get home he says we should have offered 15k below as they never take first offer and he wouldn't pay any more than our current offer.

Now we haven't had an answer yet but if they do say no somehow this is gonna be my fault because I didn't listen?

OP posts:
coraltoes · 06/01/2012 09:16

My job is negotiating prices for things and I have bought a few properties too. Never ever go in at the asking unless you are in the mental markets we saw in 2007...definitely not now when the market is a lot slower. Don't be afraid to go in lower than you know they will accept, but not insultingly low. 15k under is not insulting, but making that your only bid is a bit mad. You build up to your final bid...not start there, otherwise you have no room for manoeuvre.

However remember not to turn down the chance to buy your dream house for the sake of a few grand! In the grand scheme of life a few k is nothing, and having the right house is everything!

I feel for you, your husband sounds like a prize fool. There is no such thing as a bargain basement which needs no work no nothing! Otherwise it wouldnt be a bloody bargain.

I bought my house from someone who was emotional about property rather than treating the deal as a ££deal. It made it so hard to get any rational negotiation going, we are talking bricks, I do not care if you got married in the garden or buried your dog in the flower beds.

WilsonFrickett · 06/01/2012 11:57

thompsontwins that's amazing! We popped round to see our new place yesterday (get the keys Monday) and they have not done any of the stuff they said they would, sigh!

OP how are you getting on today? Have you had an answer yet?

Pendeen · 06/01/2012 12:21

housemovehell

Do you know how long the house has been for sale and do you think the original price reduction was prompted by a re-evaluation of the original asking price or someother factor?

The other comments as regards proportionality (e.g. are you offering 5% below or 25% below) are very valid.

If the owner is sensible any offer is better than none so the question of "insulting" should be irrelevant, but then again you never know...

Original poster
housemovehell · 06/01/2012 13:34

Don't want to give too much away as still no answer on offer but property is under 200k

OP posts:
coraltoes · 06/01/2012 13:37

Pendeen, sadl people tie emotions into their homes so a very very low bid could be seen as insulting. Although I age wth you...it is a START!!! I always bid about 15% under to start with on a home so i think you won't be far away from that? The worst that happens is they say no and you re bid...if you don't have an ass for a husband!

ninkynonker · 06/01/2012 13:42

We offered about 8% under the asking, and got it for slightly above our offer. Apparently this is common. We accepted about the same drop on ours. All indications we had were that anything more than a 10% drop for first offer was a bit of pisstake unless exceptional circumstances.

shagmundfreud · 06/01/2012 13:46

Depends how much you love the house, and how much equity you have in it.

We offered 15K above asking price in a rising market to secure our dream home.

But that was when the property market was boyant.

coraltoes · 06/01/2012 13:49

Actually if you go in way too low the agent will likely tell you straight away "that's far lower than I know they will accept".

Shagmund that only works if the valuation by the bank matches your offer rather than the asking price. But I agree for the right house not to get hung up by a few grand.

baubleybobbityhat · 06/01/2012 13:51

Sorry, can we be clear, is the house marketed as

offers in excess of

?

Jinsel · 06/01/2012 14:25

I wouldn't entertain an offer below my in excess of price. That would be my bottom line

coraltoes · 06/01/2012 14:27

Oh wait... I missed that!

StickAForkInMeImDone · 06/01/2012 14:29

Jinsel That would be my thought too. But when we were buying 6 months ago a couple of estate agents told us that they market houses "in excess of" purely so people would think it was their bottom line when in actual fact it wasn't. Not sure if that makes sense Confused. I know we looked round a few properties marketed like this and were never discouraged from making an offer under the "offer in excess of" price.

tyler80 · 06/01/2012 14:32

One of the houses we offered on was advertised as offers in excess of 130k having already been reduced by 15k. The estate agent told us when we viewed that they'd probably accept less and house finally sold for 125k. So I largely ignore any words in front of the actual figure.

Jinsel · 06/01/2012 14:32

I suppose it depends what they've told the agent to do. Our agent wouldn't have passed offers under our minimum to us.

As a buyer then it's definitely worth a try :)

ceebie · 06/01/2012 14:39

You don't have to negotiate you know! When we sold our house we had some offers which were a straight 'this is our offer, take it or leave it'.

What you can do, if they don't accept your offer, is tell the agents that you will leave you offer on the table for a week and then withdraw it. That sends a clear message that you won't be offering more, but that you hope they will take some time to consider it further.

Are you in a strong buying position, e.g. if you are not in a chain / able to progress quite quickly?

CheshireDing · 06/01/2012 14:40

In the current climate they could be saying "offers in excess" because they have no financial negotiation available, i.e they could be in negative equity.

ceebie · 06/01/2012 14:47

Oh, and my parents, who have moved house more times than I can count and are at this stage somewhat experts in buying and selling, always remind me how hard buying and selling is and that nobody gets it right all the time - it is so difficult! They have made mistakes with offers - for one house they thought they were going in really low but the agent nearly whooped with joy when he heard their offer - they had totally mis-judged the market. On the other hand they once had a buyer who gave away that they intended to secure their house which enabled them to hold out for a bit more for it...

They key thing is that neither you nor your husband are professionals at this (and even professionals get it wrong sometimes too) - so don't go blaming each other. Please remind your DH of that! After all, he agreed with you then afterwards regretted his decision - so his fault for not speaking up sooner! But I forget, we are not blaming anyone here.

StickAForkInMeImDone · 06/01/2012 14:49

Or it could be that that is how that particular estate agent markets houses. I know of one in our town that only markets houses is this way. I thought it was odd as we didn't want to go down that route but thats how they said they did it.

sausagesandmarmelade · 06/01/2012 14:51

Very interesting thread....especially as we are looking to sell and to buy next year.

fedupwithdeployment · 06/01/2012 15:06

Our agent showed us a house that was hugely above our budget...I asked why...he said he thought they would take an offer.

I loved the house and made a silly offer (10% under asking price). Eventually we bought it for about 7% under asking. I think we were very lucky - the sellers were desperate to move, and we were almost cash buyers (an offer had been accepted on our house altrhough we hadn't quite exchanged), we were v flexible (allowed them to stay for a couple fo weeks after exchange).

The circumstances are the important thing, and they will always be different.

Jinsel · 06/01/2012 15:10

The agent knows what the vendor will accept. If they suggest making a lower offer it is because they know it will be considered.

You should always aim to offer something that won't be passed on to the vendor and work up from there - in tiny increments :)

Original poster
housemovehell · 06/01/2012 16:42

Still holding out! Won't know till tomorrow. I know they had another viewing booked for then so is suppose they are waiting to see of they can get a better offer.

We have a flat which a first time buyer has offered on and this would be chain free so would be a grand total of 3 people in the chain so would love to move quickly.

Been such an up and down time. No idea why people enjoy moving house!

OP posts:
WilsonFrickett · 06/01/2012 17:07

I hate it! We move on Tuesday (really should be doing something more constructive than MN come to think of it).

Fingers crossed OP.

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 12:39

Still waiting. How long for it take to consider an offer?

OP posts:
WilsonFrickett · 07/01/2012 12:55

Prob good sign, if they were Shock at the offer they would have told you by now...

Swipe left for the next trending thread