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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?

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Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 12:59

I think the agent thinks is the best they will get due to the works (only a developer other than us really would take it on, and they would be hard pushed to find a developer who would offer more) so I am pretty sure they ate trying to talk them into it even though they are reluctant.

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Rhubarbgarden · 07/01/2012 13:17

It's all very random. When we bought this house in 2006, during a bouyant market, we put in what we thought was a crazy offer and they almost bit our hands off accepting. Left dh thinking bugger, should have gone in even lower! However in the scheme of things it was a very real bargain and sometimes I still wonder at our luck in getting this place for that money.

We are now looking to move out from London to the country, and we recently put in an offer on a house that had been on the market for ages in a village in which nothing was moving. Looking at house price predictions (I know it's all just guesswork) it looks like London will stay flat this coming year but where we want to move to will drop. So, I thought our offer was fair and had a good chance of being accepted. But no, the vendors dismissed it out of hand and the agent says they are holding out for something close to the asking price. You just can't second guess these things.

skybluepearl · 07/01/2012 13:57

yes the estate agent and owner can put a price on a house but it is only really valued at what ever someone will pay for it. offer what ever you think. Ours was priced at 245 in 07 and we got it for 215 as it actually needed much more work than the owners calculated.

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 14:12

I think that is the situation here. The thing is we can do work for less than others as we have family in trades. Developers paying people would have to spend a lot more to get it up to spec.

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FutureNannyOgg · 07/01/2012 14:23

I always think it's worth going in with a "cheeky" offer, you never know if they will take it, and if they don't you can offer higher if you can afford it. I got my place for 15K below the recently reduced guide price, but to be fair, the estate agent pretty much negotiated for us (what we paid was our max budget, and the EA basically told them our max and asked if it was worth us looking around anyway, they said yes, which indicated that they would take that much - I did offer a little less after the survey, but they said no, so I said, fair enough, and upped the offer).

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:20

Nearly 3 days from offer and its a no. Gutted!

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Jasper · 07/01/2012 17:29

Can you up your offer?

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:38

Not really. Husband has been a straight no as soon as I put the offer in. And now, after taking so long, the agents reactions and really going through the cost of the works, I don't think it would he very viable.

Being desperate to move

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Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:39

Is clouding my judgement somewhat. And my posting ability by the looks of things.

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Jasper · 07/01/2012 17:41

That's a real shame. I turned myself inside out to get the extra £ to up my offer on my dream house 5 years ago - peak of market!!
Very glad I did

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:45

We could get a mortgage for Lorenzo. That's not really the problem. It's the available cash aide of things. A higher offer would mean we need to pay more on the deposit. Which would leave us with less cash to do the works.

We are already at the point we would need a loan of my parents to sort the heating, as that would need doing before the kitchen due to the boiler needing relocating. My parents are retired and not exactly rich so its money I am not over happy about borrowing.

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Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:46

Lorenzo where did the come from? Twas supposed to say MORE

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Jasper · 07/01/2012 17:50

Acht that's a bummer .
I like the sound of Lorenzo, though Smile

I am a great believer in really stretching yourself for the perfect house but everyone has a top line , even with stretching!

Jasper · 07/01/2012 17:51

Buying And selling houses is so traumatic. I've barely recovered and it was fiv years ago

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 17:53

If I am honest its not THE perfect house. It's a nice house. It's a HOUSE ! We are in a 1 bed flat and I want to MOVE!

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Jasper · 07/01/2012 17:54

I feel your pain, but do not be dismayed. The perfect house has yet to be revealed !

LydiaWickham · 07/01/2012 17:55

they'll wait until Monday in case any of the weekend views put an offer in.

If they do turn you down, and if that's DH's final offer, tell the Estate Agent that you think even that is a little high but you like the house, so you'll leave the offer on the table until you find something else.

If they've just reduced it then they will probably want to wait for couple of weeks before taking a low offer, can you find out if there's a lot of viewings? If they've got 5 or so people booked in to see it, they won't feel any rush to accept something low.

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 18:05

They have already turned us down. Wail!

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Gonzo33 · 07/01/2012 18:11

Given the vendors circumstances I think they may reconsider. Unless they are in negative equity.

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 18:15

I do hope so. It really isn't that we want to take them for a ride it is affordability.

No chance of negative equity.

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sleepsforwimps2010 · 07/01/2012 18:26

sorry they said no. time to have a glass of wine fire up the laptop and see what else is out there! you perfect house is waiting... goodluck!

WilsonFrickett · 07/01/2012 21:34

A lot of vendors are still in denial you know. They've heard all the news, they've heard from their friends and acquaintances, but they still think their house is the one that will buck the trend. I'd keep your eye on it. If its still available in a couple of weeks it's worth calling back and saying 'we're still here'. But sorry it hasn't worked out for you.

Original poster
housemovehell · 07/01/2012 21:57

They even sent an agent round to put it to em bluntly but they still said no. Gutted but onwards and upwards I suppose.

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Shakey1500 · 07/01/2012 22:12

Don't despair! You made an offer based on what you thought it was worth and, as someone said, everyone offers below the stated prices,ometimes even in a "in excess of" situation. They may not get a higher offer, or may have one fall through, and come back to you. It's such a random game and without knowing the ins and outs of the vendors situation, is very unpredictable.

The house we've just bought, our "forever house" (well, until we hopefully cash in on in retirement and bugger off to Europe :) ) was on the market for £187,500. It had been reduced from £199k. It needed a LOT of work. We went in at £167,500 which was refused. I rang the agent and said "let's bypass £170k and go to £172k but that really is as much as we're prepared to offer. It was accepted (yay!) so sometimes laying your cards on the table about what your top offer is can work. Truth be told, I would have gone up to £180k so it was a gamble.

Original poster
housemovehell · 09/01/2012 11:32

Just needed to wail some more. I really wanted that bloody house! Even with all the downsides and work it needed. I could see it being our home. Silly me even redesigned kitchen in my head

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