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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not pay the extra 10k

46 replies

californiaburrito · 02/08/2013 09:17

We're looking for a new house and we've seen one that we really like. Not perfect but very good. The house is on the market for £600k (yes, I'm in London) and has been on the market for 10 weeks now. As a comparison my house sold at asking price in 4 days.

We initially offered a slightly cheek 555k, which was rejected. We then offered 565k, which is what I think the house is worth. This was also rejected. We upped our offer to 575k which I wasn't totally happy about but I do like the house and there is not much on the market. We have been told that the vendors want no less than 585K.

So AIBU not to offer 585k?

We can afford 585k even if I don't think the house is worth it, but the main reason we're not increasing our offer is that we think the vendors are being unreasonable and I'm concerned that we are making an emotional rather than rational decision.

MN over to you.....

OP posts:
YouStayClassySanDiego · 02/08/2013 09:21

Don't offer anymore, sit back and see who blinks first.

£10,000 is a huge amount to both parties but you're in the driving seat seeing as you've sold your house.

If they want to sell quickly they'll get back to you, in the mean time do you have any other houses you like the look of, let them know you won't go any higher.

Grunzlewheek · 02/08/2013 09:21

Still well under the asking price, You have to work out how much it is worth to you, how will you feel if it sells to someone else tomorrow ?

WitchOfEndor · 02/08/2013 09:21

If you don't think it's worth it then will you look back and kick yourself for paying it? Is it likely that you could recoup the price when you sell? If you don't really love it, and aren't desperate to buy then tell the estate agents that you are interested but you have made your highest offer and wait and see.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 02/08/2013 09:22

Depends if they want to sell it more than you want to buy it, if you see what I mean. If they are desperate to sell, leave it, they'll take your offer eventually.

If you are not in a hurry to move and think you have a good chance of finding a different / better house then don't offer more than you think it's worth.

(Glad I don't live in London!)

MidniteScribbler · 02/08/2013 09:28

Depends on how much you want the house. Are you prepared to walk away and not think about it again if you miss out? There's an awful lot people not living in their dream homes over a few thousand.

chartreuse · 02/08/2013 09:30

We were in a similar position recently. Think about how you would feel if someone came along today and bought it. Would you be devastated or feel that something else would come along? In our case we had sold our house and we really needed to buy and there was literally nothing else on the market that we were interested in so we went for it. I'm glad we did. Ours is not perfect either, but with work it will great and I can see us staying there a long time. Good luck with your decision, I found the whole process incredibly stressful which is another reason why we won't be moving again anytime soon!

HollyBerryBush · 02/08/2013 09:34

Depends on the area and the movement. My cousin just bought a basement flat in Notting Hill (November) and there has already been 53K upwards movement in the sale price. So on that premis, if you can afford 10K you will recoupe it quickly in a nice area of London.

But it depends how much you want it. If it's a home for life, the extra 10K wont make a jot of difference.

Original poster
californiaburrito · 02/08/2013 09:34

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies. Currently we are dong what SanDiego has suggested. Our last communication with estate agent was Monday and it involved a lot of swears on my DH's part. But I think they got the message that we aren't going any higher.

I'm not worried about it selling to anyone else in the short term because the estate agent has admitted to us that there is no more interest in the house. Furthermore, he has also told us that 575 is a very reasonable offer in these circumstances but the vendors won't accept it because they need 585k to finance their flat in the city/house in the country dream.

A few house have come on the market this morning and I'll go have a look at those this weekend but I need to let go of all these feeling I have about this house in order to view them properly.

OP posts:
VivaLeBeaver · 02/08/2013 09:37

You say the house isn't worth 585k, I guess compared to the local market. But is it worth 585k to you? If so and you can afford it then I'd be tempted to pay it.

Don't faff about too long or you risk losing your sale.

The other thing, go and see other houses on with the same ea that is selling the house you like. The agent will tell the vendors you're viewing other houses and they may panic.

Original poster
californiaburrito · 02/08/2013 09:37

Oh, and also, another reason I'm in such a tizz about this is that I'm going back to California next week for the rest on the month so I'll be out of the game for 3 weeks.

OP posts:
YellowDinosaur · 02/08/2013 09:39

Bear in mind that if you are needing a mortgage and you think the house is actually worth 565 the valuers may value it at that or less meaning you'd pay for surveys and valuations etc and then not be able to get enough of a mortgage at the last hurdle wasting your time and money...

We were in this position. Thankfully buying a new build from a builder who knew they'd have to take the hit and sold it to us for the valuation price. A private seller might not be able to afford to do this (or know that valuers work to the same formula so unless they get a cash buyer they won't be able to sell)

LouiseAderyn · 02/08/2013 09:42

Sometimes, if you need a certain amount in order to purchase your own new home then you can't sell for less than X amount.

As an aside, I really disagree with estate agents discussing with prospective buyers whether there has been any other interest in the house or saying what the vendor will be prepared to accept. They are being paid by the vendor and ought not to discuss their business with all and sundry. sorry, little rant there - just one of the numerous things about house selling that has bugged me over the years!

OP, I agree that you need to consider what this house is worth to you, before saying a definite yes or no.

Bowlersarm · 02/08/2013 09:42

It's always a difficult one this.

On the one hand you want the house and can afford to pay what they want for it, on the other hand you don't want to just hand over unjustified cash to them.

The bottom line is how upset you would be if someone else did offer them the price they want, and you lost the house? In the greater scheme of things £10,000 is a very small amount when you are spending circa £580,000.

As there is no one interested in the house at the moment (although it only takes one other person to come along), I would do as you suggest and look at other properties. It may focus your mind to thinking the other house is definitely the one for you - or not, there will be other houses that will work just as well for you.

Mia4 · 02/08/2013 09:43

YANBU to offer what you want and can. They are NBU to not take your lower offers if they think they can do better or it's worth more. You can wait it out and ask EA to contact you if someone offers as well, or hold on and hope they change or offer-your choice. All ways are risky.

Peetle · 02/08/2013 09:47

It's a buyers market. You're in charge. It's not your problem that the vendor has set their heart on somewhere else; why should you find the extra ten grand that they can't ?

Bowlersarm · 02/08/2013 09:50

Peetle it's not necessarily a buyers market in London.

rainbowfeet · 02/08/2013 09:52

What would Kirsty & Phil do? Wink

If I really wanted the house I'd perhaps meet in the middle! Remind them that you are in a strong position because your house is sold & say you will up the offer by £5k

MrsSchadenfreude · 02/08/2013 09:57

Yup, offer them another 5K.

MidniteScribbler · 02/08/2013 09:59

I agree with rainbowfeet. If the house isn't going to fetch 585, then offer 580. He should be telling them to jump at it.

HomeHelpMeGawd · 02/08/2013 10:04

It really comes down to how much you want it. Are you prepared to risk:

  • someone else wanting it more than you
  • them withdrawing it from the market

Some other questions you might want to think about:

  1. How long do you plan to live there? If it's more than 5 years, then the sale price is likely to be 800 or 900, or maybe even more...so 10k won't really matter in the end. For example, we bought a 3-bed flat in 2005 for 510 when we had wanted to pay 500. But we sold it this year for 1.2. The extra 10k we paid at the start was much less important than achieving a good sale price. (Yes, I realise these numbers are utterly insane to almost everyone outside London...)
  2. How do you feel about the risk of upward movement elsewhere in the market? Things are now fairly quiet due to summer hols, but come Sept, it'll kick off again - there'll be new stock, but prices are likely to go up, not down. So what was an overblown asking price in March may end up being perfectly reasonable in September

Good luck!

poppytop · 02/08/2013 10:11

We bought in London earlier this year, similar budget. It's not a buyer's market in this area! I know what you mean about not much being on the market, we were initially quite strict with what we were prepared to pay, but in the end we pushed the boat out for our current place because prices were continually rising and we would have been priced out of the area if we dawdled for too long (had been looking for nearly a year). HomeHelpMeGawd makes a good point. Am surprised that this place has been on the market so long though, everything was selling within a month where we were looking (very central, lots of cash buyers).

DontmindifIdo · 02/08/2013 10:13

I'd call the estate agent again to see if they've made their mind up, perhaps make it clear you are going away and so everything will stall if they wait until you are already away before accepting.

when you do talk to the agent, tell them you aren't interested in the vendor's plans or what they want for the house, this is what you think it's worth. You are looking for other houses and will not over pay, so unless they can find someone who thinks it's worth that much more and can get their mortgage providor to agree it's worth that much more, it's going to be sat waiting for a sale for a long time. (do mention the mortgage thing, you need to put it at the front of the estate agent's mind so they'll mention it to the vendor)

Also if there's anything else on for sale with the same estate agent that you like, ask to arrange a viewing. (Even if there's nothing you like, arrange a random viewing anyway, make it clear you're serious about walking away to the estate agent)

soontobeslendergirl · 02/08/2013 10:15

Personally. I'd withdraw the 575k and leave the 565 on the table and go look elsewhere. When we bought our current house and they asked for an extra 2k (we are talking lower numbers here we offered 165k they asked for 167k) I said okay and we paid it. But, I still feel bitter about it 9 years later even though the house was probably worth it.....and they left it like a sh!tehole. Maybe that's just me though. :o

In your circunstances it would impinge on my enjoyment of my new home. And if it was worth 585-600k then someone else would have paid that by now.

Angelico · 02/08/2013 10:18

If you really want the house hold fire for a few days then give them the 10 grand. If you don't mind losing it back off.

We were in a similar situation and in the end we paid a bit more than we wanted to and vendor got a bit less than they wanted - but we are very, very happy in our new home :)

LokiTheCynicalCat · 02/08/2013 10:19

Before I saw your second post I was going to say that if they have a specific figure they won't go below, they probably have an expenditure that requires it so you're unlikely to get them to drop their prices just because you think it's not worth it. I see now that they do have something in mind that they want the 585k for, and I think they are probably going to hold on.

My home was vacant for 3 months before we agreed a sale; we did have 3 offers that were 10k below what we wanted/needed and were in the circumstances reasonable offers for the value of the property, but we needed the extra money to pay off the mortgage (we bought in 2007 when the market was highest). We refused to budge and before too long someone did come along who wanted it, but we had the time to wait.

So something to bear in mind. Don't pay the extra if you really feel it isn't worth it, but if the sellers do need the cash they can and probably will hold out.

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