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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

Peetle · 02/08/2013 10:20

I'm in London as well and I know it can get silly if you have the right property in the right place. But 10 weeks on the market suggests they were asking too much. EAs are on commission so it's in their interests to try to get prices up.

zzzzz · 02/08/2013 10:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hassled · 02/08/2013 10:21

It does sound like you're already a little bit in love with this house - and that feeling is SO important that I think you'd be a bit mad to hold back on what is really a very small percentage of the price. If you see a house that you just know you'd be happy in - that's too rare a feeling to walk away from.

MummytoMog · 02/08/2013 10:22

I'm still annoyed I paid £350k rather than £340k for our house. But it is now worth around £400k ish four years later (London suburb) so I don't think we did too badly out of it.

DH got totally screwed by a ten grand price increase just before exchange when he bought his first flat in 1998, had to borrow the money from all his relatives as the bank wouldn't lend any more, but given he tripled his money selling it ten years later, he has gotten over it.

Hercy · 02/08/2013 10:36

This reminds me of a situation my parents were in approximately 20 years ago. My mother knew the house would be popular, could afford the asking price, desperately wanted it, so wanted to go in at full asking price straight off. My father wanted to see if they could knock a bit off, so went in a bit lower. It was rejected and before they could put a full asking price offer in, someone else had full asking accepted.

My mother was so disappointed, as they could have afforded it, they were just trying to save some money if they could. And still, 20 years later, whenever she goes past the house, she has a little mutter about "should have been hers".

I would say that if you can afford it, it's not going to leave you short for other things, and you are convinced this is "the one", then it's only money, and what you get is a home, which is worth far more than just £. I know £10k is a huge sum, and it's a luxurious position to be able to say "it's only money", but in the grand scheme of things, £10k when buying property in London is not that significant. I think you'd also have to bear in mind that if you don't get this new house, and have to keep looking, you might end up losing the sale on your current home. I suspect that you might find it hard to find another home which lives up to the emotional attachment to this new one and spend a long time looking.

On the other hand, you could end up getting something better for even less money. But I think that would be a long shot. House buying is an emotional thing, and if you are already emotionally invested in the current new one, I think you should just go for it.

RichManPoorManBeggarmanThief · 02/08/2013 10:38

mummy me too - totally pissed off with myself for believing the EAs BS about another buyer on the scene and how they were going to do 'informal final bids' . Ended up paying 3k more. Sold the house for 50% more than i paid but I'm still bitter about 3k just on principle as I know I would've got the flat if I'd stuck at 205k.

clam · 02/08/2013 10:39

Would you hand over ten grand to a stranger in the street to finance his dream of living in a certain house?

Hercy · 02/08/2013 10:41

Presumably a stranger in the street wouldn't be in a position to sell you your dream home.

fledtoscotland · 02/08/2013 10:45

Similar situation although lower figures. Vendors wants £120k. I offered £100k. We had sold and had mortgage agreed. They were probate and family arguing. I increased my offers by £500 a time and they cracked at £106k

Trills · 02/08/2013 10:49

How much do you want the house?

You do want the house at 575k.

Would you rather:
A: Pay the 585k, move into the house.
B: Not have this house, have to find another house that you like, which will take time, might not be any cheaper.

LouiseAderyn · 02/08/2013 10:51

But clam,presumably they are only selling the house in order to finance that dream. If they don't get enough money for their house, the incentive to sell it is gone. And by the same token, why would the vendors give a stranger a 10K discount just to save them a bit of cash, which is what the OP would like?

I think it's probably fair to pay what the house has been valued at, rather than what the vendor would like, in an ideal world, unless you just love the house so much you are prepared to pay what they want.

HomeHelpMeGawd · 02/08/2013 10:55

poppytop, I have seen stuff in London sticking around for more than 10 weeks. I do think the dynamics can be quite different from elsewhere, though.

We had an experience with a place that had been on for 10 weeks+ with a guide price of £2m. We offered 1.75. Rejected. 1.8. Rejected. 1.85 - and made clear that this used up all our renovation budget and we would not be able to go a penny higher. Rejected. We said to the EA "that's mad, they've not had an offer from anyone else and it's been on the market for weeks". He said "some other EA told them their place was worth 2.4 so they can't get their heads round a figure below 2. And they don't need need need to sell".

Eventually, they withdrew the property from the market and we found a place at 1.6 which means a much less scary mortgage! They plan to re-market in the autumn by which time there'll be a new crop of buyers and prices will have moved on again, they hope.

eurochick · 02/08/2013 11:04

It depends on how much you want the house.

If there's no other interest, the vendors might try to renegotiate their own purchase to make the numbers work.

ValentineWiggins · 02/08/2013 12:13

Do you need their curtains/white goods etc? Can you up the offer a bit but say that that includes those things? Otherwise even if you get it they will take the things with them to make a point...

guiltyconscience · 02/08/2013 12:14

If you really want the house then pay it but it sounds as if you are having second thoughts op .

Technotropic · 02/08/2013 12:17

I generally try not to pay over the odds for anything. You offered £555, which may have been cheeky but you're now talking about an additional £30k. Adding £20k has already given the vendor ideas that you're not a hard bargainer so I would leave it at that.

People tell many stories. I'm 'always skint' when buying cars for instance and seems to work with haggling. Who knows wether the vendor actually 'needs' £585k as he/she could be talking codswallop to get you to stump up the cash.

Of course YANBU to offer £585k but it depends on whether you think it's worth it. I personally wouldn't, out of principle.

Either way, all the best OP.

stickingattwo · 02/08/2013 12:19

Depends how much you want the hse - are you prepared to lose it for 10k? If so hold out a little, if that doesn't work offer 5k - bear in mind you may lose it but given that it's been on the market so long you'll probably be okay

Technotropic · 02/08/2013 12:20

Just to add. The market decides what a house is worth so if every potential buyer only offered £575 then they would either have to take it or take it off the market.

SpecialJK · 02/08/2013 12:21

We were asked to up our offer, I said that I would , if the vendors agreed to move out to rented as quickly as possible and break the chain. ( got that negotiation tactic from watching Phil and kirstie). If you really want the house, 10K won't matter over the term of a mortgage, and with London house prices they way they are, 10K will be subsumed in about a year anyway. I feel I've overpaid about £5k on our house (we moved in next week), but as we're planning on staying here for 10 years, and can see potential to improve the property, it probably doesn't matter so much

EatYourCrusts · 02/08/2013 12:22

Don't pay too much for it. There are other houses.

SpecialJK · 02/08/2013 12:23

perhaps offer the 10k on the basis the vendors agree to move out as soon as possible into rented to break the chain and get you in quicker?

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