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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To offer less than asking price even though it's offers in excess of?

283 replies

jnfrrss · 22/04/2018 07:34

This is in England, it was on at 460k, reduced to 440k but now says offers in excess of that. Seems funny to say excess if it's been up for sale for 8 months and not sold so reduced.

I want to offer 395k as thats what I think it's worth

OP posts:
nooka · 22/04/2018 20:57

I had my house on the market last summer. The market peaked in the spring and I priced it accordingly (so for much more than I would have the year before but in line with other houses that had recently sold). I got a 10% below offer and rejected it out of hand because I thought they were taking the piss, likely didn't particularly want my house and had made similar offers on other places. I think the agent expected we'd want to negotiate but as I suspected I'd have trouble down the line even if they then made an OK offer (I would have been happy to sell at 5% below) I thought they weren't worth the trouble. The market has now dropped and I've got a long term tenant in instead. I don't know if the buyers were more successful elsewhere.

Just to pick up on a point another poster has made, for me it was partly about the psychology of the number offered, I would therefore suggest offering a flat 400k and stating that you are not prepared to offer anymore. I'd not be at all surprised if that is not their line in the sand.

Ariela · 22/04/2018 22:11

A property (or indeed anything really) is only worth the amount someone will pay for it. So offer what you will, they don't have to accept it.

Our property when we bought it was originally up for a lot more than we paid, we got it for 75 % of the original advertised amount because that was what we felt it was worth and thus what we offered

Undercroft · 22/04/2018 22:31

OIEO £300k my offer was £301k they rejected it remarketed that day at Guide Price £320k and SSTC in 2 weeks.

Housing market is funny.

extinctspecies · 22/04/2018 22:35

People seem to think they home is always worth the peak amount rather than the market value

Some people may think like that, but many people also have a realistic understanding of the vagaries of the property market.

OP, you seem to think you are the only person who appreciates that house prices may fall in the short term as well as rise in the long term.

Dickybow321 · 23/04/2018 00:09

Go for it, OP. You can offer what you want. I would do too. If people don't offer and the house is worth nowhere near what they're expecting then it will take too long for then to realise what it is worth. Tbh I think these OIEO listings are ridiculous. Nobody knows what they mean, so why not just advertise it at a certain price? Confused

sofato5miles · 23/04/2018 03:05

Nooka. Ininterpret your pricing last summer differently. M9re that you, and others, did not realise how far the prices were falling. You didn't sell property. The market conditions didn't suit you but you had options.

Putting a tenant in long term and hoping for a recovery is not something that all sellers can do.that is a luxury that removed the pressure of an economic choice from you.

Whereisthegin1978 · 23/04/2018 07:08

Offer. We got ours for £35k under the asking price- lady just wanted to move to somewhere smaller ASAP. Now we are selling but we would not take such a low offer - we know what we need to get the next size house we want & if we can't get it happy to stay put. It just depends on the seller.

PickAChew · 23/04/2018 07:30

Why is such a seasoned and confident buyer and seller of houses asking for mumsnet's opinion on their offer when they're going to argue about it, anyhow? Confused

Original poster
jnfrrss · 23/04/2018 08:52

Offer put in now, 395. Was thinking about 400 as many said here, but I think that will be my final offer.

Re not selling and renting it out, I think that's a problem in the market as the banks encourage this and many true prices of houses are never actually Crystallized.

OP posts:
Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 23/04/2018 08:58

Well it's not The True Price if it's not crystallised, the only true price is what both parties can agree on.

Good luck with your offer, fingers crossed!

Bluntness100 · 23/04/2018 09:01

Good luck. If they reject, just walk away.

Original poster
jnfrrss · 23/04/2018 09:40

Well I disagree there, the true price is what its worth right now regardless of if it's sold and any gains or losses are crystalised.

Thanks Bluntness100, I'm ready to just walkaway - seeing this all with my head not heart and with a long time looking I've never found the perfect house for me so not got too attached.

OP posts:
PrimalLass · 23/04/2018 13:34

Why is such a seasoned and confident buyer and seller of houses asking for mumsnet's opinion on their offer when they're going to argue about it, anyhow?

It's not as though everyone else has agreed and the OP is the lone voice though. Sometimes it is good to talk things through.

IamPickleRick · 23/04/2018 13:44

We had someone offer £40k less on ours. We were pissed off because;

They had no idea what they were looking at. Their idea of what it was worth was based on fantasy. They didn’t know the area, we had three of the best schools in the borough, we lived next door to green belt fields and historic parkland with farm shops etc AND had two different train lines within a walkable distance that were 20 minutes to central London. People saw the price and just went, yeah I can only afford xxx so I’m offering that. We eventually sold at asking price to an investor who knew what he was looking at.

LaurieMarlow · 23/04/2018 14:19

We were pissed off because; They had no idea what they were looking at. Their idea of what it was worth was based on fantasy.

Maybe they didn't see the things you mention as worth paying the same premium you do. It's silly to be pissed off, it's just a business transaction.

They made an offer. It didn't work for you. Both parties moved on and that's all there is to it.

IamPickleRick · 23/04/2018 17:00

Maybe they didn't see the things you mention as worth paying the same premium you do.

I think that most people agree that a nice area generates a higher price than a dump. There are standard markers which get more money. Outstanding schools and accessible transport are definitely included in them. They told us they could only afford that much, they were time wasters. If I’d known they couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t have agreed to the viewing.

extinctspecies · 23/04/2018 17:05

Proximity to good schools, open countryside and good public transport links are all widely understood as being important factors which affect the value of a house.

So even if those things aren't important to you personally, you would be foolish not to take account of them!

LaurieMarlow · 23/04/2018 17:16

And on the flip side, perhaps there were lots of other things they felt pulled the value down.

It's just ridiculous taking it so personally and sniffing about not allowing a viewing if you'd known.

If they'd been the only people interested and you'd been very pressurized to sell, it would have looked very different. Luckily, you weren't in that position, but there was nothing unreasonable about their behaviour. They're allowed to disagree with you on how much the property is worth.

IamPickleRick · 23/04/2018 17:30

I think the time spent cleaning the house, sorting the kids in the evening etc for the viewing, just for someone to turn up and value my house £40k lower when in reality they just can’t afford it, warrants being pissed off tbh.

Windbeneathmybingowings · 23/04/2018 17:35

Laurie, have you had many timewasters come round when you were selling? It’s infuriating. People should only view what they can afford and the agent should field these sorts of people.

LaurieMarlow · 23/04/2018 17:36

Honestly, you sound so entitled. Selling your house is a hassle, yes. Did that come as a big surprise to you?

Potential buyers are not under any obligation to agree with you on how much the house is worth. You are not under any obligation to accept their offer. That's how it works.

Rachie1973 · 23/04/2018 17:45

We left our late parents in laws house on the market for about 9 months and instructed to agent to refuse all offers under £450k.

We already owned our own homes, and were in no hurry to sell.

As it was, by the time it did sell we got £470k for it when 2 buyers came in at once. Patience can be a virtue.

ChocOrCheese · 23/04/2018 17:57

No harm in making an offer, but if it's a very low offer then I think you do need to justify it. Justification is not necessarily only to do with your perception of the value of the property, but also your position as a buyer. If I were selling and someone came along who had no chain and could in theory complete tomorrow I would agree a lower price than if someone wanted to buy and had not even put theirs on the market yet. A long chain is a huge disincentive, to me at least.

PrimalLass · 23/04/2018 18:00

I'm so glad thing are different in Scotland and you don't have to justify anything, get in a chain, or deal with agents.

Highhorse1981 · 23/04/2018 18:03

Well I disagree there, the true price is what its worth right now regardless of if it's sold and any gains or losses are crystalised.

There is no such thing as a “true” price.

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