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

Offering on a house

218 replies

Housebuying · 10/10/2019 01:44

Posting for traffic!

Just wondering when buying a house (not London!) what sort of offer should you make? What % of the full asking price should you expect to pay, and whereabouts should a first offer be?

House has been on the market just over a month, and needs work (full rewire, new boiler). Would appreciate any advice!

WIBU to offer 85% of the asking price?

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 10/10/2019 07:47

It's on at 390, you think it's worth 380 yet you can only afford 360?

I think you just go in with "360 is all we can afford it's out or best and final" and wait to be refused.

PurpleWithRed · 10/10/2019 07:48

They will undoubtedly reject £330k but there’s no harm in trying. It will get you some idea of what they mean by flexible. I think you would be lucky to get them to £360 at this stage - it’s only been on a month, like PP I suspect they’re hoping for £375k. So much depends on their circumstances - are they time pressured, do they need maximum price etc.

Eventrider1 · 10/10/2019 07:49

Personally, if I had a house on for £390k and someone offered me £330k after it had only been on the market for a month, I would be pissed and very reluctant to deal with said person afterwards, even if they upped their offer. Sometimes it just gives off an air of ‘I’m going to be difficult and want something for nothing’ for the whole duration of the sale. However, we don’t know their position, they might be more flexible. Personally, if you can afford £360k, I would start at £350k and work from there. If you get up to £360k say how much work needs doing and that anymore than that, it makes the house too expensive for the state it is in and that is your top offer. If they are motivated sellers, they should consider an offer like that.

I have recently bought a new house that requires a full rewire, new plumbing throughout, new bathrooms, new kitchen, new carpets, and every room decorated as it hasn’t been touched since the 80’s. The house had been on the market for nearly 2 years. Originally was offers over 550k, then reduced down to offers over 500k and I went and offered £480k which was excepted. So in theory, I got a massive chunk off the asking price but the lady was desperate to move, her dream house had come up for auction so she needed a sale on her property to fund it. I got lucky and you might to.

Bluntness100 · 10/10/2019 07:49

I also think you're misinterpreting what flexible means, 330 is a huge drop. And far below what the property is worth. If you know it's worth about 380 then so do they.

You run the risk of them refusing to deal with you and seeing you as time wasters if you go in so low.

Why don't you put in your best and final at 360. You might hit lucky and they are desperate, but after only a month likely not.

yearinyearout · 10/10/2019 07:54

330k is a silly offer and they will not take you seriously. If it's on at 380 and you can go to 360 I would start at 350. That gives you a bit of leeway and to be honest if they push you up to 360 you just hold your hands up and say that's our limit. They then either take it or leave it.

DisneyMadeMeDoIt · 10/10/2019 07:54

I understand what you mean OP!
An offer on a house (for me) is a careful calculation of (Asking price- (time on market+ work needing doing+ other issues) but it’s still tricky.

We are currently considering a BEAUTIFUL house (10/10) BUT its right next to a busy local road.

If it wasn’t next to this road it would £100-£150k more but still, the road is an issue. It’s been on the market for 8 months (in an area where houses sell within weeks) BUT the house is gorgeous and nothing else compares!

It’s high end of our budget, currently on for £480, 000 (Already reduced twice) and the seller is apparently ‘very keen’.
Realistically we wouldn’t feel comfortable at more than £450,000 (due to road) but even then it’s still a hang up for us.

No idea what to do- making offers is tough!

DisneyMadeMeDoIt · 10/10/2019 07:59

My opinion is strongly that sellers are entitled to market the properly at whatever they feel it’s worth- Buyers are entitled to offer whatever they feel comfortable paying for it!

The only CF’s are those who go to view houses they simply can’t afford or have no intention of paying asking price for.

If you go to view with good intentions but come away feeling asking price is unreasonable, as long as you’re within a 10% (ish) bracket and you can justify why you’re offering less I don’t think it hurts to make the offer!

HillRunner · 10/10/2019 08:01

The only CF’s are those who go to view houses they... have no intention of paying asking price for.

Lthis is what the OP did though.

Freddiefox · 10/10/2019 08:03

I wouldn’t acknowledge 330k and you would piss me off to the point I wouldn’t entertain any further negotiations.

This completely, I’d also worry you’d make an offer an then start to try to knock amounts off as we went along. It’s only been on a month. Estate agents say anything to get a sale

TrixieFranklin · 10/10/2019 08:04

There's a difference between a cheeky offer and a rude offer.

LaurieMarlow · 10/10/2019 08:06

I wouldn’t acknowledge 330k and you would piss me off to the point I wouldn’t entertain any further negotiations.

If you had no other offers and were desperate to sell, you probably would t do this.

Or not if you were thinking rationally, anyway.

Skysblue · 10/10/2019 08:07

In London a few years back (and on TV) it’s common to haggle a great deal by offering low. Outside London that is much less common. We have always had to pay full asking price and my parents (who move often) never give a discount. It’s ok to question the valuation if you think the agent got it wrong but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

If you want to be cheeky they probably won’t be offended by your asking for £10k off (not 10%!) but they’ll probably say no.

Much depends on whether the area you’re looking at is a buyers or sellers market at the moment.

JenniferM1989 · 10/10/2019 08:13

I live in Scotland where it's an offers over thing. The house we bought 5 years a go was on for offers over £168k. We offered £174k and it was rejected. They then came back and said if you give us £178k, it's yours. So we did and it's ours.

In England, it's different. A house is listed for a price and that is the maximum the sellers expect to get for it. So in your case, the house is on for £390k. They will be hoping for no more than 5% less so around £370,500. As a buyer, you want it for 10% less (I read this somewhere). So I would offer £351,000 then they'll probably negotiate somewhere between 5%-10% off the price listed. When you offer £351,000 in their minds you will only be asking for a 10% discount really and this doesn't seem so cheeky. Offering £330,000 is over 20%, they won't be at all amused with that

JenniferM1989 · 10/10/2019 08:14

Over 15% I meant!

HillRunner · 10/10/2019 08:15

They will be hoping for no more than 5% less so around £370,500

Have you ever bought a house in England. It's not uncommon for a seller to hold out for asking price (or very near). It depends what their motivations are for selling etc.

MyOtherProfile · 10/10/2019 08:19

You could try 350 and if (when) it is rejected go to 360 and tell them it's your maximum. Still slightly cheeky though.

ControversialFerret · 10/10/2019 08:21

I got our place for almost 15% under FAP because it needed work. The difference between your figures and mine is that I was realistic in pricing the work up. I also made it clear that I wouldn't be looking to try and haggle the vendor down again post-survey unless there was something major (as in needs a new roof!).

Offering £330k on a £410k house is silly when the offer does not reflect the true value. They've priced at £410k to allow for negotiation, probably on the advice of their agent, with a view to ending up around the £385-390k mark.

If you can only afford £360k then tell them that. Don't waste their time fannying about trying to be clever.

Idontwanttotalk · 10/10/2019 08:21

"I wouldn’t acknowledge 330k and you would piss me off to the point I wouldn’t entertain any further negotiations."
Me too.

Why the heck is house buying still treated as a game? The house valuation should reflect its condition and, unless something is discovered in a survey, I wouldn't be looking to lower that price unnecessarily.

I certainly would never tell an Estate Agent whether I was prepared to be flexible either.

francienolan · 10/10/2019 08:21

It sounds like that house is priced accordingly with the work that needs to be done, as many are.

smellybelly1 · 10/10/2019 08:23

It really depends on the area & the market. Near me in London there are properties that are getting reduced by 150k plus in a month.

Gabrielknight · 10/10/2019 08:26

As others have said 330 is ridiculous. If it were me I'd probably not want to deal with you at all on cheek alone. Offer 360 as that's a cheeky low offer as it is!

loobyloo1234 · 10/10/2019 08:26

Are you a first time buyer OP? You really seem quite naive about this. £330k would be an insult and if I were the vendors I’d do everything I can to avoid dealing with such CF as I’d think you’d continue to take the piss even if you upped your offer

You haven’t said what the building work is for either. If it’s a cosmetic thing that you want then that is for you to pay not the current vendors

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 10/10/2019 08:41

Our house was on the market for £425k. The purchasers first offer was £375k. I was massively insulted. The house was pristine and they’d spent too much time watching Kirstie and Phil.

They eventually paid £415k. So it depends how much you want the house. And if someone else wants it. A month isn’t that long.

StCharlotte · 10/10/2019 08:44

There's no law against offering the asking price you know!

But with the way it works these days, if I were to sell, my house will be on the market for at least 10% over its true value. As will everyone else's...

misspiggy19 · 10/10/2019 08:47

OP hasn’t actually stayed what the asking price is

Swipe left for the next trending thread