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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:
HillRunner · 10/10/2019 10:45

So the 330 is purely so they can make a counter offer and you can 'meet in the middle'? That's not how it usually works.

It usually goes:
A: offer
B: no
A: offer plus e.g. 1%
B: no
A: offer plus e.g. 2.5%
B: ok then

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 10:48

@Elbels we know the boiler and rewiring cost is £10k. The other £40k is a kitchen extension and some structural work to an outside wall.

I agree that houses are priced at what they’re worth without the work done, but from what we’ve seen the house is still priced too high. It’s maybe worth about £380k, but needs a lot of work. It’s a quirky house, so it won’t appeal to the majority of people (single glazing etc) so I felt they might take a lower offer of £360k to a) have a chain free quick buyer and b) make an offer on the house they have found to buy.

OP posts:
Hahaha88 · 10/10/2019 10:49

Another classic aibu . Everyone, (pretty much) yes you are. Op , no I'm not.

Righto

loobyloo1234 · 10/10/2019 10:52

Right good luck with that OP. You have not taken on board a single thing anyone has said on here

HillRunner · 10/10/2019 10:53

The other £40k is a kitchen extension

The fact that you want to extend the kitchen doesn't affect the current house value. Give it a go and offer 355/360, but you want to come across as a serious buyer so don't offer 330 and don't give them a load of guff claiming that your wish to extend makes it worth less. Just make the offer and see what they say.

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 10:54

@Hahaha88 it’s taken 5 pages to get a comment like yours, which I guess is pretty good?

I’m not disagreeing with anyone, I understand the opinions. I’m just explaining my reasoning of my thoughts on the first offer? Making offers etc are a gamble. Clearly you don’t want to piss anyone off, but neither do you want to over pay.

Are you sure that AIBU is purely for one way traffic?

OP posts:
HillRunner · 10/10/2019 10:54

You know that single glazing can be changed and doesnt make a house 'quirky', right?

Comefromaway · 10/10/2019 10:54

so I felt they might take a lower offer of £360k to a) have a chain free quick buyer and b) make an offer on the house they have found to buy.

In which case make an offer of £360k (or even £350k).

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 10:55

@loobyloo1234 not true at all but thanks for the opinion

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 10/10/2019 10:57

Op, you're making no sense, you said it was worth 410 with the work done. Then changed it to 400. Then said it was worth 380 in current condition, then said others similar were worth 350.

If you think it's worth 380 and the price is 390 you know what the negotiating parameters are. Expecting them to fund your extension is likely wishful thinking,

But as a pp said, you're adamant, so good luck, put your offer in and let us know how it goes,

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 10/10/2019 10:58

It would always be to end up paying about 90% of asking price.

That totally depends on the market conditions, how long it's been on for and whether the asking price is reasonable to begin with.

I'm confused about whether you consider it massively overpriced or not. On the one hand you've said you think it's worth £380k, in which case being on at £390k isn't them being particularly over ambitious. But on the other you've said that after the £50k of work you want to do it will only be worth £400k.

If you really think that it would only be worth £400k after doing the work then why would you buy it for even £360k? Given all the faff of building works and potential for costs to run over it doesn't seem worth it. I'd rather wait for the £400k house that has had the work done to come onto the market...

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 10:59

DP just spoke to the agent, and offered £330k. Agent says they turned down an offer of £340k last month. So at least they wont be shocked by our £330k offer, as it’s the same ballpark.

With that in mind, is it reasonable to offer the £340 that they rejected a month ago and haven’t had anything since, or would a new offer need to be higher, ie £345k+?

OP posts:
WaterSheep · 10/10/2019 11:02

You said they hadn't had any offers. Confused

07:01:37

They’ve had a couple of viewings and no offers.

Comefromaway · 10/10/2019 11:02

Most people who undertake building works do it for themselves rather than to increase the value of a property. We had a kithcen extension done and the garage converted becasue it was what we wanted. it has increesed the value of our house, but not by the amount the original works cost. We did those because it's what we needed 10 years ago when they were done

Comefromaway · 10/10/2019 11:03

Do you know they have had no offers or just none they have accepted?

If you like the house offer what you think it is worth within the remit of what you can afford. If you don't, look for something else.

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 11:06

@WaterSheep and @comefromaway the agent told me that they’ve had no offers. The agent has just told my partner that they’ve previously rejected an offer of £340k.

So who knows what to believe

OP posts:
WaterSheep · 10/10/2019 11:08

Well considering the agent seems economical with the truth, I wouldn't believe for one minute the sellers are flexible on the price.

Eventrider1 · 10/10/2019 11:10

@Housebuying Well you have offered your low offer so you can only go up I suppose. But again, if you really want this house, don’t mess the vendors around as it will only annoy them more and may make the whole process very fractious if you get lucky enough to have an offer accepted. I would go in at £345k next as it is a real kick in the teeth to offer so low originally and then offer what they have already said no to...

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 11:12

@WaterSheep that’s what I’m worried about now. If the estate agent isn’t to be believed, and they are holding out for an asking price that’s too high, we will need to walk away.

OP posts:
Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 11:13

@Eventrider1 I agree with you. I think my instinct is to offer £350k and then walk away if it’s a no.

OP posts:
Geminijes · 10/10/2019 11:18

I think my instinct is to offer £350k and then walk away if it’s a no

But why, if you think the house is worth £380K?

Eventrider1 · 10/10/2019 11:18

@housebuyer If £350k is your final offer then put it in but make it very clear you are willing to walk away as the house isn’t worth anymore to you. Put the ball in their court, they can either say yes or no but you have to be happy with whatever answer they give.

HillRunner · 10/10/2019 11:23

But why, if you think the house is worth £380K?

Exactly. Why are you treating it as a bizarre game rather than making a level headed decision.

You like the house.
You know what it will cost to make it how you want it.
Working backwards from that you know what your budget is.

Why would you cut your nose off to spite your face and stop short of offering your budget (360), provided that this less than or equal to what you think the house is worth (which it is in this case)?

Original poster
Housebuying · 10/10/2019 11:24

@Geminijes because it’s committing to a big project. If it worked out that there was a bit of a deal to be done, that would make it worth it. If we’d spend the year on a building site, I’d want a bit of a financial incentive for the disruption.

Maybe that’s unfair. In which case I can accept that IABU and go find another house that’s ready to live in.

OP posts:
Alsohuman · 10/10/2019 11:26

This is the kind of buyer every vendor dreads. Do them a favour - walk away and let them find a decent, -logical- buyer.