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AIBU?

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Original poster

To put VERY low offer on house?

158 replies

HopingForSomeLuck · 06/11/2019 19:12

Seen a house we really like - great location, good size! It needs a lot of work (though all cosmetic - new carpets,paint throughout, new kitchen...)

It's advertised as POA (price on asking? Price on arrangement?) Though I expect they r looking for around 520k AT LEAST.

We can only afford 420k

AIBU to view it and offer 420 on the off chance of a miracle?

Or is that just rude and insulting?

OP posts:
FairyBatman · 06/11/2019 20:34

Not quite in the same league, my mums house was on for £120k sat for a few months, reduced to £110. She offered £89 and they panicked and took it. Was a lot of house for the money too.

Nomorepies · 06/11/2019 20:37

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on the poster's request.

aweedropofsancerre · 06/11/2019 20:38

Go for it....we put a silly offer on a house with a 775K asking price and I was shocked when they said yes. We have been living in it for ten years now

CallmeAngelina · 06/11/2019 20:38

I think you would be really cheeky fuckers to offer that low. You clearly can't afford the house, so look for something that's within your bracket.

LolaSmiles · 06/11/2019 20:42

Knocking £100k off because you want to decorate seems very low and cheeky to me.

Like others, if it really hasn't been touched to the point where £100k reduction would be reasonable (which would surprise me) then I'd also assume major structural issues or skeletons in the surveys etc. Usually valuations do take that into account.

FlamingoQueen · 06/11/2019 20:43

People are nervous of house buying / selling at the moment due to uncertainty in parliament (sister has house on market and friend is an ea). For all you know, they have to sell quickly and would take a lower price. You have nothing to lose by having a look and putting in an offer. (I’d look anyway - am so nosey!)

PucaIontach · 06/11/2019 20:45

Do it.

You miss 100% of the shots you dont take!

TheMasterBaker · 06/11/2019 20:47

It's a buyers market at the moment, certainly in my area, most of the houses coming up on rightmove have been reduced in price 2-3 times, some moreso. We've offered on 2 properties previously and all offers declined. A few weeks later, these houses are still on the market and have been reduced to the low offers we put forward. We've just offered £20k under on a house a lot cheaper than the one you're looking at, on a property that had been on for about 7 weeks so not a massive amount of time.
We only viewed the one we're buying so if it came down to our budget, we could put an offer straight in rather than wasting time arranging to view and then offer. We said we needed to work out our figures and see what we could offer, a week later the lady was asking for an update, we said we couldn't afford it and said our max, she accepted straight away. IMO, if you don't ask, you don't know. Go have a look and see what you think. It may be they've marked it as that as they want to keep it private from nosey neighbours for all you know. I've seen a few 'cheaper' houses that have been POA so it's not just reserved for the extortionate ones. We didn't tell any neighbours we were going on the market and they didn't know until a couple of weeks after it was sold as I knew they'd be poking about (I have some odd neighbours though tbh!).

CAG12 · 06/11/2019 20:48

When I was selling my house if someone had offered 100k below the asking price id both annoyed at the gall of the offer, and annoyed at the estate agent for entertaining such a ridiculous offer.

Ask for the price, but if you're going to offer that far below the asking price I wouldnt bother

mm40 · 06/11/2019 20:49

We own a cottage which is next door to the southern most cottage on the Gower in Port Eynon which is currently for sale (not ours!). That was 33k in the 1990s and is now up for 450k - it’s all about who will pay what for a cottage that is RIGHT on the beach, no parking, no mains water or sewerage etc. Just choose a price and see what happens

Nextphonewontbesamsung · 06/11/2019 20:52

Or maybe, for whatever reason, the vendors don't want to broadcast the ballpark value of their house. You just need to apply to find out the asking price. There's really no need to overthink it and it's pointless trying to second guess the property market. Buyers and sellers are all indiviuals. There are no rules, although many people like to think of themselves as amateur experts.

SarahAndQuack · 06/11/2019 20:53

I'd ask. I watch Rightmove and the local auctions like a hawk, and I have seen houses go up as POA that end up being put back on the market at perfectly affordable prices.

Roselilly36 · 06/11/2019 20:53

I wouldn’t have the nerve to make such a low offer tbh, but wishing you lots of luck OP, no harm in giving it a try I suppose.

holidays987 · 06/11/2019 20:55

Ask, but absolutely don't expect a Yes. Or a second chance to view.

We had an offer £25k below asking price, said no. They still wanted to view and make higher offers, we didn't engage with them any further as we didn't need to, other people interested. It turned out our house was on the same road as a close relative of theirs and they really wanted it so lost out due to the the initial offer. We didn't want to play games. And had marketed our house according to research of local sales and specification of the house. Didn't pluck the figure out of thin air.

Still, worth a shot if you aren't able to go higher anyway you've nothing to lose. Don't if you would offer higher.

C8H10N4O2 · 06/11/2019 21:01

Knocking £100k off because you want to decorate seems very low and cheeky to me

Its a market they don't have to take it. The offer we put in on our house was more than 25% off the asking price so more than the discount the OP proposes. They took it same day as we were in a position to move quickly.

A place which hasn't been touched for 70yrs will not be cheap to do up - its not just painting and decorating. It won't necessarily have structural problems or skeletons but will have a lot of work simply because of not being updated. On the plus side such houses are usually empty and the surveyor can really do a thorough job so you often know more when you move in.

You need ot work out expected cost of the work which needs doing in the first couple of years and consider that part of the price you are able to offer.

SarahAndQuack · 06/11/2019 21:03

I wouldn’t have the nerve to make such a low offer tbh

But won't it depend on whether the OP is right in her understanding of the market? She is guessing they'd want 520 or more, but IME very badly dated houses don't come on the market all that often, and it can be really hard to assess how much they're worth. Could easily be no one else is prepared to pay over 400. There's nothing insulting in the OP asking.

Thripp · 06/11/2019 21:05

*Hang on... POA doesn't necessarily mean "if you have to ask you can't afford it"...

That's what they WANT you to think to create a buzz and hopefully drive up offers*

GinDaddy is spot on.

PullingMySocksUp · 06/11/2019 21:10

Make sure you’ve worked out how much you need to spend on it. And add 25% ish contingency. Smile

MissMarks · 06/11/2019 21:11

We got our big Victorian house for 60k under- has been on market for ages and is on such a big site and needs a fair bit of work that there wasn’t much interest. Go for it

sam221 · 06/11/2019 21:11

Ask, explain that your serious and will move quickly. They can only say no, also tell the EA your looking for something similar in your price range-they may keep you mind if a different property pops up.

mathanxiety · 06/11/2019 21:26

@cantkeepawayforever, if you still need fully lethal electrics, I know just the electrician for you Wink

MachineBee · 06/11/2019 21:44

If you are buyers without a property to sell, a mortgage offer sorted, can complete to fit with the sellers timetable and can promise no game playing or messing about they may accept a much lower offer than you think.

Original poster
HopingForSomeLuck · 06/11/2019 22:35

Thanks all!

I'm going to phone tomorrow and try and see it, then I think we'll offer.

I hope they won't be offended with our offer (will explain it's all we can afford and might as well try)

We have sold our house to a cash buyer so all ready to go.

I expect they'll say 'no way' to our offer, and thats fine,

...but you just never know ...

OP posts:
Alexalee · 06/11/2019 22:48

Hopingforsomeluck
I think you really cant afford this house... if it's worth circa 500k and your absolute max is 420k with no money for work.
A large 3 bed detached untouched for 70 years... you will be needing a budget of probably 70k and that's if you dont need to do any structural works and the roof is fine... so really you are 150k short
No harm looking out of interest but you seriously cant afford this house

Cloverbeauty · 07/11/2019 06:02

@HopingForSomeLuck

No don't put an offer in without finding out what they are looking for first. You could be way over paying otherwise.

If you're going to do that, then at least start below what your budget actually is, like well below it.

If I asked for a price and they wouldn't give one, I'd knock at least 100k off my budget for a starting offer. If they don't know what they want, then they aren't getting everything I have. That's just stupid.

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