To view a house I can't afford?

[likeamother]

Have lost all sense of reason after months of nightmare house hunting/not house hunting due to lockdown and would appreciate some thoughts and experiences!

In the current market, which seems weirdly quite buoyant perhaps 'cos of a bottleneck effect and the stamp duty holiday, is it madness to view a house about 6-7% over budget? For clarity, prices are around 240k with a budget of 225k, not in the higher regions where I guess a 15k price drop is more common.

I don't want to waste anyone's time, but neither do I want to miss out on a great property for my DC and me if making an offer this sort of % under is fairly common.

When my budget was less (have managed to increase my borrowing amount) the houses priced around 190k were going like hot cakes, but in this higher bracket they seem to be hanging around for longer, making me ponder...

Am I being unrealistic and unreasonable? WWYD, Mumsnet?

We bought our current house in 1993.

The market was going downhill. We had to move for my husband's employment. We ended up renting in the new area and had to leave our house that was for sale, empty. We were reducing the asking price by about £1,000 each month...

I fell for one in the new area but as ours hadn't sold we couldn't proceed.

Then we got a buyer and it was all systems go! I fell for another one and we ended up in a gazumping situation. It was awful.

Meanwhile, one in my 'Nice but too expensive' file came back on the market. 2 sales had just fallen through. I made a cheeky offer and it was accepted! We exchanged in 10 calendar days.

So, you never know. Good luck!

We were the highest bidders, by far, each time but the buyers' situation is often worth more to the seller

Absolutely.

I’ve taken lower offers on properties for cash, no chain etc.

It’s frustrating and awkward when you’re showing people round your house that you know have zero intention of buying. Time wasting.

At the moment isn't everybody offering at least 10% below the asking price?

We had a price agreed pre-covid on a property we wanted to buy, pulled our offer with everything that is happening, job market not that secure, etc, and they now put it on the market at 10% more than the price they agreed to sell to us.
Gives you a good idea of the estate agents strategies!

@PleasePassTheCoffeeThanks

At the moment isn't everybody offering at least 10% below the asking price?

We had a price agreed pre-covid on a property we wanted to buy, pulled our offer with everything that is happening, job market not that secure, etc, and they now put it on the market at 10% more than the price they agreed to sell to us.
Gives you a good idea of the estate agents strategies!

No, they’re not. The market outside London is roaring away, bidding wars have started again.

I’d do it. As my career advisor says, “no asky, no cookie”. If you don’t at least ask, you have zero chance, but if you ask you might just get lucky.

What's the area like in Terms of house sales?
Where we live the market is pretty good and houses are selling relatively quickly, and many for over the asking price. Dh has sold two properties for client estates recently and both went for more than the asking price.

*We were the highest bidders, by far, each time but the buyers' situation is often worth more to the seller

Absolutely.

I’ve taken lower offers on properties for cash, no chain etc.*

Wow, ok, thank you. Perhaps I should have a little confidence then, as yes, I don't know circumstances so it's worth seeing.

It seems from the votes I'm not being wildly unreasonable then so I'll give it a go and cite the MN jury if required
Thank you all v much. I may be back to update (possibly with my tail between my legs of course)

@notalwaysalondoner 'no asky no cookie' made me

@Laaalaaaa Definitely, but I would be viewing WITH the intention of buying, just not at the listing price.

@Aragog it seems pretty lively tbh, but a little less so in this slightly higher bracket. When I was looking at 190ish the ones in good nick were going v v quickly, I even had two viewing cancelled as they'd accepted an offer and agreed no more viewings.

The advice on buying is you can offer 10% lower than asking price. That more than covers your budget. They can only say no.

Yes, it will hurt to look. It's a lot of effort keeping your house tidy enough for viewings and it's so frustrating when it's clear those that are viewing are just window shopping, especially in the current climate

Agree with this 100%.

Go and look at it. You might not even like it!

But I'd be wary of this:
My hunch is it's prob priced about right but my only hope is the fact it has no parking or garage means it won't appeal to many and therefore will be worth less. That sounds mean written down!

You might not need parking or a garage and therefore it might be easier for you to buy this house as others are less likely to want it but when you come to sell the house it's going to be harder to sell. Personally, I wouldn't buy a house with no parking or a garage because of potential difficulties in selling. Also personal circumstances change and you might find that at some point you need a parking space for whatever reason. When I bought my current flat it had a parking space with it and I never dreamed I would use the space but after just 4 years here I realized I really did need to learn to drive and get a car because of poor public transport.

If you do like the house you could put an offer in below the asking price. The vendors can choose whether to accept this or not. You are in a strong position with no chain so that might swing it. Also, you can leave the offer on the table even if they say no and they might come back to you if they can't sell it easily because of the parking situation or other reasons. When my Dad sold his property we had a below asking price offer which we turned down in favour of one at the asking price but after a month this fell through and with no other offers on the table the estate agent got back to the first potential buyer and asked if he still wanted to buy and he did.

It’s frustrating and awkward when you’re showing people round your house that you know have zero intention of buying. Time wasting.

I don't think the OP is in the same category of time wasting as people who enjoy a good mooch around other people's houses for an afternoon out. Or people viewing properties twice their budget etc. Or people viewing the property knowing full well it doesn't have a garage or parking and they need a parking space. That sort of thing is a waste of time for everyone.
OP is very interested in the property but would be looking to make an offer slightly below the asking price. I don't see anything wrong in that.

Keep in mind this is advice, I am overseas buyer so don’t know law/contracts UK

I find that English buyers can be a bit more conservative about what they offer.

I would not be afraid to go in low.

These are uncertain times, the world economy looks set to nosedive. I’d be trying to get a good buy.

At the end of the day the value of the home is what someone is willing to pay for it. If the home is worth more, someone else will offer more.

I don’t know if you’re in Scotland or what the system is in UK.

In Australia I would send in my written offer. An offer that is written up has more weight. I would let them know it’s as high as I can go/not negotiable. You could also throw in that it’s your best price, you love the house, wish you could pay more and don’t wish to offend. If they say no, depending on how contracts work over there, you could tell them you’ll leave it on the table until you find something else or they find another buyer. Once you find something else in a weeks or so time time, give them a call to let them know, and see if they change mind - this is a tactic I was taught.

Nothing gained or lost if they say no. Don’t let pride and emotions get in the way of a good deal.

An agent once got angry at me for my low offer. A few weeks back he came back asking if I still wanted to buy it at that price.

@IrmaFayLear I think you’d have to be brave to do it. Estate agents work with the public day in day out, so they are v good at profiling people (wether they do it actively or passively). If there was a massive gap between what you were looking at and the reality of your life circumstances you’d have to have some good or vague small talk up your sleeve or things would get uncomfortable quickly. I wouldn’t be brave enough to do it.

OP do view the houses and offer under but as others have suggested keep your expectations low and don’t get your heart set on anything. Try to glean as much information about the sellers position and reason for selling as possible.

We were buying last year and offered 5% under as it had been on the market for two months. I fell in love with the house but DH thought it was overpriced (it was). Vendors took ages to get back to us and wanted £10k more because our house wasn’t on fully on the market yet (we knew our house would sell after first viewings and it did). We upped the offer by £5k - vendors didn’t give a response to this. The day we sold our house another interested party became involved and the estate agent set up a bidding war. The estate agent knew how much I liked the property. Felt like we had been strung along and the house was very overpriced so we refused to get drawn in (although it was difficult for me as I really liked the house and it seemed like an easy move). It became clear the vendor just wasn’t interested in selling below the asking price and was in a position to wait.

There are lots of people looking, but few willing to commit. Look at properties 10% above what you can afford. Also if you like it offer 10% below. You then have room to go up a bit. Also let the agent know if you are in a position to move quickly.

We are trying to sell a nice flat. Someone just offered 30% below!!!

Everyone has their own ideas and fears of what the market will do. A committed seller may well take a little less than they were hoping in order to move on.

i dont know about pp saying the prcie would reflect no parking-a house in my street has been put up again from last year +50k!

theres no way hes going to get the price even with the tax break

Our house was on at just under £250k and we paid £217 having gone in at £207.

House before that, on at £250k, in at £220 and settled just under £230.

House before that, on at £195 and bout for £185 having gone in at £180.

My previous flat, on at £165k bought for just under £150k having gone in at £140.

My house is currently on the market, went on 22nd March and I'm just getting viewings now so although it's been on for a few months in reality it hasn't.
It's on as an oieo £400k - the agent knows I will not be dropping my price below £400k as I need to pay exH out of that and leave myself enough once mortgage is paid. She is telling all viewers that there will not be a price drop and to only view if they are willing to pay at least £400k. 6% drop for me is significant.
I'm also waiting it out as I need to move to a bigger house, 5 bed, and they're not coming on the market at the moment.

I'd definitely say worth a view, you might get lucky, as long as you don't get too over excited and then feel disappointed but doesn't sound like you will get carried away!

No harm in looking, my DB has been trying to sell his house for over a year, he absolutely knows he will need to take a low offer and has dropped the price twice (lovely house but the area is rather 'niche').

Yes, if you can't find what you want within budget you need to start looking at how much the house you wants actually costs. Last time we moved I thought an extra £50k would be enough but it wasn't. All the extra £50k bought was a hallway (didn't have one at the time) or a 6x8 bedroom, not even both. I had to seriously up the budget & ended up looking at properties far more expensive than I had considered. However an offer £10K under the asking price was accepted, we could not have stretched to that extra amount. It was a reality check that was definitely needed. We paid substantially more than I thought we would need to but it was worth it.

BobbyTheVet
Yes, it will hurt to look. It's a lot of effort keeping your house tidy enough for viewings and it's so frustrating when it's clear those that are viewing are just window shopping, especially in the current climate

I totally agree. I got very pissed off when selling my place in London when this happened.

I hope if you do then the vendor is a MNer and makes one of those hilarious offended by CF buyer posts. I love them.

Erm it is doing harm as there is a pandemic and people have to leave their house so that you - who has no hope of purchasing - can have a look. Find something else to do please.