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Original poster

Loads of CF making silly offers on my home

193 replies

pV5p · 18/11/2020 16:55

Is anyone else having issues with CF wasting time and making silly offers on houses?

We put ours up for sale end of October as we didn't want to move until next year. A very similar house was snapped up at full asking price within a few days earlier in the year so we waited to put it on the market.

But several people have made very cheeky offers (over 10% less than the asking) for a home that is very well priced and extended and in much better state than the neighbors that sold quickly. One was even at the same price as the neighbors when ours is worth far more and obviously we're not going to sell at that price as in no rush!

We've changed it to fixed price and not even had a viewing in two weeks. IS anyone else noticing problems with CF and weirdness at the moment? (south west)

OP posts:
ForeverBubblegum · 18/11/2020 17:15

If it was one or two people, I would say it's them, but given it's everyone (and offers have stopped now your only accepting FAP) is it possible the estate agent has valued it to high. It's only worth what someone will pay, and it sounds like no one is willing to pay what you want.

HitchikersGuide · 18/11/2020 17:16

It's a very very odd market. Reports are saying it's overheated yet I've been looking for somewhere for a while and there are some properties which have been on the market for 10 months or so. Oddly, I just had an offer (5% off large asking price) refused even tho it has been on the market for 2 years. I won't go higher because it's not worth more to me - the value can only be what people will pay (upsetting though that is for a seller, especially when it's their home that they love.) I've also felt that the estate agents have been doing their clients a disservice by marketing at too high a price, then dropping the price every few months, which tends to put people off (not me but many I think wonder what the 'secret problem' is) and I have felt that they are wrongly convinced that the market is generally brisk when actually it's only brisk for some specific property types.
Really push the agents to see what they think they can do.

romeolovedjulliet · 18/11/2020 17:17

we're going on the market in january, south east, will be interested to see what happens.

Witchend · 18/11/2020 17:17

I don't think it's CF to put in a low offer, and if you're getting lots of them then it probably is just the market slowing or the other people were lucky.

We put our house on the market. It steadily dropped for 9 months and we eventually sold it for around 2/3s of the price we'd initially put it on for. But that was how the market had shrunk. A month before we'd put our on the market, a friend put her pretty much identical house on and got two over offers.

LG101 · 18/11/2020 17:17

Also I put a cheeky offer in around 10% less to test the waters then if I’m actually interested and think the house is worth it keep adding to the offer to the price I’m willing to pay.

Runoutofideas45 · 18/11/2020 17:17

Really good houses sell quickly - ones that are compromised don’t- at the moment in my area ( family houses easy commute into London) . Over priced houses don’t get viewings .

Nottherealslimshady · 18/11/2020 17:18

Well clearly its overpriced since everyone offered less and no one is viewing now you've fixed the price.

Dyrne · 18/11/2020 17:19

Think it’ll be more to do with Stamp Duty deadline looming - previously people would offer more because they’d save on stamp duty. Anyone putting in an offer now would be wary of not completing before the deadline, and so would be budgeting in for having to pay more Duty.

liveitwell · 18/11/2020 17:19

Stand your ground.

Are you moving for more space or change of location? If it's more space, can you extend again?

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 18/11/2020 17:19

Maybe someone really needed to move quickly and was willing to over offer on the neighbours because of that. Ultimately your house is worth what someone is willing to pay.

How near was the very similar house? Was it on an equally desirable road? Could it have been just within the catchment area for a good school and yours just outside it?

Lazypuppy · 18/11/2020 17:21

Isn't 10% under asking price a pretty standard starting position for house purchases, OP i don't think you understand how negotiations work

catfeets · 18/11/2020 17:21

Yeah I had this. Mine is on for a very reasonable price, less than the actual value as we want a quick sale. Got offered £4K less than the house round the corner which is on a smaller plot, in need of full renovation and not extended Hmm. That's £12k under the minimum of the price band (over 10%) and at least £17k below what it's worth. Had a decent offer later but still below any of the valuations but they changed their mind. Now accepted an offer under the value just to get rid. Pretty sure it's the disgusting house next door that's putting people off.
I'm in the north though and house is less than £130k.

lunar1 · 18/11/2020 17:21

It's only worth what people want to pay. Your neighbour might have got lucky and had a buyer with very specific criteria meaning they were happy to pay slightly more. Nobody is being a CF for making an offer, that's how it works.

dottiedodah · 18/11/2020 17:23

Agree with Buffet above TBH. Some houses in a road seem more attractive than others TBH! All depends on various factors ,which end more desirable ,size of garden ,School catchment and so on

Calcifer12 · 18/11/2020 17:26

It's only worth as much as people are willing to pay for it unfortunately.

catfeets · 18/11/2020 17:26

Just to add to my last post, I've noticed that none of this years sale prices are on zoopla yet and I'm in an area where houses rarely go on the market. I think once the prices update, people will realise that the house is good value.
I bought 15yrs ago and I'm not actually making a profit on the house after all the work I've done on it.
My DP put his house on the market a year ago and was receiving absolutely stupid offers. It then got stuck in the lockdown embargo in March, so we were stuck with it for 6mths longer than we expected. Struggling to sell mine too was something we'd have never expected.

laidbacklife · 18/11/2020 17:27

The market is about to bomb, that’s clear. Your house is only ever worth what people are willing to pay for it and 10% below asking price is pretty standard, if not generous. Either you want to sell or you don’t. You should counter this by negotiating hard on your onward move. It’s a buyer’s market for now and the foreseeable.

lyralalala · 18/11/2020 17:30

@pV5p

It's really not, we had three valuations and they were all pretty similar. And as said the neighbors house sold very quickly and wasn't that great in comparison.
That' doesn't really matter.

All of the offers you've received have been in the same ballpark. Now that you've changed to FP your offers have dried up.

Your house isn't worth the FP in the current market. It couldn't be clearer.

Laiste · 18/11/2020 17:31

The house in worse condition sold faster as a do'er upper probably.

People will offer what the bank has told them they can afford. My eldest and her BF have a max figure and want to get the best they can for it. They've made a few offers a bit lower than asking prices - eventually someone has said yes. So it worked :)

You've fixed the price and now no one's viewing it. You might have to be very patient.

TheDowagerDuchess · 18/11/2020 17:33

As others have said, a house is only worth what people are willing to pay.

A lot has happened since earlier this year and is due to happen at the beginning of next year.

IWantT0BreakFree · 18/11/2020 17:33

It's overpriced in the current market. Simple as that I'm afraid. Maybe it would have sold instantly for a extra £20k a few months ago, who knows, but in the current market it's overpriced. Maybe it's a temporary dip and it will be back up to its previous value in the spring, but again in the current market it's overpriced.

Estate agents' valuations are only really a prediction. The value of a house is defined by what someone is prepared to pay for it, and nobody is prepared to pay your asking price. It does seem that several people are prepared to pay 10% less which suggests that that's closer to the current value.

Heyahun · 18/11/2020 17:34

Your also moving towards the end of the stamp duty holiday so less people might be interested !!

We put a “cheeky“ offer in 10% less then asking price...got accepted - we expected to pay full price for it tbh as that seemed to be what places were selling for in the months before

It had been on the market for 3 months - zero offers until ours

Up to you of course but you may be waiting a long while to get your fixed price you are asking for!

m0therofdragons · 18/11/2020 17:34

How much less are we talking? 10k? Totally normal to offer lower and not CF at all. House buying is a negotiation

Iwonder08 · 18/11/2020 17:34

It is a standard market practice to offer 10% below market price, haven't you heard?

GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly · 18/11/2020 17:35

If people aren't then coming back with a higher offer then none of the potential buyers love the house, that doesn't make them CF. It depends what the 10% of your asking price relates to though, if you are in London or some parts of the SE then it could easily be 120k or it could be 10k elsewhere?