Offering £30k under asking

[whatsontonight]

Viewed a house which we love, it needs a bit of work doing to it such as new paint throughout, carpets etc. It has a new ish bathroom and an ok kitchen. We offered £30k under asking, it is priced at 210k. The estate agent seemed completely shocked we had offered this and now I'm wondering if this was a CF offer

@whatsontonight

I have never understood this idea of "making an offer" for property. If you are serious and all other things being equal we would always pay the asking price. When we sell it is always "fixed price". If someone makes an offer we ask what part of fixed price they do not understand.

Offering 30k less is no cheekier than marketing a house at 30k more than it's worth.

Yep!

@mootymoo

A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay, end of. The estate agent generally should pass on all offers but could advise you they have already rejected a higher offer for instance. It's not cf if that's what you are willing to pay.

OP is willing to pay asking though, she just wants to save 30k. It’s not that she doesn’t think it’s work asking.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

There's no way I'd accept 30K on a property worth 210K. I'd laugh in your bloody face. That's almost 200K off the asking price. Its not going to cost 180K for a new bathroom carpets and some paint is it.

Read the OP a bit more carefully

I thought it was a CF offer but seems to have had some impact which surprised me.

We have said yes to the 197k and agent is going back to seller to confirm ok to take off market 🤞🏼

Very sensible! Well done and fingers crossed for you

Well done OP.

It's 14% below asking. Perfectly reasonable as an opening offer.

We're in the middle of a pandemic, unemployment is high and rising. The effects of Brexit have not yet been fully experienced. There is not much in the way of confidence in the market. Whatever the estate agent tells you.

Hold firm. Ignore the posters saying they'd refuse to deal with you. In reality they wouldn't refuse if you upped your offer.

If I was selling I would resent it every step of the way even if I accepted your offer. Last yearI sold my mums house. I had full price offers in the first week. One viewer had been very awkward and I accepted another offer. He came back and offered £2k more but I said no because I didn't want to have to deal with him for months.

Is it a market thing because in London you pretty much always offer under particularly in a odd market? You might not get it but you try. Equally lots of people price with a view to negotiating. The idea of it being CF seems bizarre.

I think this thread shows you were in the right and you have been vindicated by not having to go about £200,000 to get your agreement. I don't believe that most people would turn down a 'cheeky' offer unless they had other offers floating around, cheeky offers aren't that cheeky if you have assessed the market and seen that there are issues. They are stupid if the market is hot and things are selling quickly, less so in covid when uncertainty is making the whole thing unstable and when people are overpricing as if it were two years ago. Plus lots of people will struggle to get a mortgage now.

I would always make a reasonably cheeky offer, I would never ever offer the asking price or above unless I was in such a hot market I was forced to do so, and then I'd probably put off buying or look round for something that had sat for ages as I'm always looking for value in my purchases.

That's totally normal where I am and has been for decades (near London)

YABU if you think that carpets and pain are things you should get money off for. They are not. I would always expect to put my own carpet in and decorate to my taste.

Oh well done, I hope it all goes smoothly for you, it’s a nail biting experience!

@minchinfin phew!

We have our house up for £129k, this is reasonably priced for the area and takes into account the work that may need doing (but nothing major - doesn't need a new kitchen or bathroom for example) and is up for cheaper than similar sized houses that have recently been redecorated.

1 couple last week offered £23k under the asking price (£106k). The EA tried not to laugh at them. Why would we accept an 18% reduction on price. This was after the putting pressure on us to agree to move into rented so they could move in sooner. They then came back with £110k. They were told to jog on. I have a feeling they would be the type of people who would try and drop the price even further at last minute.

I understand putting in a lower offer an negotiating up, but there is a point when a low offer becomes offensive.

Our house was on for 260k
We got it for 230k

But not all properties are on the market for accurate prices. The agent may have valued it as 195 and owner pushed for 210. 210k isn't gospel.

I used to work In an estate agents and the property 'should' be valued at the condition it's in right now. When people used to make ridiculously low offers I would say to them, would you accept £30k less on YOUR own property?
If the property has been on the market for quite some time your offer may be reasonable.

@Samanabanana

We had a first time buyer who did similar OP (sorry hadn't seen your last update) on our last property. We went with the person who gave a sensible offer, even though the original purchaser came back with a slightly higher offer as we felt they would mess us around/ try and pull somethjng close to exchange. If you like the house offer what you can afford. Playing games always leaves a bad taste in the mouth imo.

Exactly this. I wouldn't sell to you now.

So for me when we sell I will put my house on for 970k (assuming same market & a quick sale) but will take 920k. I would potentially take lower if I negotiated more % of what I was buying.

Fyi, our house was on for 265. It eventually came down to 245 then 235, we offered 208 and paid 217. Agent told us the original price was determined by owner but wasn't representative of market. The price could be a figure pulled out of someone's arse.

Yes, sorry, I would be reluctant to engage with anyone offering that sort of percentage below asking price, especially when the things in need of doing sound cosmetic.

As an example, our last house was probably in that sort of condition when we sold and we accepted £5k under asking (on a £280k house). The two initial offers were received were both 10k under asking). The EAs advice was to expect that sort of deduction as people always want something off, but that the city diction shouldn’t really affect price. Similarly, we bought a house in which the bathroom and kitchen were dated but useable. We got £8 off of a £525k asking price. We initially offered £512k.

It may be different in some area, but where we are (SE) houses rarely sell for more than £10k below asking, no matter what they are valued at (unless a major issue is found).