To except this offer on my property? So torn

[sellingmylifeaway]

First time seller, would rather not post a link just incase.

I bought my 2 bedroom flat 4 years ago for 72k, 80% shared ownership whilst the other shareholder owns 20%. It’s been on the market since the end of December. It was originally listed for 94k then reduced in April to 89 due to having hardly any views. A couple of people have been to view but no offers made. Someone came to view last week and have now put in an offer for 80. I rejected and said it was too low and was hoping for closer to the asking price. They’ve now come back with 82 and said that’s their final offer. I’ve not made a decision yet.

They’ve given feedback to the estate agent and said that the flat needs a lot of cosmetic work that wasn’t shown in the pictures for example, new radiators need putting in as their marked/discoloured, the bathroom radiator is all rusted (which is true I won’t disagree), the glass cooker hob needs replacing as it’s all marked as are some of the worktops, it needs painting and some other issues that they mentioned but I can’t remember what they are. They said had the property been in immaculate condition as shown in the pictures they probably would have offered a bit more.

I feel torn really. I’m not exactly in a rush to move (hoping to buy a house with my boyfriend) and we haven’t even started looking yet as we were waiting to see what happened with the flat, but I’m also concerned that I might reject this offer and not get another for god knows how long. I know that flats and shared ownership aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s in a lovely location, on a fairly new build estate and the flat could be made lovely if someone really wanted it.

Am I asking too much, given the issues that I’ve listed or should I hold out and possibly risk not getting another offer for however long?

I would take their hand off personally.

You've made £10k on it in 4 years, I'd say that's pretty acceptable! Take the offer.

You made 10k in 4y for no effort
That's a decent return surely
Shared ownership flats are going to be a smaller market
Best take the money and run. If you do you'll never know if you 'could have done better' If you don't you might find out to your cost that you were wrong when you are still sitting on it in another few months and have to reduce the price
The longer something doesn't sell the more buyers get suspicious and the less interest there is anyway.

Maybe 50% is actually more marketable ad more buyers can afford it?

It’s a good offer. Take it and run.

Why do you think it's worth 89k OP. Have you done any upgrades or renovations, increased the sqfootage? If the answer is no, then their offer is very reasonable and I'd bite their hand off.

Flats are not in demand right now, less of all shared ownership. If you've made a profit, Nd a pretty decent on considering, you'd be foolish to hold out.

I take it.

I'd accept the offer as you don't have as big a market to sell to with the shared ownership issue. Unless you want to do the work? Maybe price that up?

Read the thread from the lady who is losing £150k on her flat and think about the increase you’ve made. What have you done to the flat to improve it in the time you’ve had it? If nothing, I don’t know why you wouldn’t take the offer as you don’t have any other interest. If you’ve spent £30k on it then there’s something else at play.

Posted too soon.

I think the key phrase is "could be lovely."
The flat could be lovely if finished to a higher spec, and that would make it more valuable. But it isnt finished to a higher spec. You didnt get any viewings at the higher price and you've had only one offer since reducing, and it's for even less.

If you're not willing to up the spec of the house by doing decent work on it, then really just accept that current offer.

Bite their hands off before they change their minds.

@sellingmylifeaway

Having looked on Rightmove and zoopla, most of the flats have been sold on a 50% ownership basis. One in the same block sold for 48k last year

I might be being dense but doesn't this support the lower offer?

50% ownership for £48k would scale up to 80% at £76.8k. If you've been offered £82k then it would appear this offer is higher (proportionally) then the £48k flat was sold for.

Without any pictures nor knowing the area:

I would take it. Limited market for shared ownership and £82k for a flat that needs some cosmetic work vs £89k asking price isn't bad.

Yeah take it ans quickly too

The few people in to view since December would ring my alarm bells. Fair enough, if you were getting views and no offers, either it's massively overpriced which by the sounds of it, it isn't or the Estate agent is selling to a friend/developer and turning people away. Get a friend to phone up and try and arrange a viewing and see what the estate agents say.

You have been led by the estate agent to think you might make a £22k profit in four years and they were wrong.
Buying a home shouldn't be all about making a profit. You will actually come out of this with £8k more than you paid, you will have done very well.
Take it. You might not get another offer as good.

Another one who'd bite their hand off. You've made money on it despite it only being 4 years, despite it being shared ownership (off-putting - and if that's 80% then your target market can prob afford 100% and less aggro elsewhere), despite it needing work (rather than you having added value to it/done it up), and despite it being 'fairly new build - as with cars, being 'fairly new' is a huge difference to being brand new and is generally less desirable than something really new or older/period.

Also it being on the market so long tells you it was never worth the initial asking price so you need to let go of that fantasy and be glad you've made something on it and found a buyer. Waiting it out would only be worth it if you're in a desirable area where prices are likely to rise for some reason but even then, the market for flats is still tricky. I wouldn't hold out for a better offer. I'd only stay if I was going to be the one who 'could make it really lovely if they wanted it'. It doesn't sound like you're that person though so let it go and move on.

Worth saying, the 50% flats probably sell better as they're a way in for people who can't get anywhere else. Very different for an 80% share, where a buyer could save up a bit more and not need to go the SO route.

* Hard to say without seeing it, but if it's getting few views and low offers, then it is, sadly, overpriced. It's worth only what people will pay for it. Arguably, the only reason a property doesn't sell is because it's overpriced for what it is...*

^This. It has already been on the market for 7 months. I would accept the offer.

You thought it was worth 94k, 22k more than you bought it for 4 years ago, when it sounds like you've done nothing at all to it?

From everything you've said you should bite their hand off at 82K

Take it!

You really need to be certain it's the right decision if you accept.
I accepted a low offer on the condition of a quick sale and it dragged out for 5mths. If I'd put it back on the market I'd definitely have got more like the asking price. I was gutted when 3 neighbours put theirs on the market and all sold quickly for more even though my house was extended and had a larger garden.

It sounds like you're really struggling to sell so might be worth considering the low offer. Be aware that there are websites that show how long your property has been on the market for and the prices it's been for sale at. I personally wouldn't be willing to pay £22k more for a flat that's been unimproved for 4yrs. I didn't even achieve a £22k increase in my renovated house that I had for 15yrs.
£82k seems more than reasonable if you've had it such a short amount of time and haven't renovated it.

I say take the offer. It's substantially more than you paid and there's no guarantee you'd get more if you update and wait.

Maybe think about what accepting the offer would enable you and your boyfriend to do; and what type of house you may be able to get with your budget?

I think that apartment sales are depressed at the moment because people want houses with gardens following lockdown; but the market for flats is also being held up artificially as many people who would like to sell can't (due to the cladding scandal and the need for remedial works on buildings or the wait to obtain a safety certificate). When these flats can come on the market, it could bring flat prices down further

@claralara42 it was valued at 94k by the estate agent in January, not myself. Then we decided to reduce in April as we'd only had a couple of views but no offers. It is difficult because I'm a first time seller, I have no idea what I'm doing half the time and am relying on estate agent to guide me...