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?

Apologies again if this thread has pissed anyone off. That wasn't my intention but I do think the nasty comments about my grammar were out of line. No need for it at all really.

I asked my mortgage advisor to act on my behalf which she had no issues with and neither did the estate agent in the beginning. It wasn't until today that she contacted me. I don't see why I wouldn't be taken seriously. I'm the only serious buyer they've had by the sounds of it.
They've come back on both occasions and said that they want closer to the asking price, with no actual figure which isn't helpful at all. It could literally mean anything from 86 upwards.

Of course I know I can't "force" the vendor to sell. I might be a first time buyer but I'm not stupid.

Anyway, thanks again for all your advice and comments. Hopefully it works out but if not I'm sure there will be another property waiting for me

It hasn’t pissed me off, it just makes absolutely no sense to do a reverse about something like this. What would it achieve?

The thing is OP that as a reverse we really don't know the accuracy of the situation. I had said "sell". But you have also written your "reverse" post in a very flowery way full of assumptions!

But we don't know the position of the vendor who may not be in any rush, may be testing the water, there may actually have been other offers before yours etc etc.

At the end of the day what is the property worth to you? Painting of radiators and painting walls etc is very cosmetic and easy to do. You can do these things yourself and it just costs the paint.

Perhaps you may have to increase your offer. Are you prepared to do that and by how much? Somebody may have actually viewed the property after you. It seems that you want it, so why should somebody else in a similar position to you not want it?

One thing that I know from experience of buying 4 properties and selling three is that you have to set your boundaries, be realistic, but don't play games. It's also no good looking back at what a property sold for however many years ago (however much people on MN seem addicted to doing so) as house price inflation is a fact of life. Yes this doesn't apply so much if a short time span of a year but look at the difference that even this year has made to property prices.

Good luck with it, but be realistic and fair and hopefully you will meet somewhere in the middle and both you and the vendor will be happy going forward.

Take the offer.

You’re getting 10% more than you paid 4 years ago.

I’m selling a house in a desirable part of outer london and getting 8% more than I paid 3 years ago.

If you’re holding out for £94k, you’re expecting a 27% increase in 4 years. Some properties increase like that but not many and not flats and not shared ownership.

D’oh didn’t read the whole thread

You are definitely overpaying. I was AMAZED that 'your' flat had increased in value over the last four years and was worried for you not taking the offer. I thought your 'buyer' was bonkers

It must be the only flat in England that has actually increased in value over the past four years. Most if not all have DECREASED. The property market for all other types of property is BOOMING so the flat is languishing in the market for a reason. And as PP said the market for 80% shared ownership is TINY. You are setting yourself up to be in negative equity immediately. In fact I'd be amazed if you manage to get a mortgage agreed. A few years ago a friend of mine tried to get a mortgage on a flat and the lender valued it at £0. Yes that's right, ZERO. Their reason was that there was no market for it.

I say run away ... quickly. And count this as a lucky escape.

Thanks @friendlycat for your message.

Totally understand what you're saying about being fair and trying to meet in the middle which I believe I've already done. 84 is the highest I can go. I'm going at this alone (work full time on a decent salary) but due to only having a 5% deposit and the banks being so strict now due to Covid 84 is my absolute max. I feel the offer of 82 is more than fair, especially because the property is not in immaculate condition like it was shown on the pictures. I appreciate it's only cosmetic things but all that stuff does add up. I have to factor in costs such as solicitors fee's etc and having that spare 2k would go a long way. So it's not a case of me being awkward, that's all I can afford.

I'm not trying to play games but do feel they are bluffing and came up with this story about the other lady (nothing mentioned before) to try and pressure me into paying more. The estate agent also made the mistake of telling me that the property hasn't had any offers since being listed, that's how I know. I'm going to email the estate agent tomorrow to let her know that's my best offer and we will go from there and see what they come back with

@HmmmmmmInteresting Do you really think I am overpaying? I was happy to pay 80 but have begrudgingly upped it to 82 just because I love the location so much. (Haven't yet found a property I like in a location I love so this one has everything in my eyes). A few people have made comments about how they think I'll be in negative equity etc? As I said before I'm a first time buyer and this is all new to me

Reverses are worse than useless. In any story, we know it's just one point of view but we at least know what the unknowns are, so we can make a better assessment of the situation. Reverses mean we don't know what the unknowns are, or they're going to be filled in with what the OP imagines they are, which is completely unreliable, so it throws the whole situation into the wrong light.

It gets people's backs up to be lied to on a fundamental issue when asking for an assessment of a situation. If you wouldn't trust what we say in response to you, why do you value what we say in response to your made-up version of someone else?

And this has to be the most bizarre reverse yet. What on earth was the point? What information did you get from the reverse that you wouldn't have got from an honest question?

Are you absolutely sure that shared ownership is for you?

Since your update whereby the agent did let slip absolutely no offers etc so far perhaps you should hold fire and do a bit more research.

I know that the market for shared ownership is very small but I don't know enough about it.

Definitely @sellingmylifeaway

Do you want to pm me a link to the property and I can tell you what I think? I'm not a property expert but watch the market closely and have bought several properties including investment ones.

Shared ownership - take the offer.

I don't know why people get so irate about reverses. I kinda like them

@friendlycat I really didn't want to go down the shared ownership route originally but unfortunately it's probably the only way I will be able to get on the property ladder. I've been renting for 5 years on my own and it's been so difficult just saving up a 5% deposit, let alone 10 or 15. I also underestimated how strict the banks have gone with borrowing. The most they will borrow me is 80k and most flats in my area to buy outright are around the 95-100 mark. I could stay renting (literally throwing money away each month) and keep saving but it will probably take me years to save what I need to buy outright

Didn't read the full thread - buy it - for being picky about things like the cooker top and some painting when you'd probably paint it anyway - you deserve it.

Sorry @gibbertyofah it's my fault for doing a reverse, I've confused people. I want to buy it but my offer is too low

Definitely don't increase your offer. I wouldn't buy the flat at all if I were you OP. The vendors have put it on for an unrealistic price and even your existing offer is on the high side.
It also doesn't sound like it will be easy to sell when the time comes - it's sat on the market for months when property sales this year have been crazy. Shared ownership without the chance to buy outright and the fact it's a flat are both against it and there would be nothing you could do to change either of them.
It isn't usual for your mortgage advisor to handle offers on your behalf. The EA needed to speak to you directly to discuss the offer you had made - that's totally normal IME.

@sellingmylifeaway

Sorry *@gibbertyofah* it's my fault for doing a reverse, I've confused people. I want to buy it but my offer is too low

*@gibbertyofah* is basically saying you deserve to buy it because it's a bad deal. In other words- DONT DO IT!

Ok sorry for being so annoyed before, reverses really get my back up when people are spending their time helping you.

Some things that might be worth thinking about:
1: how time sensitive is your buying? This might be worth stressing to the agent—you can say look this is my absolute max and I am looking to buy NOW. If the offer isn’t accepted then I will be offering on others and won’t be hanging around, if vendor doesn’t get other offers then mine will be off table.
2: I really really think you need to deal with the agent directly. You say they are game playing but I think it’s not helping when you can’t make the points to them directly. It really helps to explain your reason why you are offering why you are, and explain honestly how you plan to move forward. How the agent talks to the vendor and presents your offer is crucial. If they’re saying you’re a serious buyer, you can’t go any higher and it’s now or never, you are way more likely to get a better result.

Express how much the flat would be perfect for you but how you can’t go over this, and you know some work needs to be done, length of time on market, etc. Building a relationship with an agent is really important, so they know you aren’t playing games.

As to flats being a bad investment: it really depends. As many people are finding, they are cheaper at the moment than usual. In some cases market is saturated and you can get a steal. I just bought one, I got a really good price for a beautiful place that suits me perfectly, and I don’t believe a well priced, well located period London property will ever drop to worthless. If it rises in value further that’s a plus, but it definitely hasn’t fallen in the last decade! However “commuter belt” slightly grim area flats that are like soleless boxes? Unsaleable. So it really depends

The woman selling might need a bit more time to realise that this is what the flat is actually worth now. So if you do have time, it might be worth backing off, continuing your search and leaving your name on their books. But if you do this make sure to move on emotionally too, and genuinely look—so if you get the first flat it’s a bonus. From pre-K pretty buying, you can fall in love multiple times. Trust me!

I think worth what right flat, now is a good time to buy—you should however be poking for a hefty discount on what it was going for 2-3 years ago. Some vendors will have accepted this, others won’t. If she refuses to drop then remember it is her loss, and there will be other flats

Hope that is helpful!