to think the vendor will accept our offer?

[LucasTheSpider]

Been house hunting for the best part of a year now. Needless to say, last year was pants and there were not a lot of properties coming to the market.

Things seem to have started to improve now and we've a few viewings these last few weeks.

Our budget is 500k (we could maybe stretch to 505-510k at a push, but no more).
We viewed a house last week that has been on the market since October 2023. The asking price is 550k. The vendor has found a property they want to buy and is obviously waiting on getting a buyer for their property. We are chain free (staying with family) and have offered 500k. Should hear back from the EA tomorrow.

Am I being ridiculous to think they'd accept our offer? I'm expecting the EA to call tomorrow and tell me that our offer has been rejected. It's been on the market for a while now though, and if they want to move, they need to sell.

Your thoughts? Anyone else been in a similar situation and had their offer accepted?

I mean, good luck but I think the best you can hope for is the vendor agreeing to meet in the middle at £525k. If they’ve been on since October without reducing they’re clearly not desperate to move and/or realistic about pricing, and unfortunately for you
any markets are improving for sellers.

I think you're right. Unfortunately, we can't meet them in the middle as that would be above our budget.
We were honest with the EA and told them we can't afford the asking price and will offer what we can. He encouraged us to view and said the vendor is open to offers, but wasn't able to give any indication as to what they might accept. So, we thought we might as well give it a go and make an offer. "You don't ask, you don't get", as they say. However, on this occasion, I think it'll be a case of "You Do ask, you don't get" sigh.

Yeah, I’d be surprised if they’ll take that much of a hit, to be honest. If they think it’s worth £550k and have held out there since October, it sounds like they’re going to wait to get that.

Their maths on the new place may well require them to get close to asking. If it doesn’t let them proceed it’s all off anyway, but at that level I’d think your chancers and probably not meet you half way, which I may have done at say 530.

I don’t think 10% under is outrageously low.

Whether they accept will probably depend on what they need for their onward purchase and what the constraints on that are… are their vendors in a big hurry, or is it a private sale still awaiting probate with a slow timescale.

Good luck OP!

The property the vendor is interested in is empty, so I'm guessing it's probate, but I could be wrong. It's on with the same EA. The EA told me that it's possible that it will come down in price, which would allow the vendor of the property we like to drop their price..

The "if you don't ask, you don't get" thing applies to them as well - I'd expect them to come back with a counter offer just because they can. You just need to stand firm that you've made your best and final offer and give a date for how long you'll leave it on the table (otherwise they'll be using your offer as leverage with anyone else interested) and it might work. I agree with PPs though, that the biggest factor is likely to be whether it's enough for their onward move.

I'd expect a counter offer. I personally wouldn't accept £50k less than what the property is worth, and I don't think 3 months on the market is a long time either.

I'd also expect a counter offer in your position.

Without knowing why they are moving/what they are planning to move into (ie do they need the full amount to buy their next home?) it is very difficult to judge what they might or might no accept.

It seems a bit cheeky tbh to be viewing houses which are so far over your budget.

@Scarlettpixie This is the only house we have viewed that has been above our budget. It was the EA who brought the house to our attention. He encouraged us to view it. Perhaps he's overestimating what he thinks we'll be able to stretch to? I've been honest with him and told him we can't afford the asking price.

@LucasTheSpider in that case they might know something you don’t. They may think its over priced or know that the vendors are thinking of reducing the price. Good luck!

@OrigamiOwls @EIIaJ The vendors house is a three-bed. They have three children. My best guess is that they need more space / another bedroom. But like you've pointed out.. whether or not they'll be able to buy the house they're interested in will likely rely on them selling theirs at a price that will allow that onward purchase.

Ah well.. a girl can dream, ay. Looks like it'll be back to the drawing board for us from Monday. I'll tell EAs not to offer us viewings of homes that far out of our budget going forward.

There is definitely a chance they might accept your offer. You are a perfect buyer, being chain free, when so many chains are falling part and they have seen a house that they want so will want to offer before someone else does.

The house is very likely to be over priced if it hasn't sold in 4 months on the market. Do you know if they have had any other offers? Have they had other viewings? Prices are falling in most areas and will v likely continue to do so for some time. Offer what it is worth to you (or the max you can afford here) and stick to that figure. Then it's up to them if they want to move or not (assuming no other offers as appears to be the case). Good luck!

'I'll tell EAs not to offer us viewings of homes that far out of our budget going forward.'
I wouldn't do that. Most sellers are having to accept offers at present and there are masses of reductions on Rightmove.
Have a look at Moving home with Charlie on Twitter/ YouTube for in depth advice and a 'less mainstream' assessment of where the housing market is currently.

If they decline you could say, this is our max at 510, we can move quickly, nothing to sell etc. The estate agent will try to convince the seller to accept as this way they get 2 sales out of it. As long as the offer starts with a 5, the estate agent won't make much more, so they don't need the increase. Wait and see.

The fact yiu have nothing to sell makes you very strong as collapsing chains is a huge issue at the mo.

You can ask but I don’t think they will accept. Oct 23 is not that long. You could consider asking the estate agent if they will drop commission in order to get a double sale.

Would you agree to just give away £50k? If someone asked you to? I'm guessing not

The vendor would only be giving away £50K if they chose the OP over an asking price offer. There are no asking price offers. A house is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

We did this for the house we now live in - got it for £500k from £550k and it had been on for a while- completed as Covid hit. House is now worth 600k

My friend is on the market at 573k but she'd accept in the 520k region so I don't think it's cheeky.

I read recently that houses are selling for 10-15% below the asking price in some areas, so I don't think your offer is unreasonable. I'd sit tight if I were you.

The house is only worth what the highest bidder is prepared to pay and at the moment, that appears to be you. The estate agent will have a realistic idea of what the house is really worth and should advise the vendor accordingly. They want to sell it after all.

I’ve just had an offer accepted 12% under. No extraordinary circumstances or problems with house either, it’s just a buyers market.

some sellers will always be resistant to reducing and are disillusioned that their house is more than it’s worth.

i also wouldn’t trust what an agent has to say about the market.

Especially for those that brought in the covid hype. Always offer your best and final to begin with. No need to negotiate. But be prepared to walk away.

You like it, you’ve made an offer. It’s agonising waiting but that’s all you can do.

Don’t worry about making a lower offer - as someone else said, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

When we bought our house, it was on the market at £450k. We were told they wouldn’t go a penny below £440k. We offered £435k. While the vendor was considering our offer, we did the maths on everything we needed to do to the house to get it up to a liveable standard, and we actually revised our offer down to £427k. The EA said we were risking losing the house entirely, but we stood firm and after a week or so they accepted our lower offer.

It felt uncomfortable to do that, but it was the right decision - this place is costing us a fortune to fix up!

I think it depends whether you are the vendor or the buyer whether you can trust what the estate agent has to say about the market.

It's in the estate agent's interest to be realistic with the vendor (who is their client) about the value of their home. If the vendor has unrealistic expectations, the estate agent will have to work harder to sell it and will not get their commission if it doesn't sell at all.

As it's in the estate agent's interest to get the best price for their client (and more commission for themselves), they might be less honest with the buyer.