Cheeky buyers

[Movingdays]

We received an offer 10% under asking price yesterday. The property is already a bargain at 160k.

AIBU to think buyers are taking the piss these days?

Lots of people view houses that they can’t actually afford in the hope that they can knock the vendors down.

10% under is quite standard I think... Doesn't sound cheeky, especially as it's been on the market for 8 months.

10% under is a very reasonable first offer on any house in any market, but if I was bidding on a house that had been on the market since October I'd probably be offering even lower.

We offered 14% under asking a few weeks after our house went on the market and it was accepted within the hour.

You can hold out for more if you want to, of course, but you'll be waiting a while.

If you suggest meeting in the middle you might have a deal.

We offered 12.5% under to start with spring of last year and settled at 10% under. It had been on for 5 weeks. Given your house has been on for some time I think you have expect lower offers.

Your property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, not what your estate agent has optimistically valued it at.

Sounds like £145k is a reasonable price

House worth what someone pay for it! Any other interest...sounds like it over priced ...do you need to sell...

Is it not just the opening move?
I rent so this is just based on what I hear but is negotiating price part of the game these days?

Buyers ask for 10%, sellers come back with, I dunno, 3%, bit more haggling and they agree on 5% which is what they buyers were hoping for and the sellers were willing to give.

I thought 10% under asking is pretty standard at a starting offer (unless it says offers in excess of)

@Londonrach1 we're not in a huge rush to sell but we're getting fed up that's it's been on the market for so long and it's just sitting empty there now (our first house together, bought in 2013 then we moved to a different part of the country in 2018, kept and rented it out. It's been empty since last year)

It's been sitting empty for 8 months?

You're lucky to get an offer that high I reckon.

Ask them for their best and final and accept

So someone else has been paying your mortgage for six years? I’d take the offer and get shot. Enjoy the equity your tenants have built for you.

It's clearly not a bargain if it's been unsold for that long!

If you want to get it sold - and you should really as it's costing you money sitting empty - then negotiate with the potential buyers on their offer. I would have thought since you've not exactly been beating off buyers with asking price offers for months, you would have realised that your property is not as desirable as others apparently are. It's daft to criticise the only actual serious offers you've had (10% under asking is definitely serious and not cheeky, especially in the current market). I was offered 30% under asking, which I didn't accept, but many months of marketing later I was offered about 18% under which I did.

You have be realistic, you either want to sell your property or you don't.

I was once offered £40k under the asking price. Didn't accept but after many other cheeky offers and knowing I'd just made the asking price up as a cheeky try, I eventually accepted the £40k less as I found a house I was desperate to move to. Original buyers still hasn't bought and we're happy to proceed. It was just before the 2008 banking crash so times I've changed, but of the 3 offers I had, none of them were near what I was asking for!

The market is slow. People are much more focused on value and interest rates haven't gone down. I sold my house in Feb 2023 - me neighbours who have a near identical house have been on the market since Sept last year, initially at a higher price than I sold for but now 50k under and still no offers. I'm with the people that say a house is worth what someone will pay for it. If you aren't getting decent offers it's not different enough or worth a premium to people. I don't think interest rates will go as low as they were so it's really if you want rid or can get good tenants at the right rate

10% under is fairly normal for a first offer, you counter and hopefully meet somewhere in the middle. It’s been sitting empty for 8 months, if this is your first offer in ages then I’d really try and come to an agreement on price and get it sold.

But you can't be desperate to sell or you'd 1) be more proactive about being more desirable. And 2) have accepted without issue.

I've recently sold a property.

The EA suggested marketing @ £x, & actually used the word "cheeky" !

He said there's no harm in asking, but expect to sell for 10% less.

There is absolutely no point in comparing to 2022 prices. Better to forget about them altogether not to get too upset. Market is low and slow. Houses are mostly overpriced.

We are buying smth and we are already 9 months in waiting for the end of the chain. Ideally I'd want a price reduction as the prices have gone down significantly but we are probably not going to ask as we have a nice connection with the vendors and they are in a similar situation.

Mine was offers offer 200k, been on for a year, I offered 180 with the assumption to negotiate. Accepted my original offer.

Depends how desperate you are to sell.

Is it able to be moved straight into? Also is there scope to extend into roof if its a bungalow, your audience is more geared towards older people/childless and not a family that are potentially looking for a forever home to expand their family.

For the love of God don’t even think of converting it! Bungalows are like hens’ teeth round here, the shortage is a major factor in older people not downsizing. It must be overpriced or it would have been snapped up.

Not taking the piss at all.

It used to be VERY usual that 10% discount (or more) would be the amount you'd offer.

You either accept or you don't!

10% or 15 K under as an opening offer isn't terrible - or cheeky IMO. They'll probably come back with a better second offer if they really want it.

We've only once offer asking price straight off and got turned down - they ended up selling it for less.

Last house - I don't know what estate agents were telling potential buyers - but we were on 12 months rapidly approaching a hard deadline and it costing us fair wack of money every month with DH working near new job and us in old area - we had to argue to drop price with estate agent - and accepted a lower offer than that. It was above our min price which would have meant we couldn't afford to sell and buy in next place- house was still a bargain sold for less than we bought it and a small fortune spent on it doing boring basic none flashy stuff - couple in their 50s - still had posters here accuse us of price gauging as we got more than our absolute minimum can't do lower selling point.

If it's standing empty is it costing you money every month? Us being separated was costing us serious money - train tickets and weekly rent not to mention mental toll so it was worth taking less and moving on for us