Feel like I overpaid for a house

[luckycat888]

Just won the bid on a house but there was (allegedly) another offer on the table from a cash buyer and so I was asked to put down more money. The EA indicated what amount the vendor was looking for and I went lower than that but it’s still extra money I hadn’t expected to pay and now I feel really shit, like it’s not a good deal and should I even bother? I checked Zoopla valuation which says it’s worth more than what my offer was by over £10k.
Guide price had a £25k range and we ended up just less than the half way point. AIBU to feel shit and now less excited about the house or should I feel happy I “won”?

@Bellyblueboythis is the telling off I needed. Thank you. I need someone to smack some sense into me.

Thanks for all your comments. I intend for it to be my long term family home so I perhaps am being totally unreasonable here.

More reassurance will come from the mortgage valuation - as long as they feel it’s valued correctly I would focus on the long term picture and it sounds like price aside it’s the right home for you and the family ?

I think it sounds like you have got a bit pre-occupied about whether it is officially a 'bargain' or not and perhaps just having doubts now. you feel a bit more committed. A couple of things might help you here (they may not, but it is the kind of thinking that helps me).

1. Valuations are not much of a science, they are an estimate at how much people will be willing to pay for the house. There is not an exact value of how much a house is worth, as it is so variable, it is just a best guess at what is reasonably expected people will offer

2. If you are getting a really good bargain, someone (ie the seller) is probably losing out. If you are paying a fair or reasonable price, noone is getting ripped off.

3. If you are a mortgage buyer, the mortgage supplier will value it too.

It doesn't sound like you have overpaid as such, unless you feel the house is not what you want. If you feel you don't want it I would recommend that you give yourself a set timeframe (say a week or two) to see if these feelings change. If they do, then great, if they don't then perhaps you need to let them know. However, from what you have said in earlier posts, it just sounds like you are a bit disappointed with the process and that is affecting your feelings about the purchase of the house

You havent overpaid. You paid more than you expected to but still well.wothing the valued range. You hit the midpoint.

If you were the seller, would you feel ripped off because you didn't get the top end of the valued range?

Pulling out would be silly regardless as it will likely cost you that much in rent to start looking all over again.

Zoopla can be really inaccurate. It values my house at less than I paid for it 2.5 years ago even though property has gone up in value in the area. I think it’s because the algorithm takes into account the sold prices of nearby properties - which works if all properties nearby are similar in value, but not if there an array of different house types/values and only cheaper ones happen to have gone on the market/sold.

@MyOlivePlayerspot on to how I’m feeling. Thanks for your input, it’s helpful.

I think some buyer's regret too. It'll be okay - I felt like this too, around overpaying, but I'm laughing now as the house prices in my area have massively increased since.

Wait and see what the survey says. You may find they value it at less and have to drop your offer.

You could have put in a lower offer and risked losing the house. So if you really want the house you need to live with that being the value. And from what you say it doesn’t sound like you have overpaid.

it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay.

EA says another offer, asks you to offer more, guides you with how much, it’s less than the “other offer” and yours was still accepted.

the other offer didn’t exist. You got played. If you want to feel like you got a good deal, don’t trust the EA who gets paid more the high the sale value.

pull out, use it as a lesson, drive a bargain harder than the EA.

my first house - 9k less than asking
2nd house during the peak - I paid asking
my house im in now - £25k less than asking

be prepared to walk away. If you’re not they’ll have you over a barrel

Finance has no room for sentiment.

We overpaid for our last house. The sale price had been agreed but the vendors were splitting up and so they kept adding sums on for things that should be included (basic pendant light fittings, curtain rails, toilet roll holders and towel rails that were all fixed in place). It was worded that if we didn’t fork out for them they’d put the house back on the market. We had no choice but to agree to it as I was 8 months pregnant and we’d sold our house to first time buyers. No way could we have gone through the process again after previous chain collapsed two months earlier.

If your main criterion is getting a bargain then you are unlikely to end up buying a house you actually want to own. It sounds like you have had a fair price accepted. In the grand scheme of house prices the difference is insignificant.

You can't proceed with a house purchase just to be nice. If you've changed your mind you can of course pull out. Don't proceed out of politeness.

I think basing house buying on ‘it was a bargain’ would logically end up with you buying a shit tip in a hell hole in the back end of beyond. Liverpool council sold derelict houses for £1 back in 2015, with mixed results I’m sure you would have classed them a good deal Personally I would rather buy a property that met my needs, in an area in which I wanted to live and pay a fair price for it.

It's a house, not a pair of last season's jeans.

Do you like it? Do you want to live in it? Can you afford it? Then it's worth it.

Houses are only worth what you want to pay for them. Unless you’re buying it as an investment property to make money then if you like it and can afford it, what does it matter if you’ve overpaid.

I'm going to go against the grain here. You've got cold feet, so just pull out. If you really wanted this home then you wouldn't be worried about a few £k here or there that you can clearly afford. They had another offer, so let them take that one instead. Nobody lost any time or money, but if you start dithering around and pull out 6 weeks down the line after surveys etc then you'll have put everybody out and be wildly unreasonable. You have a window here to do only what YOU want.
"Sorry, I've thought again since sending the higher offer and the house doesn't work for me after all. I'm pulling out of the sale altogether and will look for a property that suits my family better."

If your first offer was your "best and final" then you should have made that clear at the start when putting the offer in.

The idea that you "overpaid" just because there was a process of (very normal) negotiation between parties after the starting point offer was entered is an unusual way to think about it.

If you check out the valuation on Rightmove, it will be more realistic. The difference in my own house is £15k with Zoopla being the higher value.

@GRexI’ve had time to think and I think I’m actually less concerned about the money and more about the feeling of being duped / lied to by the EA just to squeeze more money out of me

@Yellowpinguso it collapsed in the end or was that a different house?

Massively overvalues, in this area at least. Put mine at £40k more than estate agent did, and I’d searched a couple in the next street it overvalued by a ridiculous amount compared to what they were up/went for.

Can you afford it?
Do you still want it?
That's what matters