AIBU to think low house offers are always worth making?

[coulditbeme2323]

Why do low house offers annoy Mumsnetters so much?

Surely a cheeky offer is always wort it.

I think there is sense in this.

Our local agents know we don't ever want to pay a fair price, so will advise us the properties that it's probably not worth viewing.

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay!

I live in a rural area so not a huge number of people looking for the same type of house. Generally in the good times it takes 8-12 weeks to get an offer if you are under £300k the further up the price range the longer the sale time. You’ve got other viewings all the time but at the lower end it’s a second home market which is different

I wouldn’t do it for the sake of it, no. I loved my current house, thought the price was already more than fair, and I offered asking price the day that it went on the market. I don’t think I would have it now if I’d messed around.

Previous house, I thought the asking price was too high, so I negotiated lower.

I think there are two scenarios here-

1. you're making an offer that's completely out of touch with the asking price in the hope that the seller is feeling desperate, and you don;t pan to go higher.
2. you're starting low as part of a negotiation strategy.

For the first one, it doesn't really matter whether the seller is annoyed- you're not starting a negotiation so the worst case scenario is that they say no and you are no worse off than if you hadn't offered. And they might say yes.

For the second, your offer is a signal so it's sensible to try to make it a signal that you're a realistic buyer, if you are. It's not really about offending the seller or not but persuading them that it's worth their time to consider their response. FWIW I find all the language around "offending" sellers a bit cringe-worthy, as if offering you less for your house than you think it's worth is some sort of mortal insult- it's more about presenting yourself as a serious buyer.

The podcast Moving Home with Charlie is interesting on this stuff- his view is that you should always make your offer (even if it's way under asking price) but that the offer should represent your maximum comfortable amount rather than step 1 in a negotiation.

Can I help you out and tell you they werent happy about it.

We can't know that, if the property was 2.5 million then percentage wise it would have been a very good deal for the vendor.

If the property was 300k then not so much
.
Impossible to say if they were happy without knowing asking.

I sold a property. They offered well under asking price. I said no. They came back with higher offer but still under. I said no. They paid full asking price. I was not in the slightest bit offended and it was a smooth sale

Of course

Its a business deal its not persoanl. You can accept it (and people may need to and that is not the buyers problem) or reject it out flatly or let them know you are open to negotiating a higher offer, or they may come back with a higher offer

I have received a very low offer, at first I did think they were taking the piss but I thought well they are showing an interest not many are and I needed to sell, we negotiated and I got an acceptable offer, not the one I really wanted but at the time it was a buyers market

People often get far to personal about this its a business transaction

Exactly!

Wish there were more people like this.

The England's home buying/selling process is fragile and annoying.
In the end, selecting the buyer is lead by trust to some extent. Trust, or maybe hope, that both sides will behave reasonably.

The attitude "it's just a business" represented by starting very low will make some sellers unwilling to deal with you if they have any choice, because they can't trust you that you won't pull other tricks later.

I think you have to make a reasonable assessment of the situation and decide what you think might be an offer that could potentially be accepted. Are there any reasons to thing the vendor would accept substantially lower? Have they inflated the price, has it been on the market a long time etc

Just rolling up with a “cheeky” offer (such an irritating way of phrasing it - suggesting exactly the mentality that could be problematic) is not only insulting to the vendors, but may actually harm your chances of securing the property. If the property has recently gone on the market in an area where the prices are similar, you’re just going to put people off dealing with you/ come across as someone who will try everything to get a bit more money off. Will you gazunder later on/ drag your heals/ generally make things a nightmare.

So I think there’s a distinction between a pointless and harmful “cheeky” offer, and a reasoned, calculated low offer.

There’s also a question of personal morality/ decency. “Why pay more?” if you could possibly get away with less is indicative of a mentality that I’d want to avoid as a vendor. If I didn’t have options, I wouldn’t have pitched the asking price where I pitched it!

I agree - because of the ridiculous system in England, vendors have to be careful who they are dealing with!

I agree OP. It’s free to ask and free to refuse.

But I’m 100% against lowering your offer at the final exchange of contracts. That’s a dirty trick, and I would never do it.

Its interesting that you describe it as not ever wanting to pay a fair price.
I can understand if you offering under if you feel it is overpriced, but when you know its a fair price.....🤔

Anyway, I have no problem offering under or a buyer offering under (depending on the market at the time). Does not offend me in the least. I just either accept or refuse and move on.

Of my 5 house purchases, I believe 3 have been under asking and 2 slightly over. Of my 4 sales, 2 under and 2 over.

No, business is work. Selling and buying a house for most is about living.

Go ahead and pretend you’re Gordon Gekko or whatever, but you came on here to ask opinions and all you’re doing is arguing with anyone who disagrees with you.

You asked for views and as someone selling a house, I pointed out that I have found stupidly unrealistic offers annoying and rather offensive and told you that they didn’t help the buyer as they only put me off wanting to deal with them.

You disagree, that’s fine, it would be a dreadfully dull world if we all agreed, but why oh why do people start AIBU threads only to tell anyone who disagrees with them that they are wrong??? If you know the answer don’t ask for other opinions.

It depends on several different factors including local market and how much you actually want to buy the property. While you're putting in a low offer, someone else could be making a higher offer, which is accepted. A low offer isn't always the starting point for negotiation - it could simply mean that your offer isn't considered at all.

I tell you when it doesn’t work. When you really want the house in a competitive market. I have sold recently. Two buyers,
one a low balling dickhead who eventually moved to the price I wanted, but I sold to another buyer who wasn’t dicking me about, this was all happening at the same time. If it’s a buyers market then by all means low ball, if not then don’t be a dick.

Well they shouldnt have accepted it then

Yescp and same for the seller. Once theyve accepted the offer they shouldnt be wanting more mobey or accepting higher offers than agreed

I put in a cheeky offer for my place and it paid off. As a seller, I bitterly regret taking the highest offer when I should have gone with the more moderate one. The lower offer was the non timewaster, unlike the offer I accepted. It's not always just about the price.

This.

Had someone offer over 25% less than our asking price after a month. I was a bit miffed at that. It's already a cheap house.

But then I'm looking at a property that's been on months and considering 20% under as opening because it is wildly overpriced compared to anything else, especially for It's condition.