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.

This will be a woman who assures us she is raising lovely kids.

But what did you want the buyer to do? Serious question? Offer more than they needed to pay so they could help the vendor out?

That's one of the most enviable positions to be in when you're not in a rush to sell.

Then you are engaging in unethical practices. So this thread isn’t really about making low offers, it’s about colluding with estate agents to exploit people who are desperate to sell.

Do you understand that phrases like:

‘It's an old cliche’
’nod and a wink’
’Business is business’
‘Low balling’
‘Nothing morally wrong’

makes you sound like some ridiculous character from a Monty Python sketch?

I get that the intention of your post was to brag about what a wonderful business (I rather suspect man but might be wrong) you are, but all I’m pointing out is that the takeaway (that’s the kind of phrase I imagine you use) a lot of us are getting from this is that you’re a bit of a cunt.

Its the point of the agent letting the potential buyer know that they are desperate and in debt that is the main issue in my example.

The agent should say the house is on at 800k and is worth that if it is.

I didn't say I gave them, I said it went on.

You seem to think it doesn't.

Charming!

What would you do in this scenario: house was on sale in 2025 for £395k, didn't sell, was withdrawn from sale, relisted in late 2025 at £375k, reduced to £350k after 6 months. Now withdrawn from sale. What are the chances of an offer at £300-310k being accepted?

I do hear you, but it wasn't selling at 800k or anywhere near it was it?

I mean if they accepted an offer of 600, it means they weren't even getting offers of 650 on a 800k property!

So it begs the question, how reasonably priced was it in the first place.

No, I’m absolutely positive it goes on. That doesn’t mean that it is not unethical and exploitative.

Of course, agreed.

I found the “dream house” a few years ago. It was 10k over my budget so I put my house on with the same agent. I had a few viewings (from mostly nosy bastard time wasters actually) and then someone offered me 10k under. I said to my agent if the vendor of the dream house would take the 10k drop I’d accept their offer. Agent tells me to not insult the vendors and they can’t afford a 10k drop.
So I don’t. The dream house sells to another person. I look on zoopla and it sold 12k under asking, 2k less than I’d have offered. Apparently the person who bought it told the agent to risk offending them, they have the house. I still hate the agent who made me feel like a fool over 10k. So in future I’ll be making sure I do ask, worst case I don’t get.

It's a reasonable starting point I think.

But there is another thread running where an unsolicited low ball offer to an elderly couple in a large house is being seen as tantamount to fraud and the consensus view is that it should be reported to the police!

I understand the issues with the agent telling the potential buyer about the situation, but the last sentence is ridiculous. An agent who says that a house is worth a price because that's what the seller wants may be lying. And they also have a duty to pass on any offer.

We made a cheeky offer. (Well, DH did, to be fair...I thought it was too low.)

The estate agent didn't even want to put our offer to the seller. They said that the seller definitely wouldn't accept.

DH asked them to put the offer forward anyway. The seller accepted the offer immediately.

It taught me that there is no harm to ask. Nobody is obliged to accept an offer that they find too low, and if they are offended by it, then tbh that's their problem.

It depends on many factors. How long the house has been up for sale. The vulnerability of the sellers. Any other interest ? Work that needs to be done.

But, one word of caution. Buying a house is a business transaction. And I would want to do business with someone reliable. Not someone who I thought at the drop of a hat might stitch me up further on. A buyer doesn’t have to accept an offer. Nor counter one back. Too much and you might present yourself as a bit of a toad. They won’t automatically want to lower their price to your extent on their next property.

100% correct

I feel that OP is equating a few very different things- low offers (ie low in relation to the asking price- may be ill-advised or may be completely justified depending on the circumstances), "cheeky" offers (presumably ones which you don't think are justified but you are just chancing your arm) and offers based on information communicated in secret by the agent (which may well be a breach of regs for the agent and possibly even a conspiracy to defraud for agent and buyer).

It depends on the market. I’ve only ever sold in a sellers’ market and was offered asking price every time. The current market is very soft so I’d expect offers under. I’d also expect them to be realistic and fair.

Exactly this. I would be very wary of dealing with a buyer like this.

Talk about twisting the facts. You omit the useful information that that couple received a letter addressed to them personally, telling them that the house was too large for a couple with an 'offer ' less than the house value and informing this elderly couple that the sender of the letter would be visiting them on Thursday to 'discuss' this unasked for offer. This bears little resemblance to the OP of this thread.

That is down to the family not preparing better, maybe there was not chance to but in most cases there is (taking equity out of a property for example)

It is not down to buyer to take responsibility for the sellers and their families situation

messing about and pulling out at the last miniute is a different issue that some have mentioned on here and laws should change that but offering less and that is accepted is down to a seller accepting the offer or not

and if 25% off asking was the best offer on the table, you really do have to wonder if it was fairly priced.