Help! I have to get this house!

[Rhubarbgarden]

I am tying myself in knots and looking for advice on a strategy to get an offer accepted. House came on the market last week, we knew pretty much straight away it was The One just from looking at the details. Viewed it on Saturday, during the open house. Fell in love. DH wants it as much as I do. Put in an offer this morning of asking price. I'm not messing around - this is the house I want my kids to grow up in and DH and I to grow old in. The agent has just rung back now - offer rejected. They are having two more open houses this week and if there is a lot of serious interest it will go to sealed bids after that, unless someone makes a really good offer in the meantime.

What is our best approach? Up our offer slightly? Offer our maximum now, and give them a short window to accept in the hope of nipping a bidding war in the bud now? Or will that just give other interested parties chance to outbid us? Do we play it cool and wait till after the weekend in the hope no-one else comes along with 'a really good offer'? If it goes to sealed bids, how much do we offer?

Aargh, I have to have this house! It blows all the others out of the water. There were a lot of people at the open house. I know there will be a lot of interest. It's a doer-upper in a terrible state with a Heligan garden, bags of history and character, and is in a peach of a location where not much comes up.

Ooo that's not far from me! Looks lovely but don't worry, we've just moved and it's way out of my range...hope you get it, Hassocks is a lovely place

I meant Ditchling of course- even nicer

I hope you get it. Are you sure it isn't too near the road?

play it cool. wait until after the open houses and then phone the agent back and ask what the state of play is.

if they've rejected your offer of asking price, they clearly think it's worth more and you will be proving them correct by bidding higher. it isn't in their interests to accept your offer and take it off the market. what do they have to lose?

so, by waiting you can see what others think it's worth too.

bottom line is if you can't afford it you can't.

only bargaining chip you have right now is if you're a cash buyer with no mortgage and you can do a super quick sale. they won't want buyers who have complications eg. buy to lets or let to buys in the chain etc.

good luck.

Oh, I know that house- as in...I pass it quite regularly.

I don't think it's worth the money tbh.
I agree that it's got huge potential and the land is great, but, by the time you've developed it, I can't see it has an awful lot of scope to increase in value.

I guess if it's your Forever House and you have the money and the vision then-great. But as an investment -no.

Good Luck to you for getting it, though :)

also DO NOT tell the agent what your top whack is!!!!

it'll encourage him to try and get the most from you, and then get others to outbid you.

keep your cards as close to your chest as possible.

finally, if it's an executor sale they will have to pay their very hefty tax bill before they get probate & therefore before they can sell to you. it could quite easily be around £250 000.

if you're in a position to, you could offer a higher cash deposit when you exchange to help with the tax bill. that would also make your offer more attractive.

It is a deceased estate so no vendors to woo as such. Yes it is a lot of money and it needs shedloads spending on it - it's definitely a money pit - and we'd have to rent while the work was being done, and it's grade 2* listed so the planners would be breathing down our necks. Still love it. We can do all this if we get it for the right price. We can't go crazy it's already a crazy prospect so we can't 'go all ebay' despite my tendancy to do exactly that on, er, eBay.

Please keep everything crossed! I think we'll be sitting it out till after the weekend and hoping no-one else is bonkers enough to take on a wreck at that price!

Ooh Claude good tip about cash deposit. We could certainly offer something along those lines.

Well that is an absolute love of a house and the garden sounds amazing BUT be very careful not to get carried away. It's listed, part timber framed and appears from the few interior pictures to have had bugger all done to it in recent memory. It was lived in by somebody ancient who's died right? The vendors are the heirs presumably so they have everything to gain from generating a bidding war and nothing to lose. I note they will also be putting 'clawback' in to place should anybody have bright ideas about selling off the garden for housing. Have you any idea how much you'll need to spend on it?

Sorry x posted with everybody. I read the OP, wrote a bit then had to go and referee children so delay in actually posting!

good luck! It's beautiful!

It's lovely.

If you don't get it, don't lose heart. I can imagine:

• someone offering loads
• having offer accepted
• getting survey done
• trying to get so much money off that vendors tell them to stuff it
• vendors come crawling back to you

Btw you know the MNHQ gavel doesn't really have that kind of power!
it is lovely I will withdraw your post shortly
Don't want to be responsible for divorce or gazumping
Masses of luck with it all

Just looked at your link. I see what you mean about this property. I think we can ALL see what you mean: It Feels Right!
You have to pray that the E.A is ethical. For instance , make sure that your offer has been put in writing. Think this is the law now?! When we sold a property a few years ago, our agent rang us with an offer which he said not to accept, because he was going to pump them ( buyers ) to another level. He did , and the higher price was paid. In this case that was the original asking price.
However the original offer was never put in writing.. so there is no record of it!
It does indeed look like a deceased sale.Also, as Claude says do not let them
know your top whack, yet.
Good luck.

oh one other thing
If you can cash deposit and agree (somehow?!?!) to exchange quickly with no muss no fuss that could be a help?
again
GOOD LUCK

Gosh that really is lovely.

Mathematical tiles though. Expensive if they go wrong, and they hide an earlier timber frame (I've had a nose around the list description on the English Heritage website, I can c&p or link it if you've not seen it). I suspect there's a medieval hall house hiding in there. Factor in the cost of a historic building survey if you need alterations doing that require listed building consent. But be prepared to be very excited by the results as well.

II though... II. I would love love love a Grade II* listed house.

Oi

I missed the link!!!! Privare PM??? Pretty please???

private...

I can't believe I missed the link. I am never leaving MN to clear up again.

Is there a way you can make the vendors know that "this is the house I want my kids to grow up in and DH and I to grow old in. "

I guess not. But if they knew that they would probably want you to have it as it must hold lots of happy family memories for them.

My Dad's house (not my childhood one) was bought by a property developer who royally screwed us, making us drop the price on the day of exchange. The Estate Agent (who was lovely) was fuming - not just for his commission. He later asked if he could have a couple of items from Dad's garden, I said of course he could, but could he also piss through the letter box when he went to pick them up. I don't think he did that last thing for me but he had his career to think of I suppose.

The last I heard, the property developer had done up the house and a family was living there. I felt completely better then.

Had I been able to sell to a family in the first place I would have been much happier.

Secondcoming I know I must come across that way. But this time it's different - we walked away from those two previous properties because they wanted more than we thought they were worth even though we could have upped our offers. They had compromises we were willing to overlook for the right price, but not at any cost. This one, I don't care about investment - I'm quite prepared to plough everything we can into this house. I love it. I just really liked the others.

Lots more useful tips. Thanks all! I like the idea of appealing to them re we want our children to grow up here etc. That would work on me. But not DH or many others I'm sure! Worth a shot.

I missed the original link but have a nose for these things ;)

It's a very romantic house. Can see why you've fallen for it. Many people, if they receive an immediate offer, naturally think "ooh hold out for more". There may be no more offers near that level. So don't be disheartened at this stage!