what would you accept on house on at 140k

[jenbird]

We have just been offered 125 for our house that is on at 140k. We dropped price last month from 145. We bought it six years ago for 135 but we have spent at least 10k renovating it as it needed a lot of work doing. Ideally we wanted the 135 but are considering taking 130k as we could do with the money in the bank. What would you do? Thanks in advance

it really depends on what you can afford to take

so sellers will not accept less than asking price and others are prepared to drop much lower, depends on your need to sell and your overall financial position

I would take £125k, I think.

I agree... it really depends on how happy you are with that.

BUT... a bird in the hand and all that puts you in a better position to buy your next home. Depends how keen you are to move really.

The only honest answer is that it depends. What are prices doing in your area generally (have you checked the land registry)? What have similar homes sold for recently (btw ignore asking prices of those on the market - by definition they haven't sold at that price)? How long has it been on for? How keen are you to move? Have you had any other offers? etc. etc.

To illustrate this variance, in the town where I live (in the South West), some properties are achieving similar to what they were bought for in 2006, whereas others are being advertised at less than what they were bought for in 2003. Likewise, one or two go for asking price and a few have gone for 15-20% off asking. Generally speaking though prices are trending downwards, so if its similar where you are, remember the longer you're on the market, the less likely it is you'll get close to what you want - chasing the market down is never a good strategy.

Unfortunately, what you bought it for/spent on it should be of no concern to a buyer - they should be pitching their offer based on the above factors also. Think of it this way - if you'd bought 15 years ago, would you be expecting a similar price to what you paid? Of course not, the market would dictate you'd sell for a lot more. And the same principle applies in your situation - the market will dictate what it's worth.

I went to a seminar recently and 80% of property sold in my area is going for around 10% under asking price. Only something like 2% were going above asking. So £125k isn't that far off the 10% mark, which (for where i live anyway) would make it a reasonable offer.

Apparently it's 92.5% here (west midlands).

gah that should be 90% dont have ipad to blame mistypes it on

springforward is that 92.5% of houses are going for 10% under or houses are typically going for 92.5% of asking price?

we bought in WM recently and got a bit more than that off

Actually, the land registry may not be totally indicative of what a house was purchased for. It does not include what was paid for fixture and fittings which could be a considerable sum. Having said that if Jenbirds house is up for £140 then f&F will be minimal (i presume)

£125k is the first stamp duty barrier, so an extra £5k in the offer is actually an extra £6.3k cost to your potential buyers.

Sorry typical - 92.5% of final asking price (I got one of those online valuation reports for a house we were interested in, which told us!).

Update: We have asked them for 132. Our house is really reasonably priced. It does not have parking directly attached but that is reflected in the price. If you wanted something similar (size and period property with parking) you are looking at upwards of 150k in our area.
I wish we could accept their offer but with fees taken out it would seriously damage our deposit. We have had quite a few viewings recently and have another couple coming back for a second viewing so hopefully things will move forward. Fingers crossed.
Thanks for your replies