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Original poster

Buyers / Sellers - come and share your advice on my situation

12 replies

PostBellumBugsy · 21/08/2013 14:38

I have found a house I like in the area I want to be in. However, I think it is massively overpriced. It was bought by its current owner last September for £300k and she has gutted it, put in an upstairs bathroom, a new kitchen & redecorated through out. So it is in good decorative order. The garden is a mess though. However, it is on at £450k, when others of the same size in the same street have gone for just under £400k in the last 12 months. The house has been on for about one month, with no offers made so far.

My instinct is to put in an offer of £390 and go up to £400k - as I think that is what the house is worth. Any thoughts?

OP posts:
lalalonglegs · 21/08/2013 14:50

You can put in whatever offer you want, but it doesn't mean she will accept it - it depends on her situation and the local market. She may not be in any hurry to sell and prepared to sit it out, after all, someone has advised her that the house is worth that price and she has taken that advice. I tend to think that the price paid is irrelevant (unless it's working in the other direction - it is hard for people to accept less than they paid).

Original poster
PostBellumBugsy · 21/08/2013 14:52

She is keen to sell and there is no onward chain. I know I can make any offer I fancy, but I don't want to be insulting & to me £60k under seems insulting. Urgh, I hate this stuff.

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lalalonglegs · 21/08/2013 14:57

It's more than 10% under so there's a chance she could be insulted. Otoh, she may have priced it high and be prepared to take a low offer - she may have felt if she priced it at c£400 she'd get offers at £375. Who knows? Just offer and tell the estate agent your reasoning.

FruitSaladIsNotPudding · 21/08/2013 14:58

How long has it been on the market? If it's new on I'd be inclined to wait - it's unlikely to sell at that price but she may not yet realise this and won't want to take offers.

I wouldn't worry about being insulting though. You're not forcing her to take the offer. I think the figures you've given seem reasonable going on what you've said about neighbouring houses.

Original poster
PostBellumBugsy · 21/08/2013 15:02

It's been on for a month FruitSalad & the EA told me that she hadn't received any offers on it to date.

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FruitSaladIsNotPudding · 21/08/2013 15:05

In that case I'd wait another month at least. But I suppose it depends how much you want it!

Jan49 · 21/08/2013 15:32

Could you maybe suggest to the EA that you are really interested but think it's overpriced and would be looking at putting in an offer under £400K and then see how the EA responds? As it's new to the market the seller might be more likely to wait in the hope of getting a better offer.

I wouldn't worry about an offer being 'insulting', particularly as your offer would fit in with prices of similar houses and it's unlikely that the work the seller has done plus rising prices have added £150K in value to the house since she bought it. She's just trying to make a lot of money out of it and probably being unrealistic.

If the EA has been seeking feedback from viewings, she may already be aware that the house is overpriced and the seller may have to drop the price anyway.

Original poster
PostBellumBugsy · 21/08/2013 15:34

The EA said not to worry about the low offer & go for it! I'm going for a 2nd viewing & then I'll make my low offer. Don't know why this stuff stresses me out so much - but I'm already cacking my pants!!!!

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50shadesofmeh · 21/08/2013 15:40

A house is only worth what people will pay for it, most sellers will have a bottom line in mind and not shift from that I'd give it a bash they can only say no, you only need to worry about insulting them if you would actually be willing to pay 450k and are worrying about freezing them out or annoying them.

MummytoMog · 21/08/2013 16:06

The house I bought a few years ago was on with a gazillion agents, mostly for OIEO £350k but at £390k with a couple. We offered £340k and were accepted at £350k. They weren't offended.

However their quick and dirty renovation/flip/making a quick buck is still haunting us years later (latest discovery - they just plastered over cracks where the side wall was departing from the main body of the house) and knowing then what I know now, I think we overpaid.

Mandy21 · 21/08/2013 16:27

I'm always a bit wary of relying on the price paid previously - yes, its an indication but you have no way of knowing what the position was of the vendor previously - did it sell at auction / were there problems in mortgaging it (if it needed to be gutted), were the vendors about to be repossessed? All of these things can affect the price paid etc.

Original poster
PostBellumBugsy · 21/08/2013 16:33

I've got a vague idea Mandy, because I saw the house up for sale last year. It was owned by an elderly couple who wanted to downsize. It was on for ages & ages as it was overpriced & the market was really slack. It was shabby & needed an overhaul but there were no structural issues.

I considered buying it myself then but I wasn't proceedable at the time.

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