Vendor wants a higher offer

[stargirl04]

Hi guys,

I am a first-time buyer, with mortgage in place, a big deposit (60% LTV), solicitor organised and can move within weeks, and have put an offer in on a flat in London.

The asking price is offers in excess of 170k (for a one bed flat in grotty neighbourhood but near the station). I offered 175k on the same day I viewed it, which the vendor has been "considering" for the past week, obviously trying to get a higher offer from other viewers. In London properties in good condition and close to good transport links are selling for over the asking price in auction-style situations.

This flat is in fairly good condition but has a horrible kitchen (which I would replace) and virtually no storage space, and the communal areas (stairwell and hallway etc are quite grotty - dirty carpet etc).

Today the estate agent rang me back and said the vendor wants more than I've offered but said he was "unable to give me a figure".

I asked if there were any other offers and was told that there was a cash buyer "who might put an offer in", and that they had had another offer verbally, but that it hadn't been put into writing yet. However, the vendor "likes me" because of the fact I want to "get on with it and not mess about".

I can easily go up another 5k or more, but am concerned that if I pay over the odds I will suffer when it comes to resale value etc.

Anyone got any advice for me please?
Thanks for reading.

Wait it out at 175 , highly unlikely a supposed cash buyer will come to anything and if they do EA will come back to you.

Take your offer off the table whilst considering it. Don't let them use it as a springboard for others.

With no offer on the table they may find someone makes a lower offer and they are back biting your arm off.

I only ever give 24hrs to consider before I withdraw it.

I'd be looking elsewhere, come back in a week or 2 if you haven't found anything you like better.

I would tell them no, that's your offer and if they don't want to accept it, to let you know by X date and you will go with one of your other options.

they are clearly trying it on and of course they want to get as much as possible! But is it worth it to you?

And if you say ok to this, you can expect them to come back at the last minute and demand yet more and you may feel you have to, because you'll have spent money at that point.

It isn't the only flat for sale, if it falls through, there will be another. You have to decide if you need that flat badly enough to fork out more.

Yes, withdraw your offer. Say you are thinking about what to do, but atm your offer is off the table. Make sure they confirm receipt of that instruction in writing. Ask them to email you to confirm.

There's ALWAYS a cash buyer considering an offer. Funny that.

Never believe what estate agents tell you. You have no proof of other viewers or so called cash buyers. Decide what you think the flat is worth based on comparable properties and what you are willing to pay and stick to it. Then be prepared to walk away. It sounds to me like you're compromising anyway (use of the word grotty!!)

Thanks for your thoughts. But surely if I withdraw my offer then I take myself out of the bargaining process?

I think the vendor is seduced by the fact that many flats in London are selling at over the asking price. An ex-local authority flat in a dodgy area (although immaculately presented) that I put in an asking price offer for a couple of weeks ago sold for 25k over!

Also, Mintyy... why do I need to get confirmation of withdrawing my offer in writing? Sorry to ask but I am new to all this property buying!

You need to send an email stating your offer is withdrawn while you consider your options. Look at other flats, loads will come on the market in January.

If your offer still stands, the Estate Agent can go to the other fictional cash buyer interested party and say "there is an offer of £175,000 on the table" and use your offer as a bargaining tool. If you withdraw it then you take that bargaining tool away.

Of course, if you want to pay more than £175,000 then do feel free to go ahead.

I would take the offer back off the table. You don't sound sold on the flat tbh. Yes it's got good transport links etc but you've used the word grotty a lot and that doesn't sound promising for the biggest purchase you're ever likely to make. EA will come back to you. They want to sell. As a pp said there will be new properties coming on in the new year.

How much do you want that flat? How much do you think selling quickly is important for the vendor?

I've been the vendor in a similar situation very recently.

It's a tense situation, because you want a certain amount of money but you need to complete a sale to get anything, so reliability and speed are issues, especially if the property is empty and costing money every month. Choosing between buyers feels like backing a horse in a race, it can fall over at any moment.

I had a clearly keen and reliable buyer who got there first but was adamant he could only go up to a certain figure; less than I really wanted to accept or thought the place was worth but I'd come to accept it might be all anyone was going to pay. A few days later two better offers came along.

If buyer no. 1 had moved closer to the other offers, even if not equalling them, I'd have gone with him. As it was, I couldn't afford to turn down the difference, so went for the highest.

Of course I'm not waiting for a slow-moving buyer, who, as far as I know, may be keeping his options open while looking elsewhere and may not complete at all, to get on with things and rather thinking the third person - in between price, keen but more businesslike than 'heart set on it' no. 1, might have been the better option...

Oh and, if other options fall through, they may well come back to you.

I'm buying in London at the moment.

I've had four potential sales fall through, most of them because of estate agents messing buyer or seller around and it sounds like from my experience (i've been trying to buy for 5 months) that you have a poor estate agent.

At the moment you have an offer on the table that is fair which isn't being accepted, estate agents make money from volume not adding 5k to sales so he'll want to get this the property sold ASAP.

The fact he isn't doing that smells to me like even if you got it accepted you would need to exchange ASAP to avoid him potentially screwing you over.

My advice:
Tell the EA that your offer will come off the table at the end of this week so you can focus on christmas and listen for the reaction, trust your gut.

If it helps from my experience property seems to sell in waves in London, they'll be nothing for weeks then suddenly 6 in your area... be patient this is your first house and one of the most expensive purchases you'll ever make.

Never rush, you'll be fine.

:)

Hi guys and thanks for the advice.

Bobbyjones - I have been in a bit of a rush because I need to be out of my current rented place by easter, although I have got a little bit of leeway as I rent from a friend.

But I guess I need to remember your advice that this is the biggest purchase I will ever make so not to rush. It's hard not to panic though, as anything decent is flying off the market above asking price.

Mintyy - I appreciate that taking the offer off the table puts the agent in a weaker position, but there is a nagging fear in my head that withdrawing an offer makes me look unreliable?

Also, what I meant when I asked that question was, if I withdraw an offer, why do I need to put it in writing and have it confirmed in writing rather than do it verbally over the phone?

Is that to stop the estate agent lying to other buyers about there being an offer on the table?

As for the observations about me using the word "grotty"... on my paltry budget I've come to terms with the fact that I will have to live in a grotty area as I can't afford nicer neighbourhoods.

As for the grotty communal areas, it's true and a good point that that's something I have no control over. It's not the worst I've ever seen, but just not great due to the dirty carpets.

I will bear in mind what everyone's said about more new places coming on to the market in the new year. It's really helpful!

withdrawing your offer makes you look like not-a-mug.

I wouldn't withdraw my offer, I would just say

Let the cash buyer have it then if the seller wants cash for the property as I am going to have to you with a mortgage

sit back and watch them squirm

went to look at a house today where the property had had an offer but by someone in a chain, there were 6 other viewers today (saw one looking before and one arrived as we were all leaving) and they wanted an offer by close of business - the pressure was on.

well guess what, the property wasn't right so didn't make an offer - but at 5.20 this afternoon the estate agent was on the phone.....

seller: its for sale for £x

buyer: OK, I'll buy it for £x

seller: I've got a better offer, how much more will you pay?

it's an old script. Don't play. Tell them if they've got a better offer, you'll look elsewhere. Each time you go up a step, they'll put another step in front of you. They will only stop raising the bar when you stop jumping it.

You need to have all the pertinent facts in writing, op. Otherwise it is just your word against theirs. This is why people get into trouble so much with Estate Agents; they don't force them to behave like the professionals they should be.

if you can afford to go to £180, I would wait till the new year when more flats will come on the market, and get something better for that. (Though I have to say I'm astonished you can get anything even half-decent for that in London!)

If my 'buyer one' had withdrawn and told me to go with the higher offer I'd have been massively relieved and done so immediately, without the uncomfortable feeling of letting a reliable buyer go, or feeling bad for him and his keenness.

I would not then have gone back to him if another buyer fell through. If his offer stayed on the table I would.

If he'd offered a tiny bit more I'd have gladly sold to him.

The agents may or may not be wheedling idiots but its the seller making the decisions (and often pricing themselves out of a sale and causing the agent immense frustration).

My DS is in a very similar position to you and has lost 2 properties recently to over asking price bids. Our advice to him is think what is the most you want to pay for this property and would you really regret it if you don't get this one.

There will be a lot more coming on after Xmas and estate agents are slimy bastards so I think I would say that you are prepared to leave your offer on the table until Friday but will continue looking if it is not accepted by then

I don't think you need to withdraw the offer, I think you can do what the vendor has been doing and "consider" a higher offer for the next week. It really depends on where you draw the line between really wanting the house and not being taken for a mug - in principle none of us want to be screwed over (or the feeling of) but if you do want the house then you may have to concede.

No doubt the vendor is veering between thinking "here's a good offer, take it" or "can I get more money?" - it's not much easier as a vendor really.

Play your cards close to your chest, don't let the agent know more than the minimum, and perhaps draw up a list of pros and cons re the flat to help you decide whether you want to go higher.

I don't think you should let the estate agent play you - and should either give a deadline OR withdraw the offer as other have suggested. However, be aware that the market in London has gone crazy in the past two or three months and you probably will be paying a lot more for a similar flat by Easter (I'd guess,, even by the end of January). Try not to box yourself into a corner if you want to buy sooner rather than later.

Good luck.