Sealed bids - how much over guide price?

[LittlePickleHead]

How long is a piece of string - I know!

But we are putting an offer in on a house which is sale by tender. Really want it, obvs don't want to overpay but in the crazy London market at the moment it's so hard to get a sense of where to pitch our bid.

Guide price is £350k. This is very low for properties in the area that on sale with an asking price. Other similar properties are on the market for c. £400k

The agents said that bids should be pitched closer to £400k than £350k, and I've heard another viewer wad told they needed to be at least £370k. It needs a fair bit of work so we don't want to go to our absolute max of £450k, and £100k over seems mental anyway.

So just interested to see what others would bid in this situation, to see if it correlates with what we are thinking!

I think it's impossible to advise because it is so blind and, actually, the price may not be the clincher - eg the vendor may take a lower offer from someone who is a cash buyer. The general advice is to choose a number then put a slightly random number on top of it so, if you were prepared to bid £400,000, make the figure £403,178 or something in case any other people were bidding at around the £400k mark. Stress your buying credentials (if you have any: chain-free/cash buyer/whatever) and generally gush if you think it will help ("We love your house and can see it being the home that we raise our children in, we can see it has been so well-loved blah blah").

The real advice is to be sensible, realise it's a lottery and not get too carried away. Good luck.

Thanks, I know it's impossible to advise, just so desperate to move now really want to be in with a good chance! Good thinking about the random amount on top of a figure.

Gah, that's exactly what I do with eBay, and I've said a few times it feels like housing ebay at the moment!

Why is the guide price 350 if the bids are meant to be that much higher? Check zoopla sold prices for similar properties and don't let EA talk it up too much (imposs I know). Good luck. Bid what your happy to pay and no more, or you'll feel diddled

I'd bid the amount that I'd be happy if I got it, and wouldn't be kicking myself if I missed out when I would have been prepared to pay more. I'd think about what it was worth to me rather than just focusing on dispassionate analysis of the market. I could have held out on the house I'm currently in and got more money off I'm sure. But I don't care. I'm happy and would have been gutted if I'd lost out for money I wouldn't mind spending.

It's sale by tender, Me2Mw2, which means there is a hefty 'introduction fee' for the agent. OP, have you found out exactly what the fee is? in this case just deduct from the market price of similar properties, minus also the work to be done (but maybe underestimate that a bit if you want to win).

Depending on your financial situation - eg will you be getting a mortgage- then you need to take in to account the likely valuation. This may not be as influenced by EA hyperbole ;) and therefore there may be a significant descrepancy between your offer and the valuation. You will need cash to cover this, in addition to the deposit and then cash for any work you want to, oh and then the stamp duty. Don't mean to be a damp squib - more just to highlight max budgets are generally dependent on a specific valuation of a house. of course if you are buying with the gold you keep down the back of the sofa ignore the above

I agree that its not just necessarily the bid, its about the position you're in. We succeeded in getting our bid accepted, but stressed that we were in rented accommodation, had a mortgage offer, H could do the conveyancing, we could complete within a month. Wanted it as a family house etc. We weren't the top bid (a few thousand below) but the bid, plus our position was the most attractive overall.