Old property, above budget but been on market 6mo+. How low an offer to make?

[clubnail]

Haven't actually seen inside yet, but online I like it.
I know that the owner has died, so it has been willed to relative(s).
It has been online for six months. I think it is overpriced as it is, but how much would you offer without risking the EA laughing in your face?
It is on at £315k. Above our budget, and requires a lot of work. And on the market for six months.
We don't want it so badly that we'd mortgage ourselves to the hilt, but I don't want to waste our or the EA's time viewing if they might not drop the price to sell.
Would you ring the EA and say look, our budget is £x, is it even worth looking at this house?

I'd ring and ask if they've had much interest. The ones on for six months or more worry me tbh. I assume that the vendors have unrealistic expectations and are refusing to consider offer. Has the price changed much in that time?

Thanks. It does need a lot of work doing to it (damp, rot etc) and I would say we are actually in a cheaper area of the UK so many people here won't be able to afford it. Well, we can't! But we could if they dropped the price a fair bit!
So there is a) the fact that it is expensive for this town and b) it is a project requiring a fair bit of renovation work, which puts a lot of people off.

I am pretty sure the price has not dropped at all since it came on.
I was just hoping they'd had no offers and would jump at a nice low offer from us, rather than have it sit for who knows how long, not getting them any money at all.
So if I ring and the EA says there has been no interest, then what? Would I ask if they know if the seller would accept a low offer just to get it off their hands? I doubt I am in anyone's will, but if I were, and the house that had been willed to me was stagnant for six months, I think I'd think the EA overpriced it to start with, and would accept a low-ish offer. Of course, I just don't know how desperate they are!

We were in a similar situation. The executors felt they weren't in a hurry and would wait for the highest possible price.
They were gunning for a bidding war.

We had to point out all the work that needed and, nudged by the EA, the sale went ahead.

I do think some people have unrealistic expectations.

You see, I'm sensible and, like you, if I'd had a house on the market for six months without it shifting I'd lower the price or jump at an offer. But it sounds like the vendors are in no rush to sell...

All you can really do is go see it and then offer what you think it's worth

dontcall, if you don't mind me asking, what was their asking price and what did you offer/buy for? OR, if this is on at £315k, what would you offer?

truth, it could be that, or, it could be that they haven't had any offers at all.

It is hard to know what it is worth. It's possibly worth more than we can afford, BUT, if no one else is offering, then it is only worth what offers they get!!!

I think you should play your cards close to your chest, don't tell them how much money you've got.

Go and see it but don't get too excited, because often the reason something is on the market for a long time is not that no-one has offered but that the vendor hasn't been prepared to accept a price that a buyer considers reasonable.

Also if it's been on 6 months it still hasn't been on the market through the busiest time, ie spring/summer, so the vendors might want to see what happens through another 6 months before they accept a reduction.

Thanks, tunip.

Ah, ok about summer! Will plan to view and see how it goes!

Our house had sat on the market for a year, at £300k.

we paid £237k.

The vendor turned out to be a barking mad, double dealing, red in tooth & claw nightmare mind you, but still - bargain!

So it's definitely worth being a bit cheeky. we found the EA to be very helpful - probably because they wanted the vicious old witch off their books tbh...

Another way to think about an inherited property is it's not costing the vendors anything and is easy to hang on to. They could even be waiting for the market to improve. It could represent a retirement fund or something to be shared between siblings. People want the best return they can get. Don't always care about selling quickly. Certainly not accepting any old pisstake offer.

You need to get a real feel for property prices in the area. How much are similar sized properties going for, or ones with similar features? No harm in viewing & getting a builder round to price up renovation costs. Then go back with a realistic offer explaining your logic. Last thing you want to do is buy a money pit.

It's likely vendors will have gone with highest price suggested by EA.

club, we knocked 10% off the asking price initially. That offer was declined. We had an informal but full survey that identified a host of problems, some we expected and were obvious but many weren't. We revised our offer which, after a lot of wrangling, was accepted.

Definitely go and have a look, do you know anyone in the building trade (builder, surveyor, architect?) and go in with your eyes open.
And remember, add 10% to any quotes.
and DONT FALL IN LOVE or if you do, don't show it!

How much would you need to spend to make it habitable?

Ooh, that is a good bargain, raven, well done!
I don't think we have much to lose, being cheeky, as we can't offer anything too near £315k. Only if the EA remembers us and puts a black mark against our name for future properties and being cheeky timewasters!

Zen, true. Though it could be that they could do with their share sooner rather than waiting, for what, if say, shared between five people, may only work out to be a few thousand pounds.

And true, we don't want a money pit. I am a bit put off knowing about the damp and rot, there is also some structural damage.

Well, it kinda depends if anything else comes on the market for us. Things are generally a bit slow here. I am keen to move soon.

I have seen similar that I want Very bad condition has been on since last summer at 375 Dropped to 350 in January. I am going to view it in March and if I like it will offer 300

dont, thanks for info.
BIL has some contacts in the building trade, yes, so we will be able to call on him/them and feel we can trust their opinion.

noddy, the report actually states £20k to sort the damp, rot and insect infestation issues. Then there is some structural damage, though I don't know how serious this is so no idea re how much to rectify. The structural issue concerns me more than the rot, damp and insect infestations, just seems like quite a biggie.
And this is why I think the property has been sitting for six months. It could well be a money pit! Argh.

But there is not much else around.
We are viewing another property this weekend now, it also needs some work but is on at a much more affordable price. But is semi, not detached, and the location isn't as good for OH's work.

Good luck, noddy! Yes, I would like to knock at least £75k off the asking price.

Its always worth a go! I have bought all my projects like that over the years never paid more than 80% and often less.

It took a while to sell our parents house, people presumed that we were hanging out for the best price but this wasn't the case.
The market was just slow, people were hanging out because prices were dropping.
It may just be that people are being cautious.
What sort of work will need doing, this can put a lot of people off as they want to move straight in.
If the décor and fixtures and fittings are old, some won't have the money to do the work.
There are lots of reasons.
I'd go and view it and put in an offer if you still like it.
Sometimes there can be a good reason that the council may not be publicising like a car park to be built at the back of your house for e.g
Maybe check out planning permissions too.

The other question to ask is have they had any offers that they've declined?

It is. Well, we plain can't afford £315k plus £20k on renovations plus more if the structural issues need fixing!

Thanks for input potatoprints. Good advice.
The work that needs doing is fairly substantial, and off-putting, but, not completely offputting, obviously! :) I am not really concerned about the damp, rot, insect infestations as I know once fixed, things should be ok, so we would budget any offer factoring in the work to be done. It's the structural thing I don't know about yet.

dont, thanks, I will ask that. Is the EA obliged to tell me?

I'm not sure if he's legally obliged, but there's no harm in asking. They will want to sell it though, it's not in their interests to have it on the books for months.
Let us know when you've seen it.

Thanks!
We will see if we like the other house on Sunday, if we do we might not bother with the £315k one. It's way more cost and hassle. But if we do, I will update!