We love the house but the price seems bonkers! Help!

[NorthernGravy]

Can you help us? We've found a bungalow that we like but everything in it needs ripping out. It's listed with a terrible local agent who seem to overvalue properties in the area and aren't selling much.

It's on at 450 and the last similar house in the street went for 305 last year. The market in the area is slow (thanks to the crap agents and general market conditions). A nearby house went for 440 last year but it wasn't a bungalow and was bigger.

Talking to other local agents it appears that this agent is undercutting the commission of others and giving unrealistic valuations. Stuff isn't selling with the crap agents and they are all being reduced.

We've offered 380 and 400 both of which have been refused. When I made the offer of 400 the crap estate agents basically told me that it was a good price and quite a few properties have been downgraded by the mortgage valuations and that they just advise the client to accept the valuation.

So now we are in a pickle. Do we risk offering a higher price so we can apply and get a valuation, being 80% sure that it will be down valued? If it comes back by some miracle at the high price we offer, we will walk away. Is that a stupid gamble which will result in a wasted credit check against our name? Or is it £99 well spent (we would get a separate survey).

Do you need to buy now? If not, I'd be tempted to walk away, sit tight, watch it fail to sell at the high price, then go back with your offer again a few months down the line. They might have seen sense and bite your hand off.

Are the vendors in a hurry to sell? If they'd refused £400k, sounds like they're holding out for a higher price. And there is absolutely no guarantee that they'd suddenly cave just because its down valued (if it is) by a valuer. They might just assume a valuer is being particularly cautious and they'll wait for the next valuer to come along and give a higher valuation. Whilst you might expect valuers to be around the same ball park, they can vary between 5-10%. A property is worth what someone is prepared to pay, AND what a vendor is willing to let it go for. If those prices are different, its down to you about whether you're willing to go higher. I wouldn't gamble on the vendor coming down to the level you want.

Tricky one. Someone who sees its potential could come along as a cash buyer without any worries about mortgage values and snap it up.

I would gamble.

Often bungalows are more expensive than non- bungalows. Its because they are often very extendable in all directions and have big gardens to build further on. At least that's the case in my area where the house prices are rocketing again.

It's an old couple so no mortgage and they already have bought their next place so definitely not in a hurry to sell.

The crap estate agents have already told me that the local cash buyers they normally deal with (builders who do them up and sell them on) won't touch it as it's massively overpriced. Did I tell you that crap agents actually sold the last house in the street and it went for £75k below original asking price? And they are so crap they actually told me this.

Do we need to buy now? No, but we've been house hunting for 18 months and not much else has come up. We are SSTC too.

I think you need to ignore the "crap estate agents". Aren't they the ones who put it on the market, yet apparently they think its overpriced?! That doesn't make sense. And if they told the sellers that it was massively overpriced, and somehow the vendors still placed it on the market at the over inflated price, that just goes to show that they're not willing to listen to advice and are holding out for the price they want.

It all depends on the vendors. I know people who absolutely refuse to reduce the price of a vastly overpriced house and nothing will budge them. So don't offer over what you can afford or more than you think the house is worth. Give them your best offer and then leave them for as long as you can. If they are not in a hurry to sell it's unlikely they will reduce the house by much as they have nothing to gain. Agree with ignoring the crap estate agents.

Tell them your offer stands at 400 and you will happily keep that on the table for them but will continue looking. Then book a whole load of other viewings

I think you should think carefully. i think the bubble is going to burst soon.

What Randomnessesses said. Leave your offer on the table, we encountered this with a lovely house we offered on. It was overpriced at £750k, we offered £695 & 715 which were both rejected. Went back with £720k which the estate agent described as "a great offer & he's crazy if he doesn't accept" - reading between the lines, he had put it on higher than the EA valued it at.

In the meantime we had to make a best & final on another house we had seen & really liked which got accepted. The vendor of the overpriced house came back 2 days later & said that he might be interested in "doing a deal" but by that time it was too late - to be honest we'd have told him to do one as the only deal we were interested in was him accepting our final offer. It's still on the market...

Some people are greedy when it comes to selling their houses & cling to the idea that their house will attract more than the market price for that area. Don't offer more than you can afford, and keep looking whilst staying in touch with the EA for that house & reminding them of your offer. The fact that you are SSTC works in your favour - have you got a mortgage offer as yet?

if you've checked the property price register and you think the property is over priced then don't increase your offer!

I think it's difficult to compare house and bungalow prices as bungalows often command a premium price due to the shortage of them, their potential for extension and plot size.
I'd probably sit tight and see if it is reduced.