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Original poster

cash buyer with no chain- will I get a good price on a house?

22 replies

BillyJoel · 16/06/2014 21:15

Just that really- I will be in a position to buy with cash and no chain in a few months - does that mean I can look at houses outside my price bracket knowing that my lower offer will be attractive. How much lower would I be able to go - 10 per cent? How much of a benefit would no chain cash buyer be?

OP posts:
NoArmaniNoPunani · 16/06/2014 21:19

It really depends which area you are looking in and how desperate the vendor is for a quick sale

LtEveDallas · 16/06/2014 21:21

We were in that position before we bought. Tbh it didn't make as much of a difference as we thought it would - and in the end chose to take a small mortgage and keep some money in the bank. We did pay under asking, but only about 4%

jellyandsoup · 16/06/2014 21:24

We had lots of people look round ours claiming to be cash buyers, to be honest it made no difference to the price we were willing to sell at, chain free is an advantage tho

stikmatix · 16/06/2014 21:35

Not in our area! We are also chain free cash buyers, but in our price bracket there are loads of them, mostly investors, and most decent places go over asking!

The only consolation is knowing that our area is popular, which is always a good thing!

Original poster
BillyJoel · 16/06/2014 21:50

Oh dear , not as good as I thought, then.
Anyone got a good news story about it?

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Original poster
BillyJoel · 16/06/2014 21:52

So what do I look for knowing that I can offer under the asking price- places that have been on the market for a long time? Anything else?

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Lelivre · 16/06/2014 21:53

The purchaser of ours is cash (going through now) she is paying asking but...her offer had priority over another (same day/amount) as they were in a chain.

specialsubject · 16/06/2014 22:16

as noted, it doesn't get you a discount (although no reason not to offer lower), but it may well make you a preferred buyer. I bought in a non-London, non-crazy area, but being in this position meant we got a good house at the correct price (the asking!) over others.

ThePerfectNegroni · 17/06/2014 02:42

As somebody who has just sold, I wouldn't have accepted a lower offer, but if it was the same as another who was in a chain, I would have chosen you over them.

Original poster
BillyJoel · 17/06/2014 07:31

Ok thanks for these. No special price, then, just jump to the front of the queue.

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Sunnyshores · 17/06/2014 12:09

If you're looking for a particular bargain, houses that have been on the market a long(er) time, houses marked as No Chain where the owner has already moved out, something that looks a mess inside or outside, something with several agents. Not guaranteed to equal lower, but worth a shot.

Tallandgracefulmum · 17/06/2014 22:01

What a funny question OP. A property is worth what you are willing to pay for it and how desperate the seller is! Some sellers can wait 10 years to get the price they believe their home is worth. I bought my flat cash it was a fixer upper, bought a 3 bed flat turned into a 4 bed (converted the garage) in a nice area but needed lots of work, I paid asking price, as good looking properties in my area go 20-30% over asking price. I decided to go for a flat outright rather than a house with a large mortgage. In this market, rather unlikely that your cash lower than asking price will tempt a seller when someone with a mortgage offer due to expire in weeks will offer in excess of the asking price. Maybe in the height of the recession.

HeyN0nny · 17/06/2014 22:36

Very unlikely you'd get a lower price. Quite possible that it would make the agents recommend your offer over the same offer from someone in a chain.

Friends recently sold their house a couple of roads away from us - open day, 50+ viewings on that day, 12 offers, 8 of them cash.

Most would-be buyers round us are renting in order to be in a good position to secure a property, according to all the agents who did valuations on our house, but they were all adamant that it affected only the speed of the sale, not the price - most are going well above asking.

We're London though.

Original poster
BillyJoel · 18/06/2014 00:17

Blimey. I dont live in Uk yet, and we are still in recession here....
Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. Will get back to browsing rightmove.

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noddyholder · 18/06/2014 12:14

I renovate houses for a living and I always buy cash and have bought for good discount every time and even if someone offered more with a mortgage they took mine so I say yes. I had a sale fall through yesterday because of MMR and my estate agent said its the 3rd this week where banks have reduced lending at the last minute so cash is good atm and will be more so if rates rise and multiples are capped

ThePerfectNegroni · 18/06/2014 12:58

Noddy- are the houses that you buy for cash houses that have been sat on the market for a bit? Does that make them more willing to drop the house price?

mithuseretrod · 18/06/2014 14:24

well, it worked out very well for me.

I felt it gave me power. But, I'm in Ireland where it has been very difficult to get mortgages recently. One person i knew, the amount was approved for a three bed house but when they tried to buy a 3 bed duplex the mortgage offer was recinded.

Also, must be different in the UK but I had to show evidence of funds to EAs.

noddyholder · 18/06/2014 14:27

No never ones that have been sitting around. I bought a maisonette last march for 218k that was on the market for 250. It had 6 viewings all offered mine was much lower. I think cash really works. As I said before mortgage market has started to get tricky again in teh last few weeks The agent I am with had a boom between january and March achieving record prices but it has really slowed and lots of failed mortgages inc me!

mithuseretrod · 18/06/2014 14:34

yes, that's so true. it's supposedly the right time to buy where I am (and it is if you can afford it). so many buyers thought they had a mortgage in place, then due to normal delays in the chain, the period of validity expired and the offer needed to be re-approved. One couple I knew, in that time they'd had another child which meant that they failed 'the stress test' so their mortgage offer couldn't just be renewed for the same amount!

noddyholder · 18/06/2014 14:55

The couple buying ours had an agreement in principle in March I think Both really good jobs etc no children large deposit and still failed stress test last week! I will be very keen to get a cash buyer if possible if this is how things are going

ThePerfectNegroni · 18/06/2014 15:11

I'd be interested to hear how we go with our stress test. When we put in our application they told us we could borrow 25% more than we have applied for. They told us that with the income and outgoing figures we've given and the amount we have applied for, we can afford to pay it back in 13 years. We've applied for for it over 22 years.

Original poster
BillyJoel · 18/06/2014 18:48

Its good to hear that it is useful sometimes, but rotten if you are a mortgagee. Have you ever bought through an auction? How close was v the asking price to the final figure? Any tips? The whole idea scares me but it might be worth it.

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