Estate agents!

[Mcmcmcmc]

Are most of them a bit bully-ish?
I made an offer on a flat - the estate agent (who was covering for the one who I was dealing with) said the flat had been valued by the agents as worth 5% less than the asking price as it’s been tenanted for years and “needs a bit TLC” (their words). I offered 10% less and the (other) estate agent said that my offer (which was the first offer made on this property) said that my offer was “a shock to the system” to the seller as it was way too low!
I’m a FTB and explained to the EA that anything above that would cost me an extra £7K in additional stamp duties, as I would no longer qualify for the stamp duty “discount” for FTB at that value. She suggested I speak to her mortgage broker (who charges £1K) to see if he can get me good rates and “negotiate with lenders” so that I can borrow more money.
Lenders are currently offering me 6x my salary in mortgage loans thank you very much - I don’t want to be tied to a huge debt and spend an extra £7K because the seller won’t budge on 5-10% his asking price...
I felt that her attitude was a little rude, but then again I’m a FTB and this was the first offer I made - are they usually like this?
I’m looking to buy in South London btw!

How are you getting 6 x salary?
And yes estate agents are mainly tossers

Yes they try and embarrass you into making a higher offer, in my experience. Just stick to your guns say you don't want to borrow more in the current climate thanks very much.

Yes they are bullish and don’t be railroaded in to using their brokers, they won’t have your best interest at heart. Use an independent broker. It sounds like they are taking advantage because you are a FTB. If they are not able to negotiate a sale for you at the price you want to pay, have a look around for other properties,

Alexalee actually it’s 4x mine and my partner’s salary combined, roughly 6x my own salary... what I mean is, borrowing the money is “easy” (lenders love to get people tied up to larger and larger loans) but that doesn’t mean it would be affordable...

Estate agents can be bullies and will at times tell you - other offers on market / best and final last chance etc when it's not always the case. Sometimes it is though. If you are going to go over the threshold with the extra 7k then either stick to your offer And wait, or chose another house instead within the threshold. It's def a buyers market with all the current uncertainty.
If you really do want this house you could say agree to paying some of the sellers fees but the house price you want, which would reduce their overall cost but on paper factor as within the threshold so win win.

pilates you are absolutely right. At least as we are renting (rather than selling anywhere) we can wait until we find the right property as technically we don’t need to be in a rush - this is probably the only advantage of renting though grin

Their mortgage broker found good rates, but with his expensive fee, we would only save £100 over the first 5 years, so I would be better off going straight to the bank.

Stick to an independent broker too, they are generally better and have access to the full market.

Did the the seller turn down your offer then ? You can always ring and say I'll leave my offer on the table please come back to me if they reconsider.

Was the offer 30k under the asking price ? 10% is quite a chunk off but if it needs TLC you've got to consider the mortgage valuation on it. You don't want to offer more and your lender say it's not worth it.

dingdongdino the asking price is £540K, the EA’s colleague told me that due to the condition it’s in they suggested £525K, but the owner didn’t accept their advice.
I offered £490K which is about 9% less than the asking price, considering the condition and the work I’ll need to do on it.
I’d be fine if they just said “sorry that’s too low”, but the EA’s tone and her comment that the owner was “shocked” were a bit much! 😂

Mcmcmc pm me the link if you want my advice on what a fair offer is...

And yes they are trying to embarrass you into upping the offer... you should tell them that is your offer and if they want to make a sale they should go and work on the seller

We had this with a house we looked at. On the market for £540k and our top budget was £500k. We were concerned when the agent suggested it but he said "I wouldn't show you anything you can't afford", which basically meant he thought £500 was a reasonable value.

We saw it and my DP loved it. I wasn't so keen but it was a nice enough house. Could see a lot of potential but it needed a new kitchen and bathrooms. We offered £475k, which we knew was too low, but were bargaining on getting it up to £500. They refused point blank and said they didn't want any less than the asking price. The agent was v apologetic as he clearly thought they were barking!

12 weeks later we moved in to an equally lovely house with bigger bedrooms (that I actually preferred!) that only cost us £430k! The other house never sold and was removed from the market and hasn't been back on since in the last 6 years.

Keep looking OP. Our failed offer just meant it wasn't supposed to be. We're much happier in this house than we would've been in the other one.

With the way they are on the brink of going out of business, and probably heading for the dole queue, EAs would be better retraining as nurses or healthcare assistants. That way they could atone for all their sins, and perhaps get some public respect.