We want to put an offer in on a house that is being sold through purple bricks. I have so far only dealt directly with the seller. It’s more like an exchange through fb market place than any other property related interaction I’ve ever had, so I’m not sure how to approach the offer stage.
The house (midlands based) is on the market for £90,000 more than they paid for it 2 years ago (they have put in a new kitchen but not done any significant building work). It is on the market for £100,000 more than other houses have sold for on the same street, although it is heavily extended and by far the largest. Having said that, in this town, recent sales of similar properties have been rather less than this house’s asking price. Our estate agent has suggested a maximum value that it is worth and it is £30,000 less than the asking price.
The house has potential. It is not our ‘dream house’, but it does meet all of our desired criteria. I don’t want to offend them by offering low (what our estate agent has suggested we start at), but will not pay more than their suggested maximum value.
How does this sound for an initial offer letter:
Dear Mrs Purplebricks,
We would like to make an offer of £. We love your home and can really see ourselves raising our family there as you have. We can see that you have put a lot of time and love into creating your home and especially like what you have done with the new kitchen.
We recognise that our offer is lower than your asking price. On the advice of our estate agent, our offer is reflective of the house price ceiling of the road, and comparable evidence of recent sold prices of similar properties in (the town). It is also reflective of the * work that will need to be undertaken (here I will briefly detail changes that the vendor knows needs to be addressed).
I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Kind regards,
Applesauce