Walking away

[13579db]

When do you know if it's the right time to walk away during bidding? I'm assuming it's just gut instinct but it's such a tricky situation

Need more info here please to answer properly

For DH and I, it was when we realised that the house was already giving us sleepless nights and we hadn't even bought it yet!

When the price is more than I think it's worth.

We set a maximum limit before we get into a bidding war. That amount is how much the house is worth to us. Otherwise I think there’s a risk you keep going “ok, another £10k isn’t much...” and end up over the number you’re happy with.

My son just walked away from house he really loved after he bid over 7 percent over asking price and EA said all 8 bidders could place a final offer. He was getting stressed out. I told him walk away another house will come along. About an hour later he noticed a new house just on market. He viewed it that evening and it is perfect for him. He put in offer and got it accepted on same day. He is so relieved and happy.

Thanks, just looking for a reassurance that our plan of only bidding to the price of what we think the house is worth is the right way to go. Otherwise it just starts to feel like a rollercoaster without a seatbelt
We won't push prices up for others either, just so we can grab a house. We can wait until another comes along if necessary.
The whole process is mad but it's so important to keep cool and logical throughout

For me, most things about the house itself that are changeable are fine if my budget allows. So any work that needs doing like electrics/heating/decor/layout is fine, perhaps even though you could fix subsidence or Japanese knotweed these issues would be exceptions.

My 'walk-away' things are aspects you cannot change. Like flood risk, restrictive covenants, disclosed disputes with neighbours.

Thanks for the replies - I think we're walking away now with this house

Is it normal for the 'only'counter bidder to offer a whopping £45k to up the bids towards the end of the sale when their previous bids have been lower?

I feel agent is a bit of a gambler with us here and thinks we're a bit naive which we're actually not

Gut feeling is telling me to walk away, DH feels same.

Walk away. You don't want an overpriced house. We missed out on about six houses all of which went to bids we lost. Then when we got a house which was SO much better than any of them, it all made sense.

Thanks Cowbells, it's exactly that. I know something else will come up and I think I'd feel worse living in the house knowing we had been played somehow and ripped off
Plus houses similar in the area have sold for £200k less than this and they were very similar! Something definitely not right. I guess we'll never know but I'd rather walk away and wait than regret the huge rip off here

Pull out. Give it 6 months and check sold prices if you're that curious. I agree though - sounds like someone is playing games.

Thanks Dinosaur, I think if we withdraw that we'd get a call next week from the EA saying buyer has dropped out. I actually think that might happen.

However since this morning when I posted, DH keeps changing his mind saying we could just offer an extra £5k or whatever to see what happens, but I have a strong feeling that we're being taken for idiots here & that I'd always wonder what the hell was going on etc especially since it's all happened so fast so soon eg:

There has only been one week of bidding between us and another bidder and the bids were going up in £40-50k increments at the start. Just too crazy. Or is this normal?

And the estate agent suggesting that if we just offered 'a good chunk more' it would put the other bidders off...
It reminded me of the sinister guy in Charlie and the Choc Factory who whispers to Charlie about whatever it was

Anyhow, yes, hopefully DH will sleep on it and see sense tomorrow. I won't let him bid further today.

There will always be other houses coming on the market, regardless of the hype saying that there just isn't the supply etc Plus in the summer months more people will want to sell up surely? We can hope...

Plus 'the perfect house doesn't exist' mantra is helping me right now

I mean - a call from the EA saying the 'other' buyer has dropped out

For context, it is already 16% over asking price. Ridiculous

Walk away. People are hocking themselves up and some buyers are greedy. This inflated house price thing is not sustainable.

Something better will come along.

@13579db

I mean - a call from the EA saying the 'other' buyer has dropped out

So estate agent game playing or the other potential buyer realised 16% over asking price was crazy too. Walk away if that's the game.

Stuck, sorry for the confusion - I meant that I'm fully expecting a call from EA sometime NEXT week telling us the sale has fallen through and do we still want it

It's currently at 16% above the listed asking price, which for us is just ridiculous for what it is, and for the area it's in where most houses like it sell for £200k less

Rip off here I feel

Thanks User - agree it feels like a massively inflated price plus if there is a genuine bidder at the other side they must be in a real panic for it

Let it go. It's easy to get carried away in this mad market. Head over heart every time.

Sounds like a really overpriced deal for you. Walk away and avoid fuelling the market in desperation. You might have the money to bid higher, but I am sure you have that money only because you have been smart with it.

DblEspresso - agree - there is definitely part of me that doesn't want to over inflate market for others here, it just doesn't sit right with me (morally?) hard to describe but if we are wrong and it IS a genuine buyer then yes I'll feel crap for bidding up against them so then agent can say he sold X house for this ridiculous price & use it as a precedent for other houses nearby. Or maybe it doesn't work like that.

But yes, agree with your post, Star, that head over heart is so important right now and to keep calm and measured and be aware that it could all be utter bullshit from the EA.

@13579db

Stuck, sorry for the confusion - I meant that I'm fully expecting a call from EA sometime NEXT week telling us the sale has fallen through and do we still want it

It's currently at 16% above the listed asking price, which for us is just ridiculous for what it is, and for the area it's in where most houses like it sell for £200k less

Rip off here I feel

Sorry, I read that too quickly.

I agree head over heart in this market. Prices rising 20-25% in a year are clearly not sustainable.

Thanks Stuck, it's certainly a high %

What is the 'normal' percentage price rise in a year does anyone know?

I've always tried to have the mind set of 'what's meant to be, is meant to be'

Decide on a price YOU'RE willing to pay for it, if it's your forever home then it's less important you get value for money, than it would be if it's a stepping stone or investment. But decide what you will pay for it, and don't go over that.

If it's meant to be, it'll happen, if not and you lose it to someone who's willing to pay more, then something better will come round the corner

I think the % rise has gone a bit bonkers this year so it's difficult to tell