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Original poster

to take this offer

22 replies

bootootrue · 23/05/2021 09:01

Help! Really stuck on what to do and looking for some outside perspective.

We've had our 2 bed flat on the market for a few months. Loads of viewings but no offers, reduced price, now had one offer that's 10% below the reduced asking price. We've followed the estate agent's recommendations for pricing throughout, but they seem to be struggling to predict the market.

At the same time, we're moving to a house that needs substantial work doing to it. We can afford to buy the house (we're very lucky there) but not do any of the work until we've sold our flat. We could afford to do the work with the proceeds from this offer, but it'll be tight.

So do we accept this low offer and crack on with getting our forever home sorted, or do we wait in the hopes that a better offer comes along?

Any thoughts/considerations/questions we should be asking ourselves would be greatly appreciated! We need to decide this weekend.

OP posts:
ItsSnowJokes · 23/05/2021 09:03

Personally I would take it as flats are just not shifting at the moment. We sold our flat last year and it took a while for it to sell, when houses were flying out. Take it, get to your forever home and don't think about the money.

DShrute · 23/05/2021 09:06

Depends on your outgoing costs to keep it on the market for a while longer. Is that going to be a lot more or less than the 10% you'll lose?

Martinisarebetterdirty · 23/05/2021 09:07

I agree, take the money and move on. I’ve priced a house too high at the wrong time and it didn’t sell for years, it’s incredibly stressful having a house to sell for a long time plus flats are more difficult to sell.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 23/05/2021 09:09

Take it, don’t get stuck where you are.

Original poster
bootootrue · 23/05/2021 09:16

Thanks all, it's really helpful to get some outside perspective. We're heavily leaning towards taking the offer and moving on, but were worried emotions might be getting in the way, so it's good to see this consensus!

@DShrute We've done some quick estimates and it would be a couple of years before the running costs outweighed the 10% but the worry is prices might drop further in that time. Our estate agent doesn't seem to have a clue what the market's doing.

OP posts:
Menschenskind · 23/05/2021 09:34

A relative is having the same problem trying to sell a two bedroom flat with no outside space in a town where everything else is going fast.

I would also advise you to take the offer.

Didicat · 23/05/2021 09:35

Is it a one time offer or are they expecting you to go back with a counter offer?

UpTheJunktion · 23/05/2021 09:47

Our estate agent doesn't seem to have a clue what the market's doing

I’m not sure anyone does, to be fair. And anything could happen.

I would crack on. Your house is a home to be living in, so get on with your life!

Original poster
bootootrue · 23/05/2021 09:51

@Didicat that is the counter offer! They initially came in a bit lower but we couldn't make the sums work.

Tbh it's been such a frustrating slog trying to figure out the pricing. The estate agent persuaded us to put it on for higher than we planned, then seemed surprised it didn't shift. When we reduced the price, we went lower than the estate agent suggested and they were all gung ho. But again, no takers.

It does have outside space, a largeish private patio and massive shared garden. But I know everyone's reassessing what they want after a year in lockdown, and properties are only worth what someone will pay for them.

OP posts:
mayblossominapril · 23/05/2021 09:55

I would take the offer as you can afford to and it will enable your life to progress in a forward direction. It's only some types of property that are rising, others are stagnant or falling slightly and we really don't know what the next year or so will bring.

Mumoftwo1990 · 23/05/2021 10:38

@bootootrue

Help! Really stuck on what to do and looking for some outside perspective.

We've had our 2 bed flat on the market for a few months. Loads of viewings but no offers, reduced price, now had one offer that's 10% below the reduced asking price. We've followed the estate agent's recommendations for pricing throughout, but they seem to be struggling to predict the market.

At the same time, we're moving to a house that needs substantial work doing to it. We can afford to buy the house (we're very lucky there) but not do any of the work until we've sold our flat. We could afford to do the work with the proceeds from this offer, but it'll be tight.

So do we accept this low offer and crack on with getting our forever home sorted, or do we wait in the hopes that a better offer comes along?

Any thoughts/considerations/questions we should be asking ourselves would be greatly appreciated! We need to decide this weekend.

Flats always take longer to sell (I work in an EA) and honestly it's always hard to tell with flats. I would take the offer but say there will be no reductions if anything comes back on the survey etc.
Retrievemysanity · 23/05/2021 10:50

I’d take the offer based on the fact that you’ve had lots of viewings and no other offers over a period of several months-that must be soul destroying! Yes you could hold out for a higher offer but that may never come or be a long time coming which I personally, would find quite stressful so I’d take the offer, enjoy planning the new house and not dwell on ‘what ifs’ Smile

Youngatheart00 · 23/05/2021 10:52

Take the offer and move on, even if it means you need to do the works on your new place at a slower pace

Livingintheclouds · 23/05/2021 10:55

If there's no more room for negotiation then take the offer.
My house went on in October - everyone said it would go quickly, but it's on a busy street. I had one really low offer which I rejected. But I'm moving some distance and have a time limit (new school in September and had planned this move two years ago). So I did reduce the price and had another offer, lower than I'd like of course, but I could have held out and still not received a better one.
I'll not break even considering the amount of money I've put in to the house, but it has housed us for eight years and that's worth something. Time to move on.

Magstermay · 23/05/2021 11:42

With the information given I’d take the offer and move on. You might get a higher offer, you might not and at least if you sell now you can move on with your life.

caringcarer · 23/05/2021 11:53

Think of the consequences. If you accept you can get house you want and move on with your life. You will also make someone else very happy if flat good for them. If you refuse you refuse you might be waiting for ages and lose the house you want. Selling is very stressful as you have to keep flat pristine at all times in case of viewing. Personally I would sell. It is the positive option. A colleague of mine had her flat on market for 11 months after she married and moved in with husband. She refused 3 offers on flat because she thought it was worth more. As he was making emotional rather than business decision. She had to pay mortgage and council tax for 11 months. If she had taken the second offer she would have been better off as saved on mortgage and council tax. In the end her flat was broken into as empty so long then she had to deal with insurance who did not pay out as empty. She said she wished she had taken offer when she had it.

stuckinaditch · 23/05/2021 12:04

Sensible to take the offer and move on. Flats don't seem to be selling well at present. Enjoy your new house.

IND1A · 23/05/2021 12:20

If you’ve had lots of viewings but no offers then your price was too high. Unless there’s something bad about your property that was obvious on the viewings but not mentioned in the listing. And I’m guessing there’s not.

Therefore it sounds like the lower offer is realistic.

So do you want to take the reasonable offer now or gamble on the chance that the market for your type of property will improve AND that any uplift in price will be greater than your additional costs ?

msgloria · 23/05/2021 13:07

I was in a similar situation. Sold a house earlier this year that was valued 18 months ago at £60k more than our eventual sale price (and very similar houses did sell for £60k more at the time). So an 8% fall in value from 2019. But we'd found a much better house to buy, and we just wanted to move on with our lives.

Annoyingly, the new house we've bought has increased in value over the same timeframe as our old place decreased, so we could see it as we've lost at both ends. But I'm choosing to look at it as we've bought a much more desirable house that suits our needs much better than the old place, so we won really!

Starseeking · 23/05/2021 13:28

W*e've had our 2 bed flat on the market for a few months
*
Take the offer and move on. Given the above, and the state of the market for flats, it's highly likely you may not get another one for a few months, and you may lose out on your onward purchase.

JackieWeaverFever · 23/05/2021 13:49

I would take it and be clear it is the lowest you can accept so no messing about once survey come back.

House prices are moving quickly at the minute- if you can make it work I'd just crack on with it and get on with your lives

JellyBabiesFan · 23/05/2021 15:44

Take it. Who knows the next offer might be even lower, if you get one that is.

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