Help! Buggered up my offer on a house

[Didasillything]

Hi, first time buyer here. I’ve been silly and made a first offer on a property of 190, asking price is 195.

I am going to end up having to pay asking and probably over the odds aren’t I.

I only just rang the estate agents an hour ago. Should I call them back and say actually I am offering 185 or is that just too flakey??

You'll be fine! I think that's a good offer and they may come back with a no... hang in there
If they accept their maybe a few bits that come up in your survey/mortgage offer etc so you might be able to get a better deal in the long run

It's a sellers market at the moment.
Hard bargaining is unlikely to get you a house at the moment.

I don't think you've made a mistake at all. It's what you feel is right and offered accordingly. Stay calm and see how things unfold.

We offered the asking price on a house last month, we were rejected because the vendor wanted 10k more than their asking price. So, why ask for the price they were advertised at? The EA were hoping for a bidding war. We're definitely not interested in joining that game so withdrew.
Every time we buy and sell the EA always plays stupid games, whichever kind of market it is.

I think if you really want the house you made an offer they are likely to accept quickly because by time you would start haggling someone else could offer higher and then you pay higher or lose out.Good luck

If 190K is the top of your budget then, if the estate agent comes back, say 'that's the top end of my budget. I won't be offering more. Can you tell the vendor the offer is on the table and to come back to me if they can't sell'. That means that you're interested but can't go higher. A vendor may keep the house on the market for a few more weeks (especially if it's new to the market) and see what happens. That's their right. I'd do the same if I had just put it on - I'd be looking for full asking price as I'd need the money to move on. But, if nothing happened in a week or so I may ask the estate agent to go back to you to see if you're still interested.

If the vendor does take your offer, by the way, tell the estate agent it is subject to the property coming off the market. Most vendors would do that (I always have) but some will keep it on the market if you've not offered full price. Make sure it's taken off. That way you don't have people gazumping you (offering more) whilst you're working towards exchange. Then don't dawdle. If you don't get things moving, like the valuation/survey etc then the vendor may get frustrated and put the house back on the market. Remember they want to buy too probably so they'll want you to move quickly to give them the chance of finding something. Keep things moving and never be afraid to badger your solicitor if paperwork slows down. Buying a house is all about communication and pushing.

Good luck. It's really exciting buying your first home.

That's a good offer. If it os your top whack I might have said so at the beginning, something like 'my full and final offer is £190k'.
Yes they may come back and ask for more, you just say no, 190 is it.

For our current house (what MN might regard as 'a project') we offered our maximum from the off. Unlike yours, it was well below the asking price, but we were aware the house had been on the market for a little while and we were chain free.

Making it clear from the outset that this was everything we had to offer turned out to be a really smart move. The survey was damning (we had expected some things, because they were visible, but the unsafe electrical circuits and the windows that bulged dangerously in the wind, plus the extremely dodgy state of the water system, weren't obvious). We ended up pricing up the work - using tradesmen agreed with vendor & estate agent - and taking that off our offer. By that point it was clear that the original asking price was untenable, and by having made it clear that this really was all we had, the subsequent negotiations were much more straightforward.

I might draw a veil over the upheaval that was the next 2-3 years, though.....

Well my dd is a ftb and she's just paid ten grand over asking price for hers, which seems to be par for the course in lots of areas at the moment.

@Didasillything

Basically I am prepared to pay 190 for it, so that’s what I offered.

Then I spoke wo my brother in law who said that houses are always advertised higher than what the seller expects. Probably they were only expecting 185-90.
I should have offered lower and then haggled.

Houses round here frequently go for over the asking price so your BIL is not correct

There’s not a chance we’d get a house for asking price round here atm

@Justletmebuyahouse do you mean they sell for above, or below?

If it makes a difference I am not in cornwall or anywhere like that. I am in a rural town by the sea though. There’s not much coming on the market at all. This price is for a 2 bed terrace which would have probably sold for 160-170ish before the pandemic (that’s what others in the same row went for anyway). So prices are going up.

Way way way above - tens of thousands above

Houses round me (rural, but outstanding schools and excellent transport links to major cities) are selling within 48 hrs at asking price (DM has just exchange on one). Nothing is staying on the market long and there are queues of buyers leaving the cities.

I think this will continue beyond June, certainly until the stamp duty holiday completely finishes jn the autumn.

OP, your position as FTB may be favourable to your seller for speed of moving, no chain.

Please don't worry. Buying your first place is always nerve-wracking and it is a bit of a game trying to deal with agents and trying to second guess what the seller is thinking. Ultimately a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If you love the place then have confidence and go for it. Who cares if you maybe end up paying a bit more for it and could have got it a bit cheaper - that is something you will never know. If you intend to stay there for a while and love it, then that few extra grand you may have paid really is neither here nor there over a few years in my opinion. There is nothing worse than losing out on a place you love and thinking if a couple of extra grand would have secured it. Good luck!

It depends how long it has been on the market and how good your position is as a buyer. Good luck!

@Didasillything

Oh thank you you are all making me feel better. My brother in law made me feel really silly and naive. *@Quartz2208* He said that they will always try to get more out of me. So having offered 190, they will now push me to 195. Had I started lower, they might have settled for 190.

This is wrong. If they ask for more then you say sorry can't go above 190. They either accept that or they wait for someone else who will offer more in which case you would have lost out anyway. You really haven't done anything wrong. Some people are convinced they know how things work but their knowledge is extremely out of date.

@Didasillything That might have been the case when your BIL bought, but 7 years ago is massive in the current circumstances. He may as well have bought a house on a different planet.

If £190k is what you’re happy to pay, it’s a fine offer to make.

So you believed your BIL’s comment/opinion because…?

Stick to your plan.