House sold for £80k less

[MrsMayJune]

There is a house that was sold late last year that I was interested in. It was £800k, in excellent condition. We were encouraged to put in an offer but declined because we knew several offers had gone in and we did not want to get into a bidding war.

The house sold within a week.

Looking now at the Land Registry details, the final price paid was £80 less than the asking price.

What on earth could have happened?

Houses in the area are pretty expensive but there is a wide range. The opposite row of houses range between £900k and £1.5m.

Survey said many issues.

They might have accepted under asking for a cash buyer or chain-free buyer or other attractive offer. The original offer might have been lowered after a survey revealed something costly not visible on a quick look round.

That’s pretty normal

Maybe it was the only offer and they urgently needed to move?

Maybe a mortgage down-valuation?

Maybe a survey issue and renegotiation?

Maybe selling to friends / family?

Maybe an optimistic selling price or over-confident agent?

Lots of houses around here have gone for considerably under the asking price according the latest data, despite all the hype!

10% under the asking price is pretty normal pre covid. This year has been a bit crazy but I am hoping things go back to normal soon!

Buying at 10% isn't that unusual though is a bit odd if there was lots of interest. It depends who other offers were from if they were from people with property to sell they may have been discounted. Some people also put in a higher offer to win then drop price after survey / just before exchange. It could the survey showed an issue with something major.

Offers were made in September last year so at the height of post-advent of Covid. Given the high interest I don’t think they would have sold in the first week at such a discount as they could have waited at least a month to see what else was on the market.

Pre-Covid a similar house sold for £770k and it needs a massive amount of work. I’d say no less than £150k.

I’m kicking myself that we did not put in an offer but I’m equally thinking that something must have been wrong with the property. I beginning to have buyers remorse because we bought a house on the opposite side of the road.

What's wrong with the opposite side of the road? Is it a light thing?

I'd say the structural survey was a nightmare and rather than remarket, the owners took the decreased offer and ran. Asbestos, woodworm in the fabric, subsidence - it could be anything.

That does seem very odd. 10% under asking wasn't unusual pre covid but if the house wasn't on very long and there was a fair bit of interest it's really strange.

My money's on the survey, would love to know though.

I am very curious. The other side of the road is secluded in that they are set behind some trees. The gardens are east facing and they do not have the same views across the river as the side I eventually bought on. The houses are the same and built by the same builder in the 1930s. So design wise they are the same. The house on the side I purchased have double the garden length - 200ft vs 100ft.

We viewed the house and it looked in excellent condition. We were impressed by it. We would have gladly put an offer in but thought it would have sold above the £800k. We felt hugely disappointed to see it sell for so much less. Like we’ve been cheated. Totally irrational I know. I wish I could go across the road to find out.

The lesson to learn here is that you cant trust estate agents. We were interested in a house and the estate agent said it had tons of interest and was going to sealed bids. We didn't love it enough to get into a bidding war. At the deadline for sealed bids he rang me in a massive panic asking where my offer was. I told him we'd had an offer accepted on another property. It took him another 10 months to sell the house. I'm sure he fabricated the bidding war to try and get an above asking offer from me. Idiot.

I'd say it was normal for sellers to overprice by roughly 10% it then makes the buyers feel like they've had a bargain.

How much did the people who sold it pay for it themselves?

The lesson to learn here is that you cant trust estate agents. We were interested in a house and the estate agent said it had tons of interest and was going to sealed bids. We didn't love it enough to get into a bidding war.

We had a similar experience in April and the house is still on the market now. It definitely taught me a lot.

The lesson to learn here is that unless you involve yourself in the negotiation process, it is unlikely you will be successful.

Houses were flying off the shelf and it really looked top notch when we viewed. There was definite interest and it sold within a week. Viewings were booked on a Saturday and by the Monday it was sold.

The previous owner lived there for 20 plus years. Given the area and what houses fetch I’m just baffled.

I’ll get over it but it now makes me feel we overpaid for the house we bought. I hate the house buying process.

Lots of talk about bidding wars. No one has to get involved in a bidding war. Offer slightly less than you're willing to pay and if that offer is rejected go in with your best offer.

Also take a look at how much the current seller paid for it. If they've been there for 20 years then theyve already made plenty on it and are more likely to negotiate downwards

No one has to get involved in a bidding war

Absolutely.

Never understood the view to walk away from a house you liked because someone else expressed interest.

Decide what you're prepared to pay, make your offer and either you're succesful or you're not. Don't let a third party influence what you're prepared to pay.

@MrsMayJune

Houses were flying off the shelf and it really looked top notch when we viewed. There was definite interest and it sold within a week. Viewings were booked on a Saturday and by the Monday it was sold.

The previous owner lived there for 20 plus years. Given the area and what houses fetch I’m just baffled.

I’ll get over it but it now makes me feel we overpaid for the house we bought. I hate the house buying process.

But it sounds as though you bought a house with a better aspect/better views? And there may have been issues exposed in the survey which drove the price down?

Console yourselves with the fact you have managed to buy a nice house, when many people have not managed to do so.

I think estate agents have been doing a hell of a lot of “big talk” in the last few months. I’ve noticed some of the prices actually paid start to filter through, and they aren’t the wild over asking we were encouraged to think at the time.

@MrsMayJune

Houses were flying off the shelf and it really looked top notch when we viewed. There was definite interest and it sold within a week. Viewings were booked on a Saturday and by the Monday it was sold.

The previous owner lived there for 20 plus years. Given the area and what houses fetch I’m just baffled.

I’ll get over it but it now makes me feel we overpaid for the house we bought. I hate the house buying process.

It’s likely the owner didn’t need the money so prioritised a quick sale. Yes it does look like you missed out - this is the perfect example about why you should try to view all the properties that hit your price range / location requirements because you never know.

Palavah, the one we purchased definitely has better views by a wide margin and a west facing garden. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We bought the better house, that’s for sure but I feel we’ve overpaid for the better house. We paid the same price for ours but it needs lots of work.

I appreciate the very sensible and plain speaking views here.

Hi OP,

I know how you feel. In 2011 we bought a house and we paid what we believed to be fair. It has a South facing, beautiful garden. It needed work.

Before buying we bid on a house on the opposite side of the road, and been turned down. It ended up selling 6 months later for 115K less than ours . This would have enabled us to completely renovate to our taste and to extend the house.

But, I also realise you can never make a north facing garden into a South facing one and the house had a really badly built (wooden!!!) extension, which would have had to have been removed; and a long overgrown garden ,which would have needed professionals to sort out (to was over 200ft long and really overgrown with huge trees and shrubs).

So, accept the lesson - that other people play poker better than you - that is what the house buying process with estate agents is like.

And be like me - learn to love the view and the aspect - and remember, the other bidder might have gotten you to pay the same for the house that had less to offer.

It could have just been priced too highly & sold for its true value. Ours was originally advertised for over £80k higher than we paid, but I think we paid a fair market rate (certainly not a bargain) for the time.

Nip over the road and ask them. Is driving you mad so may as well.

I would probably do it under another guise…but as part of the chat I would be honest and tell them you were looking at prices on the computer because you too have just bought. Be flattering of their wonderful purchase and that you were surprised it seem to go through so low when there was lots of interest etc

Sure they will want to tell you all about it. And if they are more coy and you have done this in a light friendly way then no harm. Just don’t go over next week prying into something else

I think almost certainly the valuer had a part to play. I know many people who have won a bidding war…and then they see that as the start of the real negotiations. It takes the steam out of the purchase and they are happy to walk away if it’s down valued.

I once showed a flat in Edinburgh to 36 people in 2 hours (open viewings). Expected great things when it went to closing. 1 offer near the offer price and one below what we'd paid for it!

You can never tell. I've done lots of selling with work, especially in Scotland where it usually goes to final offers and it's often weird, even in busy markets.