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Original poster

Offers in excess of?

13 replies

newtothehousingmarket · 15/10/2021 09:27

First time buyers here - we've just seen a property we like and are keen to put an offer in but it's advertised as OIEO £375k.. What on earth does that mean?!

Having a look on right move similar properties on the same road sold for a lot less in previous years - one that has a near identical floor plan sold for £320k in Jan 2020.

We obviously don't want to overpay but understand the market at the moment is crazy and overpriced and we know the house will go pretty quickly anyway so want to at least throw our hat in the ring..

We're first time buyers so pretty new to the process. What's the 'done thing' with OIEO?

Should I try and get info from EA on what the sellers are actually looking for? See if anyone else has put an offer in and what that figure is? What if EA doesn't share this info? Do we just go with our gut?

Anyone been in a similar situation and what did you do?

Sorry for all the questions - any advice much appreciated!

OP posts:

ThirdElephant · 15/10/2021 09:29

Ignore the OIEO and just go in 5% under asking as you would. Increase to a level you're happy with spending incrementally as they reject.

If the price gets too high for you, then stop.

TheEconomista · 15/10/2021 09:40

@ThirdElephant - in this market I'm not sure that's good advice. If the property has lots of interest (i.e. block viewings etc.) there could be multiple offers. If it's gone on recently for OIEO then I sincerely doubt the vendors will entertain a low offer.

In your place if I really wanted the house I would go in at asking price and emphasise your chain free positon, DIP ready, etc.

I'm speaking as someone who has been trying to buy in a crazy market for months in a high demand area so take that as context. You have to judge what you can afford, how high demand is, and how much it's worth you.

ThirdElephant · 15/10/2021 09:43

in this market I'm not sure that's good advice. If the property has lots of interest (i.e. block viewings etc.) there could be multiple offers.

True, but a good estate agent will tell OP if they've had a higher offer anyway and they're unlikely to rush to pick one offer out of several without waiting for a response after rejecting others. As a FTB, OP is in a good position anyway, and they do say that the FTB position is actually worth a monetary discount.

kerosene20 · 15/10/2021 09:43

If you’re getting a mortgage also bear in mind that the mortgage company value it and won’t lend more that a surveyor said it’s worth. We are FTB too and have already lost a property the mortgage company said was worth 50k less than asking!! 😱

Mumdiva99 · 15/10/2021 09:44

When our house was marketed as oieo we recieved a number of offers under that. So go with your gut....what is the house actually worth. What have other properties nearby sold for etc.

If you offer too high and you don't have a hefty deposit you might find a gap with what the mortgage company will lend you based on what they think the house is worth.

dreamriver · 15/10/2021 09:45

As per previous poster, I often put in a bid that I'm comfortable with which is usually lower than the asking price with leeway for me to up my bid.

As a buyer, I'm skeptical of estate agent as they're working for the seller. Even after putting my final offer, they even wanted me to increase the price to clinch the deal. I declined and did managed to get the house. Yay!! Seeing that you're a first time buyer, it might put you in a position of good strength. Good luck. I often believe that when one door closes, another one opens. Make sure you have a good conveyancer and a full house survey.

Jennylou88 · 15/10/2021 11:23

Ask the EA what the seller is looking for. We just sold our first home for offers in excess of 190,000 didn't entertain any below, we got 2 offers of 200,000 the next day which is what I'd told the EA we'd be looking for. Xx

Jennylou88 · 15/10/2021 11:24

Also if the the seller is the one doing the viewings you can have the conversation directly with them!

icedancerlenny · 15/10/2021 11:25

I disagree with the advice to go under. It’s a very strange property market at the moment with hardly anything on the market and people ready to buy. If my house was on for OIEO then that’s what that means. I would not consider anything lower.

maofteens · 15/10/2021 13:48

Depends - do you have a sense that the market is heated in this location? How long has it been in the market? I'd still ignore it and offer under, and the agent is obliged to put all offers to the seller. I take the 'there's another interested buyer' (if they come back with that) with a huge grain of salt, but I know it's difficult as this is an emotional purchase. The agent should give you some indication though as to the level expected - if no competition however they may not get it if overpriced even in a hot market.

mindutopia · 15/10/2021 13:59

I think it depends on how much you want it and what you can afford. We have made offers of £735K on OIEO £700K, £680 on offers in the region of £600K (neither were the best offer), and finally had an offer accepted that was £820K on OIEO £750K. We could afford that and it was worth it to us (large house, several outbuildings, one with planning, 5 acres). In this market, if you want to buy the house, I definitely wouldn't go in under or at guide price. But if you can't afford or don't want to pay more, then it's not the house for you.

Sandrine1982 · 15/10/2021 21:21

Have you been observing the market in this location? Have you done any viewings? How long do good properties usually stay on the market? Do they get snapped up after the initial viewings?
We had been looking for a year. The market has calmed down slightly where we are, and we've finally had an offer accepted recently. It was only 5k over asking. I'm saying "only" because we'd offered 20k over asking on 3 other houses but didn't get them. So it really depends...

Subbaxeo · 16/10/2021 18:07

We ended up paying 5k over. We offered asking (OIEO) and was told no they’d take it off the market for 10k over. We then offered 5k over. We found out that all the other interested parties were chain dependent so said we said we although we loved the house, as we were chain free it was a good offer with a low LTV and we wouldn’t mess them about. They chose us and we were worried about overpaying looking at previous sales but we’re here now and love our house. For us, it was worth chatting to the agent and finding out the status of the other parties so we were a bit more confident holding firm. But we would’ve paid the extra if we had to.

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