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Original poster

Should I offer more?

41 replies

PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 11:23

Made an offer at asking price. House is perfect and we really want it. Rang back the next day and increased to 5k over as we were more than happy to pay that.
EA called this morning to say that the seller has had a few offers and wants to know what everyone’s highest and final offer is. This makes me think that they’ve had several offers at the same price, and they are trying to see if one of us can step into the spotlight. So we’ve gone to 10k over asking. Honestly we are happy to pay that, it’s within our budget, but there must be a reason the house was valued at what it was listed for. 10k over is quite extreme to me. If it was worth that or more then why wasn’t it listed as more.
Desperate for this house but don’t want to pay a crazy amount of money. We technically have a max budget of about 30-40k over asking this specific house’s asking price but I’d rather save a bit of money, plus if the house isn’t worth that much in the first place then surely it’s a bad idea to throw so much money at it even if we think it’s worth it- or am I wrong?

OP posts:
toddybell · 13/01/2022 11:26

You've set the precedent I'm afraid. You've got carried away with your offer which makes the vendor think he's sitting on a goldmine so now they're wondering how much more they can get for it. I believe this is how a bidding war starts. You either sit back for now and see how this pans out or keep looking at other properties and not get too excited next time.

toddybell · 13/01/2022 11:27

Ps. plus if the house isn’t worth that much in the first place then surely it’s a bad idea to throw so much money at it even if we think it’s worth it- or am I wrong

You've just answered your own question there.

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 11:29

We haven’t got carried away, we are happy to pay 10k more as we believe it’s worth it for such a great house. But if other buyers offer more, even though we could afford to offer more as well, I worry that it would be a mistake because it’s so much more than originally valued.

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mindutopia · 13/01/2022 11:30

Our approach has always been, would we be more crushed to have to pay an extra £20 a month or to lose the house?

I think the market may be calming down now, but certainly, we never made an offer close to asking price in the past few years (all 8-15% over). The house we actually purchased we offered £70K over (about 10%). There were 4 other offers at that point. We decided that we would rather pay £50 more a month on our mortgage than lose the house that we really liked. Very happy with that decision.

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 11:31

Wow 70k over, and I thought 10k was a lot!

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LemonSwan · 13/01/2022 11:33

I think its calmed down a bit now but when we offered last summer we went just over 40k over asking on a 350k asking house. So 390.

We werent the highest by an additional 20k, but got it because we were no chain and no survey.

Have you had a chat with your EA? He was really good in advising us what we should bid on other properties.

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 11:33

The extra comes out of our own pocket though. At the moment it’s mortgage + £40k if we get it for what we’ve offered.
We are getting 90k back from our house sale but obviously we’ve got the fees to pay, the option of having a lower mortgage and putting more deposit down, keeping some money for savings etc.

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Nesbo · 13/01/2022 11:35

You need to research what you think the property is actually worth, based on as much info as you can gather. Some people will list low to generate a lot of interest at the outset, but knowing that they are really looking for a higher figure. That might be what happened here.

All you can do is reach your own estimate of market value, whilst also considering what it is actually worth to you (which might be above market value if this is you only shot at getting a place you love and intend to stay in for a long time). But be wary of going too high above market value as that might lead to issues with a lender.

LemonSwan · 13/01/2022 11:37

@PamelaDoov

The extra comes out of our own pocket though. At the moment it’s mortgage + £40k if we get it for what we’ve offered. We are getting 90k back from our house sale but obviously we’ve got the fees to pay, the option of having a lower mortgage and putting more deposit down, keeping some money for savings etc.
That will go in your favour as well. People like a lower LTV because then the banks are not going to quibble over the mortgage value. Make sure you express the LTV clearly as a positive.
Didiusfalco · 13/01/2022 11:37

It could be that the agent has priced it slightly low to attract interest and create a bidding situation.

CharSiu · 13/01/2022 11:48

Of all the houses I have ever viewed only one came close to perfection, the house, layout and garden were perfect but it was on a road that was very busy. Why is this specific house perfect?

I’m afraid I was around when a ton of people got stuck in negative equity and lots of people lost their homes about 30 years ago so I would always balk at paying over the odds.

neverdidnt · 13/01/2022 11:57

We paid 18%, almost £60k, over asking price when our house went to best and final offers. We were desperate for the house and it’s a forever home so we decided to put in our top offer, so we wouldn’t be too gutted if we lost out to a higher bidder. We only just got it - there were 11 people after it, and the next highest offer was from a cash buyer for £5k less than we’d offered. If you really want it, and think you’ll stay there for a long time, I’d go for it!

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 12:57

I have told the EA what our mortgage is (sent her the DIP) and also what our max cash deposit is on top of that. I wanted her to know that we are good candidates who have the finances to back it up.

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Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 12:59

It’s perfect due to the size, plus it’s the kind of period i like. Downside is a busy road so that may be why the asking price is low. Garden isn’t the best in the world but I’m not really a garden person. I’d rather have the lovely big house.

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Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 13:07

Right I’ve spoken to DH and he is willing to add on another 5k. Should I see if our current offer is accepted or play this hand now.

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fortheloveofcheesecake · 13/01/2022 13:15

Just sit tight. Don't go showing your hand. Try not to let you over excitement show to the EA....they'll be feeding straight back to the vendor!

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 13:16

So if they ring me and say the offer hasn’t been accepted, it’s ok for me to say well how about an extra 5k? I don’t want to mess people around especially if she’s already rang another buyer to say they’ve been accepted.

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Haus1234 · 13/01/2022 13:20

You’ve been asked for best and final offers, you are unlikely to have the opportunity to top it up £5k once someone else has been accepted (maybe like £20k would make them reconsider but £5k is probably not worth all the hassle when the other offer will be likely higher anyway so you might be £2-3k higher than that).

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 13:21

So shall I go for it now

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Nesbo · 13/01/2022 13:26

Personally I would treat best and final as just that - your last chance. Don’t assume you can up your offer again, and if you do you’re entering into gazumping territory.

fortheloveofcheesecake · 13/01/2022 13:31

Have you already given your best and final offer? They may have already put the offers forward. If it was only this morning then a phone call to put your final offer up might be acceptable but make sure it is your absolute best and final. You will not be able to go higher once an offer has been accepted.

Original poster
PamelaDoov · 13/01/2022 13:33

Yes I’m going to ring her now and say we can do another 5k as our absolute final offer. Worst case scenario, it’s too late. If we can increase the offer but still lose the house, we will know we weren’t willing to pay any more and it won’t be such a blow.

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startled · 13/01/2022 13:34

Highest and final offer is usually exactly that , final with no going up , if you want to go the extra little bit with your £5k you will need to do this before the deadline of highest and final offer whenever that is , afterwards it will not be accepted

startled · 13/01/2022 13:36
  • usually they give a cut off time like 12 or 5 pm on a particular date
mrsnec · 13/01/2022 13:44

We bought in December. My dream house. Offered full asking price on the spot.

2 bed victorian town centre terrace in the SW with a courtyard garden. 200k

It went to sealed bids and we went 10 k over but held our nerve. I was beside myself with anxiety at that point because the EA just wouldn't tell us a ball park where anyone else was with thier offers. I had to have fall back properties lined up just in case but they all had compromises.

We were successful because we were in the best position and not buying to let. The vendors were staying local and because they were still friends with the rest of the street they wanted to sell to a family not an investor so the EA pushed us on that basis.

The survey picked up some issues which we could have negotiated on. During this time the EA relisted by mistake and got higher offers so we couldn't negotiate down.

I've been in a month, I've already had 3 letters through the door asking if I want to sell and agents telling me they could list for 225k!

Offer as much as you're comfortable with, get the agent on your side, have a backup just in case if you can and hold your nerve.

Good luck!