Making an offer- How cheeky can we be?

[Greenlife1]

We have found a house on a housing estate we like. It is on for what I would say is more than it is worth (everything is at the moment though). I know that probably just sounds like we just want it cheaper but I'll explain! Our family member sold their house on the same estate for a bit less than what this vendor is asking for theirs, this was at the height of property selling like hot cakes. Family members house was much bigger. It had an extra bathroom and reception room. This one has a bigger garden but much smaller garage. Family members one was immaculate whereas this one does not look cared for as well. When bought off plan Family members one was approx 50k more than this one.

How should we proceed? The area is popular and choice is lacking. We like it enough to buy but I'd probably love it more if I didn't have the other one to compare with!

We are cash buyers chain free- how cheeky can we be?!

As cheeky as you like; they can either say yes or no but you’ve nothing to lose

As cheeky as you want. They just say no. Offer what you think it’s worth. None of us can say if the vender will accept, if someone else is offering, or if they want asking.

You can offer what you like..the vendor can accept or not.
But I hate the use of "cheeky". Offer what you think it is worth and be prepared to negotiate. "Cheekiness" is not a feeling I'd want to invoke in house buying!

Offer what you want just be prepared for them to say no.

Consider if you are in a rush?

If not and the house is overpriced as you suggest, then if the seller is prepared to accept lower then they will in time reduce the asking price.

I mention this because we offered 2% under on a house 6 weeks on the market and it was accepted. We subsequently found out that the seller received and rejected the same offer when the house first went on the market. That initial buyer re-offered at the same amount a month later and the buyer rejected again simply because the seller took personal offence to the initial offer. We offered the same amount 1 week later and (accepting they wouldn't get more) accepted ours.

The first buyer lost out, it would seem, because the seller took offence to their low early offer. Our later low offer was more palatable

The area is popular and choice is lacking

so why wouldn't they try to maximise their gain?

property maker has been changing quickly, whatever your family sold at isn't relevant now.

Put an offer in at what you are prepared to pay for it & wont kick yourself for missing out on it if they say 'no'. Obviously a low offer is going to be considered more the longer it has been on the market, but you need to weigh that up with how you'd feel losing it!

shame you didn't by the house your family was selling.

As a cash buyer, you could try 25% off the asking price for starters. You never know, the sellers may be desperate to sell due to interest rates, job security etc. and need the money now and your offer is guaranteed.

They may be tempted.

25%?????
No way on God's earth would I even entertain such a derisory offer. But we're all different, so good luck! 😂

You can offer what you like, but the seller is entitled to say no.

If threads on here are anything to go by, be mindful that if you give what the seller considers a piss take offer, rather than an under asking price offer, they might view other higher offers with suspicion or be concerned you'll start messing them around later to drop the price.

If it's a popular area and there's not a lot of choice then consider how many other options you have.

If you don't ask then you'll never know.

25% off now may be better than 30% off in a subsequent crash.

This will be like a burning theatre. Only those nearest the exit will escape. The rest will have to accept the new paradigm (and I know that many will especially those who bought a house as a long term home rather than an investment or pension).

You can offer what you like but if it's derisory the vendor may choose not to have any more dealings with you and consider you to be a time waster or that you are no where near their expectations due to finances. They aren't going to stick around while you make £2k increments on your offer

We made a pretty low offer on a house and the vendor did exactly that.

Yes, exactly this.

Is the house still covered by NHBC? If so a survey is probably not necessary.
As you can proceed quickly then I would put an offer in via the agent with proof of funds.
We did this last year, we showed a print out showing the bank balance and he then persuaded the vendor that we were the best purchasers, our offer was not the highest.

In my experience NHBC guarantees are scarcely worth the paper they are written on. Claiming against them is a nightmare.
I would certainly get a survey.

I would offer 20-25% under. I’m in C London and looking to buy. Agent said people are putting in ridiculously low offers - some have been accepted. There are desperate sellers. Go for it!

25% is a huge amount, I mean you can try it. You might win, they may also decide they don’t want to deal with you again as they won’t trust you to pay what you eventually agree.

if they were desperate then logically they’d not have it on for 25% more than it was worth

What is it on for? What would you be prepared to pay?

25 percent seems really low?? I was thinking of 5% under asking price of 600 Still, 10% would be much more aligned in terms of value, appreciate that is my subjective point of view, and can't see that being accepted anyway.

I am house hunting at the moment after selling and I have seen some ridiculous prices from sellers.

Including houses that need some serious work before you can live in them but that has not been reflected in the price yet.

I think many sellers are going to need a massive reality check sooner than later. Many houses are being reduced where I am looking and some are back on the market after an initial offer fell through.

So if you have your mortgage in place or are in a cash buyer not in a chain you are in a strong position to make a lower offer.

A neighbour approached me direct and offered 20% below asking on my place in May this year. Cash buyer. I literally laughed out loud and said “Nope”. Not the most professional response but I was shocked, and very annoyed. I stopped taking their calls after that.

This “20% below asking” thing shouldn’t be taken as a rule of thumb. Maybe it’s fine for higher priced properties, but we’re at the lowest end of the bracket in our area. 20% lower or even 10% would make it impossible for us to move. We’re in a 1-bed so it’s not like we’re downsizing. An offer 20% below smacks of either someone assuming we’re desperate and trying to take advantage, or someone who can’t afford it and will be a nightmare to deal with. That’s not a good look for a prospective buyer.

''@MillennialFalconer · Today 12:14
A neighbour approached me direct and offered 20% below asking on my place in May this year. Cash buyer. I literally laughed out loud and said “Nope”. Not the most professional response but I was shocked, and very annoyed. I stopped taking their calls after that.

This “20% below asking” thing shouldn’t be taken as a rule of thumb. Maybe it’s fine for higher priced properties, but we’re at the lowest end of the bracket in our area. 20% lower or even 10% would make it impossible for us to move. We’re in a 1-bed so it’s not like we’re downsizing. An offer 20% below smacks of either someone assuming we’re desperate and trying to take advantage, or someone who can’t afford it and will be a nightmare to deal with. That’s not a good look for a prospective buyer.''

I would say that actually it is perfectly reasonable in some cases to make a lower offer:

• flats in London for example with no outdoor space are hard to sell at the moment
• if the property needs a lot of work and the seller/estate agent have not factor this in the asking price
• If the overall market is going down which is the case in many places right now. No one is going to offer you top price now if: people are struggling to get mortgage deals, it is likely that prices could go down by as much as 10% in many places
• a 1 bed is going to attract only first time buyers (who are struggling anyway with mortgages/deposit) or a buy to let investor who will want a discount anyway and many landlords are selling rather than buying so you might find your neighbour might end up having the last laugh.

Ten percent is fairly common, go in with it and see what they say.

If 10% under is what you think it's worth then go for it and if they say no decide what your upper limit is.

I get that it is reasonable in some cases. However, none of the above applies to mine. I’m just pointing out why a “cheeky offer” can make the buyer look clueless or otherwise put a vendor off doing business with them. It certainly put me off wanting to do business with my neighbour.

Artygirlghost
None of those seem to be cheeky reasons to me. They seem quite reasonable.

I think there's often some mental gymnastics that goes on for some people when it comes to house buying though, where they're convinced that whatever house they want to buy is over priced, needs a lot of work doing (when they actually mean it is a little bit dated and/or needs a freshen up and decorating to their taste), but when selling their house they get annoyed that people won't automatically pay asking price or higher.

Or, they want a property that's out of their budget, but look anyway, like it, and then they talk themselves into all the reasons it should never have been listed at that price in the first place.