We have been looking to buy in an area of London that’s always been quite expensive but really shot up beyond our budget in the last few years.
A ‘project’ has come up on a lovely road.
The same property came up over summer and went for far more in a frenzy of sealed bids.
The market has changed of course.
However more habitable properties have come on the same road but they’re still many hundreds of thousands of pounds more than this one and have less potential.
The wreck has just come back on at same asking price but we are going to offer less.
Probate has been granted but there is no family and therefore all the money is going to local charities and the government (and estate agents and lawyers).
Most of the buyers have evaporated but there are still a few and most will have deeper pockets (though they may want to wait for a fully done property in a falling market - something which will be out of our reach).
My question is: in this sort of situation, how cheeky an offer can we put in as who stands to gain from the sale apart from the charities and professionals and HMRC?
Will the trustees or whoever is dealing with the estate not just want shot of it so won’t really care about the price?
On the other hand, we do not want to offend anyone.
The agents want to sell it to us as we have had an ongoing dialogue for a while about other properties and have a property for them to sell.
Has anyone noticed particular parts of the London market are still thriving and if so, at what price point?