Help! Best and final offers

[opinionspleas]

Hi All,

I am really hoping that you might be able to provide a few other opinions on a property I'm looking at buying. I'm very conflicted on what to do.

The property is a 3 bedroom maisonette in beautiful condition. It is on the market with o.i.e.o £850k. The current buyers bought it for c.£760k a couple of years ago and have done a bit of work but I can't imagine it would have cost more than £40k and property prices have gone up by c.5% over that time which makes me think that £840k was a realistic value for it.

There have (according to the agent) been 5 offers of people in various positions (chain, first time/renting). I am chain free and would only need a small mortgage in relation to the size of the property (c.£100k) with MIP in place.

I made an offer of £847.6k anticipating there would be demand and am going to submit an offer of £852.6k just because I think that for the extra £5k I would regret not going for it but I'm really torn. There is another property on the same road with an extra bedroom listed for £875k, which it may have gone for more than that and it was in worse condition it has given me food for thought (this one has the potential to convert some more loft space to create the same impact but that work would probably cost more than £25k).

Lots of people are saying wait for prices to fall but I really don't know if that will happen particularly in an area where people clearly have enough money to start bidding wars on already pretty pricey properties!

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on what to do? I could afford to offer a bit more but I already feel like i'm paying a bit over the odds.

I think you need to sell your position which is strong. You have nearly a 90% deposit and no chain. If I was selling that would be a bigger plus than an extra £5k. The other thing you could stress is that you can move quickly and/or can be flexible to accommodate the seller’s situation.
Even if you are buying in an area that is currently relatively unscathed by the current market situation, anyone with a property to sell or who needs a larger mortgage will be much more of a risk.

Thank you very much! I guess (something that no one will know) is you don't know what other people are offering. someone could have offered 860 and then it would be a 13k difference between my offer and theirs and that probably would be enough to swing it? While if it's a £7k difference then you might choose the person in the simple situation.

I know my position is very strong but would someone really choose me over someone who has a 300k deposit and then a mip for the rest? Would it make that much of a difference to their bargaining power.

What would you offer with £850k o.i.e.o knowing that there are 5 offers on the table?

I'm buying on my own which I think adds to the anxiety of the situation. Nobody to bounce ideas around with.

You offer the amount you you think it is worth to you. The amount you are comfortable and happy offering, no one can tell you that amount. You to think of the price that even if you still loose out on the property you wont regret not offering more. Only you can answer that question.

Price history means nothing. Do you like the property? Offer what you think it’s worth. If you want to secure it offer a bit more.

MIPs carry a lot of risk in the current environment, so yeah, if I was a motivated seller, I would chose the person who needs the smallest mortgage.

Thank you. I think i've chosen to go just over the £850k mark as they were asking o.i.e.o £850k. I have emphasised my position as chain free and low risk. People could end up bidding much higher £20-30k more in which case I would imagine that what I offer won't cut the mustard but I guess I will find out soon enough! Now the anxiety can truly set in.

Good luck op with your offer, I think going slightly over the OEIO is a good move if there are other interested parties. We offered on a place with a guide range of £25k at the bottom figure and got it - exchanged last week. EA told us we were not the highest offer but being chain free and cash buyers swung it for us. How long has it been on the market? In our case it was less than a week. Keeping 🤞for you.

@Karmatime yes it's only been on for a week. It's really hard to know. Offers had to be made before 12pm today so hopefully I will find out today or tomorrow. How long did it take for you to find out?

We offered on a Saturday afternoon and heard back Monday morning though the estate agent said that was because he couldn’t get hold of the sellers on the Saturday. Not sure whether that’s true or if they just wanted the weekend to think about it!

I have just sold a house for a relative so London house prices doesnt scare me (I presume it is in London at that price). How long would you plan to stay in this property? I know you have a huge deposit and you can afford to sit things out should prices slide a bit but would you feel you were trapped if for example you wanted to move to a house?

I agree with you re house prices btw. The naysayers want house prices to drop and drop but even then I am not convinced they would buy even then. There are a fair few people who think they know the market and what it will do and wait and wait (and are probably still waiting from the last correction!).

If you love it and you have the money my view is that life is just too short to be waiting. I would definitely stress your position. Can you move quickly or are you renting?

Blimey though. A first time buyer offering on a house nearly £1 million. Must be very large inheirtance. My first property many years ago was a 1 bed with a boyfriend in London and it was £30K.

So I didn't get it. Someone offered close to £900k according to the EA (I think they varied from c.£850-c£890 so I was one of the lowest. I wouldn't have paid that.

@Tracker1234 I did think about this house point but I figured if there was downward correction in all liklihood there would be a downward correction on the other place as well and yes an inheritance (so would really prefer not to have that deposit but I guess it puts extra pressure to make sure I put the money towards something sensible and that I love.)

Anyway back to square 2 (at least I know the area I want to live in now). It was also comforting that it was not for the sake of a few k.

Ahh well, at least you know it went for a price that you would not be prepared to pay anyway. There will be an even better property out there somewhere!

Could I ask what area? I am London born and bred. Don’t live there now but West London rocks!