How much would you offer on a house for £475k in SE London?

[Milkandshake]

It needs work (not too much) but I don’t want to pay for an over priced house on probate. I think everything is over priced really.

Any thoughts and experience welcome!

I too am selling my pre-boomer parents’ house. And I suppose that’s where I take issue with the generalisations about probate houses, as my parents spent a lot of money on their house, kept it in excellent condition and in up-to-date decorative order. I dare say someone might want to remodel inside and replace the kitchen, but they wouldn’t have to. We’ve priced competitively, because we want to sell, and one of the neighbours was massively pissed off with us because they had their (smaller) house on the market for a higher price — also in good order but IMO more old-fashioned in style. Theirs is now off the market.

so what I’m saying is: not all probate houses are dumps and/or overpriced; there’s a difference between work that HAS to be done and work that the buyer might want to do — you can’t really justify a reduction on the grounds that you have different taste; and definitely compare with other, similar houses that are on the market or that have sold.

And if you make an offer, obviously you want to get value for money, but don’t play games. Offer what it is worth to you, and if the sellers don’t accept it, they don’t.

@NewFriendlyLadybird I suppose yes, decorating to taste or because you have to is another point to take into account.

Would you accept 95% of the asking price?

A lot of people say negative equity is not far away so people are looking for bargains.

Are you in a rush to sell or would you wait another 6 months to a year?

I think your mistake is thinking there is a rule for all properties. The reality is it's very property-dependent.

Would you accept 95% of the asking price?

The value of a property and the asking price are not closely related.

Some houses I've looked at I wouldn't buy if I got 20% off. The best purchase I've ever made I ended up about 7% over asking.

A lot of people say negative equity is not far away so people are looking for bargains.

But that gets said all the time - we offered on our house just before the Brexit vote and we're told we were stupid, house prices would crash, we could get a bargain, we'd end up in negative equity etc etc and none of that happened. All that happened was very few houses came on the market for 6 months while people waited to see, and then came on £20k higher than we paid. It's now valued at £100k more than we paid for it

So yes, people are looking for a bargain (they always have been unless the market was super super hot), but unless a seller has to sell then 'what might happen in the future' doesn't necessarily mean anything so I'm not sure why the current crop of buyers on here (particularly FTB) think they are the only ones that haven't wanted to pay more than they needed to

And I'd definitely echo other posters, wanting to change things like kitchens, bathrooms, layout and decor because of taste, does not mean that it needs a reduction if it is in decent condition as it is, and if it isn't in decent condition it's often been factored into the price already. Everyone decorates their house, the seller shouldn't be expected to pay for it!

@Milkandshake
Considering the asking price is more than 10% below the valuations given by three EAs — I wanted to do the whole getting ahead of a falling market thing — I would be reluctant. And it would depend on the buyer. A cash buyer who demonstrably loved the house and wanted to complete within six weeks, I’d probably consider it. Someone who would be highly leveraged and who argued that the house was ‘worth’ less than my asking price for whatever reason, no.

A lot of people say negative equity is not far away

Just for the avoidance of any confusion, negative equity is when a property is worth less than the mortgage secured against it, rather than the property being worth less than you bought it for.

Negative equity is only really a threat when you have a high LTV% mortgage.

True - a lot of people seem to use the term negative equity incorrectly on Mumsnet. A property falling in value to below what you paid for it is far more common than negative equity, and is not just a recent phenomenon.

And many FTBs also seem to assume that "looking for a bargain" is specific to this current market when it isn't.

True, we had a 95% ltv mortgage so negative equity was a genuine threat

How long has it been on the market? I suspect something that hasn't sold after 6 months might be willing to accept a lower offer than something that went on the market last week.

We offered asking price on a place in SE London recently. Because it ticked a lot of boxes in a way that nothing else had. I accept that I could perhaps have got a property at more knockdown price in the current market, but we wanted that specific property. And the asking price seemed reasonable in the first place. There is no such thing as a standard offer under

@PosiePerkinPootleFlump it has been on the market since February this year.

I guess it’s all about affordability then rather than judging the market for being over priced.

They reduced from 500k to 475k.

Another ageist comment I've seen on this board about boomers always said as a derogatory statement - it's really horrible to see.

Not any more, you just need a desperate seller with no other views, or a bank auction for someone who couldn`t afford their mortgage, not pleasant but reality now

Even negative equity doesn't really matter unless you need to sell. You still have a home at a (monthly) price you can afford.

People can`t afford the monthly price any more though, that is why mortgage applications fell about 40%?

It doesn't matter to the OP who is about to buy though?

Or need to remortgage

Interest rates are only high compared to post-crash rates.

@PleaseGiveMeBackMySummer

Very amusing. You seem to think it’s ok to begin antagonising again when a perfectly decent conversation is taking place.

Thank you for your comment. NHS Talking Therapies. It’s free, seriously, try it. Breathe through the anger.

Well yes, it was a crazy mistake keeping them so low for so long, but even at these still low rates now some people`s debt is getting very pricey.

Exactly, you wouldn’t get a two bed flat for that in my bit of SE London, but if it’s a small, run down 3 bedroom terrace in Plumstead, it’s worth trying your luck with an offer.

None of this has anything to do with boomers though…

Aye, fucking offensive.

Exactly.