Offer feedback?

[Gimmesomeskin]

We viewed a cottage late last week and made an cash offer on it the next day by calling the agent. We had done our research and thought this was a fair price in this market.
The agent tried to stop my partner talking after the offer interrupting and saying it was far too low but "legally I have to present it so I will".
Shortly after she rang back and said they would accept £25,000 more. We left it there and said we would have a think.
We can't go up £25,000 but have a little wiggle room.
There are no other houses available we like in the area and we've been looking for six months.
Any advice moving forward with this offer? Should we counter offer again or sit on it?

How much was it up for and what did you offer. As there’s no other houses available you like, what did you base your research and fair offer on?

Someone will be on shortly to say sellers are delusional, they should take the offer (even though you haven’t said how much lower you’ve offered). Yes, it’s a falling market but they still don’t necessarily have to sell it to you for lower than they want or need to make the next step. If they are just testing the water, they’ll take it off the market and wait. It’s only if they need to sell that you waiting them out will work for you and that’s only if they receive no other offers.

It’s the only house you’ve seen that you have liked in six months. You know the area and what you’re looking for, how likely is a house similar to this going to come up again? We put an offer in on a house at the beginning of the year, the market hadn’t fully slowed here yet but we loved the house, loved the floor plan, it met all our needs and what we imagine we want for the next 25 years. We put an offer in at asking price. Even when the market started cooling, we haven’t reduced our offer because we still want the house. We’d be gutted to lose it to someone else and we plan on staying there a long time so I’m not bothered about a short term fall. So the question is, how badly do you want it? If you really want it, you’ll need to up your offer. If you’re just putting an offer in because it ticks most of the boxes and you’re fed up of looking after 6 months, then just wait on your current offer and see what happens.

How much wiggle room have you got, £10k/£15k more maybe? I would go back to them, say you really love the property, stress you are cash buyers and give them your best and final offer and then the ball is in the sellers court.

Why did you call the agent. Send your offer by email and don’t explain yourself beyond the usual « after careful consideration, the amount we are willing to offer is abc », then move on and keep viewing. Of course if you have decided to low ball and would regret not getting the property should it sell for a bit more, it s on you for playing games.

I think you have to go back with your best and final offer. If you want it then that’s all you can do at this point and explain that’s as high as you can go, best and final based on affordability.

The offer was £645,000 on a £700,000 cottage and they've said they want £25,000 more. Based on our research on the local housing market similar size cottages and houses we presented what we thought was fair.

This is the first house we have offered on in England and thought you rang the agent. If we counter offer ( which I think we will after the great advice on here) we will email a best and final offer.

Ringing the agent was fine.

How high can you go? And are you prepared to pay that for this house?

We over offered to secure this house. I'd been stalking rightmove for about a year. It was the only one that met out criteria without paying an extra 50% for a massively high spec new build. So, for us, over paying a few thousand (less than you are talking about tho) was worth it. How much do you want the house?

Ringing the agent is the normal thing to do. I wouldn't worry about that.

I think your offer was pretty low to be honest. Not exceptionally, but I can see why it was rejected. How much will you counter offer? Is it close to the 25k?

Are you using PropertyLog to see what other sellers are doing?

Ringing the agent was fine.

They will hopefully come back with a counter offer. If not and it’s a straightforward rejection, you could increase your offer to a “best and final”offer of whatever you think it’s worth & can afford.

Yes we are using property log. Houses are being reduced, often most than once.
This cottage has been online for over 8 months with one £25,000 reduction six months ago. It's always been top of our budget but we recently have been able to look at it due to change in financial circumstances.
We would be prepared to go up £15,000.

How many other offers do they have?

If it’s been on for 8 months, then they don’t need to sell. They won’t accept if you wait them out. Given they reduced at 2 months in but then nothing for the next 6 months, £670k might be as low as they can go but they might also be expecting another low ball offer so part of the negotiations. I would go back with your offer at £660K, it’s your best and final offer. If they don’t accept it, then this isn’t the one for you.

All we were told is that other parties want to buy it but they need to sell their houses.

Chances are these "other parties" may need to reduce the price on their houses to sell so they will probably reduce their offers as well? Whatever the case they are not proceedable and may as well not exist, sweat the seller some more IMO, and don`t up your offer, in fact without a link it is impossible to say if the cottage is good value or not, say you bought it and it really plunged in value, how would you feel, are you psychologically prepared for that?

I keep reading phoning the agent is fine, what’s the upside? It’s like asking the agent to help you figure out how much you should offer while he/she is representing the seller. One should do their homework, be confident they offer what they perceived as the right price and let it be. All a call will do is reveal more details and be talked into making an offer over what was originally planned. Those guys are doing this for a living, 99% of us will be outsmarted.

8 months on the market tells you it's likley to have been overpriced. Counter offer with care. Offers of 10% under asking, and more, are often being accepted according to people in the industry. I think your offer is probably already fair considering you are the only one able to proceed.
However you have to decide what it's worth to you to be in that property. Will it really matter if a comparable property is listed next year at less than you paid - or will you just be happy you got the house you really wanted ?

In that case they’re not proceedable.

nothing is rising really and January will be another dip and a load more will come to market next year.

it depends on how badly you want it really.

I would say 20% is probably more normal now, for people who really need to move.

With rates anticipated to go om a downward trajectory from here on in I suspect the market won't go down further. I also think if there are higher offers but just not proceed able the seller may be prepared to wait it out if they have no urgency about moving.

You say there are no comparable properties available which actually places the seller in a better position than if there were plenty of similar properties available.

Yes, it sounds really pricey for a cottage to me TBH. Do you have the historical sold prices for the cottage OP?

Offer the 15 and emphasise that you can move fast

i guess it depends if they can buy what they want or have a deadline to move - they might well consider it

We went back and offered £655,000 emphasising our cash position etc. They then said that instead of wanting £670,000 that they now want £675,000 and that is the lowest they would go. So we are left feeling like we have got nowhere with the negotiations and a bit confused!

Can you link to the property, you can always remove it later, what is the price history, that is important in this higher interest rate environment because they might not get any other offers.