Advice on making an offer WWYD?

[Offredsrevenge]

Have only brought one before, 20 years ago, so feel like a first time buyer, even though I’m not! This purchase will stretch us to the limit but is a long term purchase. Every penny really counts, it’s at the top of our budget.

It’s a 4 bedroom semi in the south east. We do really like the house and for family reasons have a really narrow search area where properties rarely come on the market.

It’s priced at offers between £700k-£740k guide price. It came on the market this week. We really didn’t want to go above £680k but if we go to the bone, can scrape £700k. It’s uncomfortable though.

The vendors purchased it in late 2019 for £550k and have done no work to the house. The historic listings on Zoopla show all the pictures and apart from the furniture nothing has changed apart from the colour paint in two rooms. When they purchased it, it had been on the market for 14 months at £600k.

They did put it on the market last year in February at £725k but it didn’t sell. I don’t know how long it was on the market for but understand it was 6-7 months.

The sale previously was in 2014 when it took 18 months to sell. I’m not sure why it’s been slow to sell. The attached house has no sale history at all. Half a mile down the road is a new build development where four bedroom detached houses are on at £625k but they aren’t our style and are very crammed in with tiny overlooked gardens. When you look at nearby sold prices, the only property that shows up is itself.

We’ve no idea where to start other than we really like it! It needs a small bit of work but that could (and would have to) wait.

Is a £150k / 27.3% price increase on a property from Nov 2019 to now reasonable with no visible work? Should we factor in that it’s been on the market for long periods without / before selling on three occasions?

The agents it is on with are pushy and aggressive so not the most approachable.

What would you offer?

How much of a rush are you in to move? Can you wait for another house to come along? How gutted will you be to miss out on it or if you feel you've massively overpaid?

These things are all more relevant than the history of the house. How does the actual footage compare with the new build houses? If it is similar, then it is reasonable to think that they will struggle to sell, but someone might come along who loves it and is prepared to pay top dollar, so you would have to be willing to lose it to play hardball.

Space is very similar to the new build houses. We’d be gutted not to get it, and really need the space. They come up so rarely!

But we could make do and spend money on our current house although doing so wouldn’t increase its value sadly.

I think they're really chancing it. I don't think property will have gone up anything like that much since they bought it.

It sounds overpriced if they've not added value to it since 2019. I'd only offer what you can afford and not their asking price.

The market hasn’t suddenly improved in a year. If they had it on the market last February and it didn’t sell after 6 months, they should be dropping it below their original asking price.

I’d be slightly concerned that it goes up for sale every 4-5 years, takes a while to sell but next door hasn’t changed hands in a while. I would say 4 beds change hands less frequently but there are still some four beds that would be stepping stones to a bigger 4 bed.

As for what to offer, start with your maximum. Your maximum isn’t just what you can afford, it’s what point you’re not going to be gutted someone else has it. The maximum you can afford is £700K but if someone else puts an offer in at £700K, how do you feel? Do you think you could have stretched? Would you be have been prepared to be uncomfortable for a few years because that was the absolute maximum you could afford and you had to have it? If actually you still feel you’d be uncomfortable, if someone else gets it for £700k and you think OK, rather you than me. then this one isn’t meant to be. Work out where you feel the tipping point is and go backwards from there. Given they haven’t done anything to it and the market has slowed since last year, I’d go lower than your maximum.

I’d be tempted to have a go at £680,000. I think I’d wait for two weeks though.

That’s a steep increase. We bought last Spring in the south east. The property last sold in 2019 and we paid 19% more. It had had some improvements, but mainly maintenance (new boiler, front door, wood burner, decor) to maintain value rather than increase.
Property prices have if anything reduced in the last year round here by a few percent.

If it didn’t sell last year at 725k they should have relisted it at a lower price, no more than 700k maximum.

If you view it & really like it, I would offer 675k and that sounds a fair offer based on it not selling last year at 725k. You could allow yourself to be “talked up” to 680k but tell the EA that is your top budget and you know the house failed to sell last year and only cost 550k in 2019.

Google Nationwide house price calculator to see how much generally hose prices have increased in your postcode since late 2019. This won’t be specific to that particular house so take with a pinch of salt but it will give you a general idea. I’ve just done it for mine out of interest and between Q4 2019 & Q4 2023 prices in my postcode rose 13.4%. Data for early 2024 (Q1) not yet available.

Sorry I meant the price has gone up 15.4% in my postcode according to the Nationwide house price calculator ( can’t edit the post above again).

I would try it for your postcode.

I would offer £666,650.

i would say, we have looked at everything in our finances and this is what we can come up with.

something is only worth what someone will pay for it.

is your house sold, are you in a position to move quickly

Where did you get that figure from?

How much is stamp duty, removal costs, solicitors, stamps and post office charges for all the documents that need address changes, car insurance policies, they all want a slice you won’t have much - probably no change out of £700,000 once that’s factored in.

Stamps?

They aren’t 26pence anymore.

Sounds more like awkward sellers than anything else.
Offer lower and see what they say?

Maybe it did sell but not completed? Maybe they pulled out?

Previous bought and sold prices don’t mean much at all when you’re a buyer. People on Mumsnet can say the house is overpriced, and it may be, but that doesn’t mean the sellers will accept anything below asking.

More useful to you is the fact that it didn’t sell at £725 and, rather than giving it a makeover and substantially reducing the price, they have dropped it only to £700k and that as a minimum. Useful, but not very hopeful as I reckon they are going to cling to the idea that this is what they should be getting for the property, and not be very open to negotiation.

However, you never know. I think that £680k sounds like a good offer. Do @WhereIsMyLight’s test to determine your no regrets price and do not allow yourself to be negotiated higher than that.

I think 680k is a very generous first offer. I agree with Twiglet (again)! I’d be more inclined to start a lower offer 650k say. All mostly certainly be rejected, but it gives you some wriggle room and lowers their expectation on price.

I think £650,000 won’t even get the agent to call them. It’s to low.

I'm new to mumsnet and this is my first post so hope it works! My friend used a property negotiation service for her recent purchase and saved a lot of money. They basically do jt for you. I don't know the name but will find out and send another message.

So my friend used www.wiltonblue.co.uk to negotiate and was really happy. Good luck.

I wouldn't want to pay 20% commission on any price reduction when you can negotiate it yourself for free.

The Nationwide calculator was really useful thanks and suggested it should be at £651k.

On the listing from when they brought it in 2019, the house looks much smarter. The garden was nice but is now overgrown, you can see on the old Zoopla listing brick edging etc but it’s all covered in weeds and grass now. Inside it’s okay but a few doors aren’t sitting straight on the kitchen which is looking a little tired; it’s exactly the same kitchen as in the 2014 listing.

I’d love to get it at £650k, which is £100k more than they paid in 2019, for a house they really haven’t even maintained well! I feel that’s fair but as they say offers between £700-£740k I worry they won’t treat us seriously.

We have a buyer for our place who is chain free themselves so we are immediately proceedable.

Well offer £651,000 and make sure they realise what a good position u r in.

Can you wait a couple of weeks before you put in your offer? The longer it is on the market without any offers the more they may realise they have overpriced their house.