Would you buy an overpriced property if you could afford it?

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I know people will say a property is worth what someone is prepared to pay, but given no one else has wanted to buy it in well over a year and the EAs admit that the asking price is almost 100k more than their initial valuation was and the sellers won't even consider lower offers, would you buy somewhere if it was the only place that had come up for sale that was suitable?

Surely that's up to the lender to decide? Unless you're a cash buyer or have enough cash to bridge the gap between value and offer.

No I wouldn’t . We over paid for ours- it went to the highest bidder in a competitive market and everyone wanted to buy in the area. The house needed fully renovating and we’re really conscious that when we come to sell it we need to break even, it’s put stress on whilst renovating it. If we got it for the price it was marketed at (before the bidding went mental) then we would have been fine.

Seems like owners are being greedy?! If you want to stay there forever though I suppose it doesn’t matter what you pay really.

Yes if you’re intending to live there for a long time.

We overpaid by about 70k on our current home.

8 years later I’ve never once seen anything else on the market that would have suited us (we had quite a specific set of criteria).

But did your lender agree it was worth what you agreed to pay..

We wouldn't need a mortgage, though we might take a small one to allow us to do some renovation as all our money would be taken with the purchase.

No, but I can see the argument to do so. It would annoy me too much to actually do it though I think.

Yes, if I could reliably plan to stay there for a significant period of time.

Yes - we’ve overpaid about 20k for the one we are currently buying due to competitive bids and it will be a long term home. I wouldn’t overpay by £100k though unless a million pound house

What's so special about this place? Is it genuinely unique or are there others like it and you just need to wait for a bit? Can you wait it out? Ultimately if they want to sell and no-one will pay the asking then they will have to drop the price.

The owners are absolutely being greedy. "Delusional" is the word the EAs used. They are blind to how much work needs doing, some of which is pretty major and will be costly but the sellers refuse to listen to anyone who suggests this.
My main worry is I am still in probation so there is no guarantee we will stay here and if we did have to move I could lose a fortune

Well then it's entirely up to you - that makes a big difference.

I feel like we've probably overpaid a bit on our recent house purchase, but I'm letting that go because I won't be moving ever again! And I love living here, despite all the continued updates/redecorating/fixes required.

Personally though, I wouldn't be happy overpaying by 100k, no matter how much I liked the house. That's a huge markup, and it would make me think the vendors didn't want to sell at all and would cause no end of hassles during the purchase.

It also depends on how much of a percentage the £100,000 is.

So £100,000 over on a £300,000 is very different to a property of £1,200,000.

Then how long are you planning on being in the property, if a long time then house prices will probably rise past what you have paid (given the above point).

But is price the only reason the property has hung around a year or will it be hard to sell in the future?

After reading your update, not knowing if you'll even have a permanent position in the near future, I now think it's a terrible idea to overpay by that much! This is only a reasonable consideration if you are never going to move again and you have very specific property requirements. Surely there are other options out there?

"Delusional" is the word the EAs used

Are they though?

Because here they are, with a potential buyer mulling over whether to pay them what they want.

Based on your last post I wouldn’t buy it . To risky and that 100k could cost you! That’s a huge amount. Also if it needs loads of work you’ve got to account for that as well and it always costs double what you think.

I wonder if they don’t really want to sell?

Yes.

Of course it depends on a number of factors but if it was the perfect house in the perfect location and an alternative was not likely to come up then yes, we would pay what was required to secure the house.
Mortgage would not come into it

I guess it depends on what percentage of the price you're overpaying. If the property is £2.5m and they're asking for £2.6m then perhaps that's affordable to people buying in that bracket. But I think it would ruin the house for me if I felt like I'd been taken for a ride by someone stupid and greedy.

To try to answer a few questions: we would plan on being here until the kids grow up and out (20 years ish), but I am still in probation and there is a slight question over the stability of my job.
If I left my job we would have to move out of the area completely.

We are currently in a lovely rented house though it is a bit small for us, so we don't have to buy now and we could wait it out.

House on for 650k, now reduced to 625k.

I think it would be hard to sell simply because we aren't in a wealthy area at all and there's not a whole host of people who can afford to pay that for a house, and we'd be spending a huge chunk on renovations as well.

Haha good point. To be fair the delusional comment was made when it was on at 650k.

There's really not, but that doesn't mean something won't come up. We have to be within a very small area for a number of reasons and there's not many houses that come up at all here. There have only been 2 houses that would have been suitable that have come on the market in the last 18 months

What is the most expensive property in the area? If that is less that 625 plus the renovations then you will find it very hard to sell as it is above the ceiling of the area.

I would wait until you are out of probation. Buying and selling is very expensive. Plus it sounds like the house isn’t going anywhere.

With personal circumstances you describe (potential lack of a job!) and the way the current world economy is headed, you would be crazy to overpay by 100k on this house. Maybe you should rethink your essentials but definitely wait until you know whether your job is permanent or not.

That's a really good point. There is one property in the area on the market for slightly more but that is bigger and has still been on the market for over 2 years.
The most expensive property that has sold in the last 18 months here was only just over 550k, though that was a little smaller (but also in perfect condition).

My probation is 3 years though, which is a bit of a pain. Not sure I can handle that much more renting!

In your circumstances, no, I wouldn't. Too many risks and too high a proportion of the selling price.

I am currently negotiating on a house I also think is overpriced by about £100-£150k, but the asking price is £1.2m, there are lots of houses priced at that level or higher in the area (but in better condition), and if I bought it, I would be staying there for at least 10 years. No uncertainties over employment or staying in the area. I can afford the higher price, but I am still planning to walk away if they don't come down a lot.

I have lived in 16 houses since getting married. Paid between £42k and £1.2m.
If something is not selling its overpriced or needs to be 20% cheaper due to blights (proximity to the road, tragic history, flood risk et). Do not buy the best house in a poor street. You'll lose money.
I offered on four houses at 90-95%to guide just shy of two years ago. The agents told me scores of interest. None have sold. Bloody liars the lot of them. I moved out of the area and bought a newish build. It had a history but nothing awful. I'd meet them half way if you truly love it. Good luck.