Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Do we accept this offer or wait for the market to pick up??

73 replies

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 07:57

Hi All, we’re struggling to come to a decision so I’m hoping MNers can help.

After 5 very difficult years renovating our house (unplanned but we discovered was necessary after buying it) we have decided to sell and move to an area with better schools. Where we currently live is very popular with house-buyers but due to the school holidays there are not too many viewings at the moment.

The house has been listed for a month and we’ve had 5 viewings. All have loved the house and have raved about it in their feedback but three didn’t want to make an offer based on not suitable for their disability/hadn’t decided whether to sell theirs/1acre field wasn’t big enough for a garden (??) (they hadn’t listed their house so we weren’t too bothered about this).

Two have been very interested but one still needs to sell theirs (but have said they would like to make an offer when ready), and the other made an offer in the first week. They offered £60k under the asking price, then £40k, then £10k, then the asking price but with no chain, and now the £5k under with a chain. Now, the asking price was for offers over so we feel accepting the lower limit is a compromise for us but one we’d consider. Our agent is putting pressure on us to accept the latest £5k under offer (even dared tell me that the other party were being very reasonable in her opinion and we weren’t!).

The houses we’re looking at are selling for the same price as ours so we’d have the stamp duty, fees etc to cover out of our own pocket. Accepting £5k under is an extra expense to us plus all the messing around to get to this point makes us worry they’re not committed to paying it and they will mess us around when it comes to the survey etc and try to lower us again.

As the holidays are about to end should we wait to see if we get more interest, or should we accept this offer (possibly stating no further compromise on the price going forward?)??

OP posts:

housemovepickle · 29/08/2024 08:00

Op the market is slow now if your in the middle band. It depends really if you really want the house you have chosen to buy. If it's a bit meh we will see I wouldn't accept, if however it's a dream home it's worth considering.
Sorry realise that's not as helpful but will bump post so you get better answers than mine

Original poster

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:06

@housemovepickle thank you. We actually haven’t found a house yet. A lot of EA won’t let you view unless you have an offer on yours so we were waiting until we’d accepted one (actually still struggling to decide which town/village we want to move to as finding schools and the perfect house is so complicated).

OP posts:

circular1985 · 29/08/2024 08:28

What was the asking price? 5k doesn't seem a lot off. If you need to sell I'd accept it.

Haggia · 29/08/2024 08:31

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:06

With this in mind, I’d hold out personally. Also I’d consider imposing the same conditions on your viewers as you have, I.e. they need to be in a position to proceed. Otherwise you’ll be exhausted by timewasters. I think it’s a little concerning that cost wise you won’t have much wriggle room so I’d make sure that everything is in place like electrical checks, window certificates etc - nothing that could possibly lead to negotiation after survey.

shockeditellyou · 29/08/2024 08:31

In this market I would take it. You may just have to fork out for stamp duty etc out of your own pocket and accept that you haven’t made money on your current house; it would be nice if it did but by no means guaranteed.

How keen are you to move? When we made the decision to move we went all in and did everything we could to move things along quickly. That might influence things but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Interest rates are expected to come down slightly next month but I don’t think that will unleash a flurry of buyers tbh.

LindaDawn · 29/08/2024 08:34

I think you may need to put aside the expense of your moving ie stamp duty etc as that is not a concern of your buyers but I can see how it impacts on what you accept as an offer. Do you feel it’s a fair offer, comparable to other houses (your competition) on the market? I think it might be useful to state whether the £5k off offer is off a £200k house (which is not a big reduction) or £500k house which is a very small reduction. Maybe tell your buyers that you will view a few houses and see whether you can get a reduction too. If they really want the house then they may up their price to encourage you to look. Don’t let anyone bully you into accepting. You would expect September to be a busier month for viewings but who knows. Also for the schools when do you need to move by. I wish you luck in your move..

Original poster

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:35

@circular1985 i don’t want to be too outing by giving the price as well as all this detail. £5k isn’t a lot but I’m the asking price was for offers over. They have also told us that something advertised in the house isn’t as advertised and so they believe our house isn’t worth as much as the asking price. They said earlier on that they wouldn’t pay this price for our house so we’re worried they’re not committed to paying it and will try to chip away later in the process. We don’t want to waste time with them if they’re going to mess us about.

OP posts:

OolongTeaDrinker · 29/08/2024 08:35

Depends what your asking price is - £5k of an £50k
property is significant, but £5k off an £250k property is nothing really percentage wise.

Hedjwitch · 29/08/2024 08:35

60K under the offers over asking price is outrageously cheeky! I know the market is slow; it has taken us 4 months to sell mum's house and we had to accept 15K under,but your buyers sound like chancers to me.

circular1985 · 29/08/2024 08:41

I hate offers over/ offers in excess and tbh I don't pay any attention. If you wanted higher you should've given a specific number as an asking price as people are most likely to always offer lower, unless the market is booming and there's lots of offers.

Original poster

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:41

@Hedjwitch I think this is our main concern. We could accept the £5k under but they’ve been messing us around for weeks and it seems to us that they’ve been trying to get a bargain. Houses are really popular around here and ours is very large and has had a full, sympathetic renovation. We don’t trust them and we’re worried about accepting it and having them mess us around during the prime selling time in this area to then have to list it again next year.

OP posts:

Josephinesnapoleon · 29/08/2024 08:44

Struggling to believe you’re even considering knocking this back for 5k. The expense of your onward house is totally irrelevant to the value of this one.

Choux · 29/08/2024 08:45

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:41

Who doesn't want to feel they got a bargain on the biggest purchase they will ever make?

One question - if houses in your area are really popular and yours is large with a nice renovation then why have you only had one offer?

Josephinesnapoleon · 29/08/2024 08:45

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:41

How are they trying to get a bargain when they’ve pretty much met your ask. Of course they negotiated, is this your first sale?

Tiredofthewhirring · 29/08/2024 08:49

You sound like you don't want to
Move. Which is understandable given how much work you've put into the house

Original poster

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:50

@Josephinesnapoleon no not our first sale but £60k under in the first week of it being listed is ridiculous. If you read my other response, I’ve already explained that £5k under would be fine but they’ve already intimated that they’re not committed to paying it.

OP posts:

Thisbastardcomputer · 29/08/2024 08:50

It's not a hefty reduction, it's quite normal to offer under, unless there's a queue of people wanting to buy it. Just offer under on your eventual purchase, to square things up.

Original poster

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:52

I guess my real question is- would you trust them? Would you risk taking yours off the market for these people after the ridiculous offers and criticism from them?

OP posts:

ZiriForGood · 29/08/2024 08:55

You need some offer to be able to look for houses. Use the offer you have, see how it goes and be ready to remarket the moment things go wrong.

Bear2014 · 29/08/2024 08:57

Buyers can offer whatever they think the house is worth, regardless of whether you list it as offers over or not. Many sellers insist on listing at very optimistic prices so you can't really blame them or take offence. There isn't really any such thing as a house value - it is worth what someone is willing to pay. There is no guarantee the market will pick up, unless you are willing to maybe wait until next April when it usually does. But 5k under is nothing and if you want to move, and there is a deadline for schools, I would just move.

If you don't have any other offers on the table currently, it might be worth giving them a chance. We've bought and sold 3 times and each time buyers and sellers have pulled all sorts of nonsense, we've still managed to get it done.

Imustgoforarun · 29/08/2024 09:00

My house was on the market at £575k. I’ve just accepted £540k as firstly it was over priced to start with and secondly I want to move. I decided that in a months time I would be asked to drop the guide price to £550k and I would accept £540k then so rather than mess around just got on it.

i looked at recently sold houses in my street (last one 2023) and they sold for about the same as I’m accepting now and I really don’t think prices have gone up that much. Estate agents are over pricing.

I’ve also calculated the cost per sq ft and looked at the houses I like etc and still feel that the offer I have accepted is perfectly reasonable.

But now I’m looking at houses and some sellers are so greedy and will not accept offers. I can’t be bothered to play games. £5k reduction on an £800k house…..forget it. So I won’t offer or do a second visit. I can guarantee these houses will still be on the market at Christmas. It all comes down to how keen you want to sell.

moodymary · 29/08/2024 09:04

Sorry if I missed it in the op but what position are the buyers in - eg part of a chain? That would make more of a difference to me than the 5k.

If you reject the offer you need to be careful to keep the estate agent on side. I also wonder if OIEO is the way to go in the current market, I would have thought that works better when the market is much stronger, with several buyers competing for a property. If your asking price is your absolute bottom line, there is nothing wrong with pricing it at that and telling the agent you can’t go any lower.

Curious about what it is in the house that the buyer feels isn’t as represented. If they are wrong, could you say so to the agent with proof of necessary?

anicecuppateaa · 29/08/2024 09:06

Given how slow the market is, I would accept 5k under asking. I hate the offer in excess of idea as a buyer.

Blueroses99 · 29/08/2024 09:08

From your follow up posts, it isn’t really about £5k is it? You are concerned that the buyers will mess you about during the sales process and potentially it will fall through. I’d hold off for another few weeks and see if viewings pick up after the summer.

Apolloneuro · 29/08/2024 09:10

Sunset54 · 29/08/2024 08:52

I guess my real question is- would you trust them? Would you risk taking yours off the market for these people after the ridiculous offers and criticism from them?

No. I don’t think I would. Not because of the £5,000 but them offering £60,000 under would make me think they probably can’t really afford it and they will likely try to get more off down the line.

Flip

1 2 3