Have we offered too high?

[Othergirlswereneverquitelikethis]

We saw a lovely house on the market for £950k and offered £920k. A similar house sold for £915k last year but it had been completely refurbished. In our opinion this house needs a kitchen renovation (new flooring, kitchen, external doors) and the buyers had told us that if they were staying they’d get a new kitchen and block up one internal door and create a new one to improve the layout and build a utility room which would make it similar to the property that sold.

It’s been on the market 3 months and the EA told us there hasn’t been any offers and there are no more viewings booked in. On that basis we thought £920k was a very good offer as our best and final offer.

We made the offer on the Saturday morning on the phone and were asked to put it writing which we did immediately.

The EA responded to our offer on the Tuesday afternoon saying the vendors had received another offer of £940k and had made a counter-offer of £945k to both us and the other party but we are in the stronger position as the other party isn’t currently proceedable but that could quickly change.

At this point we were boarding a plane to Southern Africa with two children in tow and suddenly felt like we needed to reply before departing . We still thought £945k was too much so offered £943k to ensure our offer was higher than the other (940k) offer which they accepted.

We started to regret it during the flight knowing they would accept as we realised that given the other party weren’t proceedable, ours was the only real offer and we’d increased our offer far too much in the panic to reply with something.

We’re reluctant to now pull out and lose the house over our own stupidity and £23k but can’t shake the feeling that we’re overpaying, especially given it’s a buyer’s market! What would you do?

You’re 3k out at the most as the other party could have very swiftly moved to a position of being able to proceed. But as with anything in life, value has an element of subjectivity - what you are prepared to pay £943k for, I might not think it worth that and vice versa. If you want the house and feel £943k is a reasonable price then proceed. If not then you have the option to withdraw - it’s not great from the seller’s perspective and the EA will have a view as well - but if you do then do it now, don’t let it linger on while you prevaricate.

It s not a huge %
If you want the house long term it s little in the scheme of things

whatever you we pay on a house we will think we overpaid I think!

To be honest, a 900k house should have a 60-80k kitchen in it.

I would feel the same as you OP. I have no idea what I would do - maybe pull out if you genuinely feel it is too much. Makes you wonder if the other buyers even exist.

Depends where the house is. It could well be a bog standard three bed terrace depending on the area.

Do you like and want the house?

I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist over 4% unless you'd absolutely pushed yourself to the limit.

To be honest, what I would probably do is get a survey which is bound to find some faults in the house and use that to negotiate a price reduction.

I would feel regret the same as you that under pressure I offered more than I really felt the house was worth.

I agree with @OhshutupBarry. It seems v doubtful that these other buyers even exist. The house had been on the market for 3 months with no offers and no viewings booked. It seems a coincidence that the very day after you offer, they receive another doesn't it but, of course, they prefer you. Agents play tricks all the time.
How much do you love this house and how much are you willing to pay to secure it? Are you willing to overpay, as you are with your current offer against a, probably made up other party?
If, after consideration, you want to stick to your initial offer as your best and final, all you can do is email the agent and withdraw or state that you offered under pressure as you were boarding a plane and now that you have had time to think, your max offer is as previously stated. I suspect you would regret not doing this but it's your call.

I agree. The fact the other buyer is apparently not proceedable also makes me think that was their back up plan if you called their bluff, as saying "they've decided they want to move quickly so will go with your offer after all" sounds a lot more believable than just backtracking if you refused to up your offer.

I'd probably be looking to lower my offer after survey, if possible.

I simply don't understand. Is there an unexplained reason why ou can't call the EA and say "we are reducing our offer back to the original £920,000. We felt pushed into increasing it before and on reflection think we were wrong to do so"

Or am I missing something?

Or “we’ve done some more research on local prices and on reflection, think 920 was fair/930 is à reasonable price”

i wouldn’t cut again after survey though if you do this (barring huge issues!)

Yes, I agree.
You could negotiate post survey too if significant issues found but I personally wouldn't want to continue but be unhappy or feel that I was overpaing from the start and would therefore have a conversation now. The initial offer was a very fair one, especially as there had been no other offers after 3 months.

The reason is in the OP. They don't want to lose the house but are feeling regret that they may have been too hasty. I'm sure they are quite aware they can revert back to their original offer but are worried they'll shoot themselves in the foot.

It all depends on how much you love the house, how frequently similar houses come on the market and how long you intend to stay there. If it's a long term move to a house you love that is rarely available paying a bit extra will not really matter. If it's just an OK house that you will want to flip in a few years it is probably not worth paying more than you think it is currently worth.

I don't know why we don't turn the tables on estate agents. "Another property has come up, they are willing to go down to our original offer". Call their bluff.

The reason is in the OP. They don't want to lose the house but are feeling regret that they may have been too hasty. I'm sure they are quite aware they can revert back to their original offer but are worried they'll shoot themselves in the foot.

So how do they think Mumsnet can help? See into the future? This really is one of those decisions you [one] has to make on your own.

Well advice has been given to use the survey to knock money off the price. It’s a suggestion which is what they asked for 🤷🏼‍♀️