Advice before I speak to my EA tomorrow afternoon

[Schwarzville]

Property is on the market at 570k. Viewers said a couple of weeks ago that their absolute max is 490k, would I accept that offer. I said no and assumed that was the end of it. . Call from EA this morning, they may be able to increase their offer, how much am I looking for? Now, If it was me making an offer I would make an offer, ie the amount I am willing to pay for the house, less a few thousand haggle room. But they havent suggested an amount... I would accept 535k. Do I put that amount on the table or higher?

Thanks for your input so far everyone. I'm in and out of work meetings this morning so bit rushed but to answer the question the property has been on the market for almost six weeks, had five viewings , no offers so far.

But why play these coy games, surely the OP should be able to say we want minimum of £535k, and won't entertain any offers under. Then everyone knows where they stand and there won't be a back and forth via the estate agent who is probably trying to play both side off against each other anyway. Seems like a waste of everyone's time to me.

I agree with this, it’s not a particularly great time for sellers unless you’re in an unusually buoyant area so I would try and keep communication open and work out what you would genuinely be happy to accept and just tell them - I mean it’s not like a house has an actual set worth, it goes up and down depending on the market.

Because you don’t show your hand - that’s partly the point of the negotiation. OP wants the best price. It’s perfectly possible that these folk can well afford 575, but want it for as little as they can get - which is also fair enough! If OP said 535, she may well end up with 530 from buyers who were willing to go up to 575… but they simply ‘played coy games’ better.

Yes it’s a game but, when there are literally tens of thousands at stake, you’d better bet that the other party are playing it. So you play.

I agree it’s a bit of a game @NeckolasCage but you have to look at your hand before deciding how bullish you’re going to be.

OP doesn’t have the best hand seeing as it’s a buyers market and they have had no offers in 6 weeks, and only 5 viewings.

They don’t want to lose these buyers by seeming unmotivated to sell. That’s why I would give a counter offer - my suggestion was 540k but wherever they pitch it I think they should start a conversation.

It is not a buyers market everywhere though, so that will form part of the negotiations.

In its simplest terms there is a figure both parties can agree on - how they get there is not a game, coy or not, it is a negotiation.

I would expect if the vendor says £535k is my lower limit the buyers will counter offer somewhere in between £490 and £535, not accept £535.

After six weeks there is no way I would be accepting an offer 16% below the asking price.

I’d say £550 and see what they say.

Maybe not everywhere @schloss but there aren’t any other buyers offering on OPs house and they have been on for 6 weeks 🤷🏼‍♀️

What were EAs doing showing buyers around who do not have funds in the ball park of what your property is being marketed at?

That is part of their job to ascertain they have available and sufficient funds. Even £535k is a very significant drop from the asking price, so I’d be asking EA what they are playing at and whether they have your needs at the forefront of screening viewings, or their own.

Maybe the OP is ‘taking the piss’ with the asking price, testing the waters as it were?
It’s not an exact science.

Oh just a time when house prices were rising and people thought selling a house was a licence to print money.

6 weeks with 5 viewings isn't amazing. Were all the viewings at the start and have they now stopped or are you still getting enquiries now? What is the market like in the area? Are properties selling quickly? It is a buyer's market in most area and lots of properties are being reduced or not selling but this may or may not apply to the OP's area. Depending on these things, I would make a decision on whether to negotiate harder or not. It's always a gamble though. You could say 450k and put them off completely and then get no further interest or you could say 450k and successfully negotiate to 435k. If you don't like bargaining, you could just tell them that you won't sell for less than 435k and then you can have a yes or no answer more quickly.

My Dd is currently buying so we have been exhaustively checking properties in her area and price range. It’s an expensive area and so her budget for a family home is up to 1 million. We’ve seen fabulous houses so ludicrously underpriced that they have sold in hours. Others that need loads of work, yet are priced at the very top end, and languish for months with the odd, tiny reduction. My Dd has better manners than me, and was askance at my suggestion she offer £100000 below the asking price for one of the languishers. But it was honestly what it was worth and would have given her cash to fix the roof and put in proper electrics and plumbing. Sometimes it’s not the buyer being cheeky.

But generally the EA is only going to verify they have the required funds at the offer stage, not at the point of viewings.

Asking for evidence of deposit when arranging a viewing is likely to piss prospective buyers off.

I would expect many people may be waiting to see how poorer everyone will be following the forthcoming budget!

I have now spoken to the EA at length and I don't feel that these people are seriously interested. However we now have a second booking arranged for tomorrow morning, with different viewers who are in rented currently, which would mean no chain at all as none my end either. Keeping fingers crossed!

That's true @Zebracat. There are plenty of sellers 'taking the piss' with their asking prices. I've seen a few houses that have now been reduced by 20-30%. Clearly, the initial asking prices were ridiculous. Sellers shouldn't always assume that the buyers are unreasonable.

That sounds encouraging @Schwarzville