Is this offer ridiculous

[Travelcrazy]

We are looking at moving and there is beautiful house on the market in the village that we want to move to. It came onto the market in November at £375,000. Last month it was reduced to £350,000. The most we can afford is £310,000. Is it pointless viewing it. I don't want to bother if we have no hope of getting it.

I’d say yes pointless

Yep pointless

You may as well offer your max or you’ll regret it and always wonder what if, but I highly doubt it’ll be successful.

You love it because it’s above your budget, so it’s going to be way better than those within your budget.

Estate agent will have them in mind as piss takers and time wasters and won’t go to them as first port of call if something tasty is imminently coming on market

I think it's worth viewing it. Just because it's listed at a certain price doesn't mean it's worth that much, it might be the current owners being very unrealistic.
If, after having viewed it, you still like it then put in the offer you can afford. It might annoy the current owners but it also might be that they've had similar or even lower offers, or no offers at all so far, and may consider it.
Surely the worst that can happen is they say no.

Sounds like the vendor is keen to sell. Go and see it. Could be wildly overpriced, or already good value.
However you can research sold house prices and get a gut feeling if your offer is reasonable. Your offer is only 11% off asking. Many houses need 10-20% of their asking price spent on renovations.

I would contact the agents and say you’re madly keen but have a budget of 310 and to let you know if they ever consider reducing to that level.
Then you’re not wasting anyone’s time.

I would have an open conversation with the estate agent. Say you love the house, can only offer £310k.

If they are a good agent they will get your contact details. Sounds like the vendors have massively overvalued their house for it to come down like that

Are you cash buyers or first time buyers? Can you be flexible in timings? All of these could have value to the vendors

I think it's worth viewing. They appear to be serious sellers who actually want to sell their house or they would not have reduced it by 25k. It also suggests that they had no interest at the initial price and that they (or the agent) over valued it. Perhaps it's still over valued
See if you like it when you view. It's possible that it disappoints when you see it. If you love it, try to build up some sort of rapport with the agents so they can see that you are serious buyers, explain your situation (hopefully you have sold your property or are FTB), make sure you have all paperwork in place. You can always make your offer in writing and explain that this is your max. Even if it isn't accepted immediately, they may consider it down the line if they have no other better offers.

Have a look first, you may not like it

I think it’s a big of an insult to offer so low.

id start lower especially if theres evidence it’s over priced. Our current house we got for £280 it stated on at £350k but had been on the market longer than your one and had had little interest. And they were desperate to sell.

If your budget is absolute ceiling of £310k
then set your filters on right move accordingly so you don’t see £350k properties

I don't think it is an insult but at least have a discussion with the Estate Agent, they may say 'Yes, we think it is overpriced too' or 'No, we think the current price is fair'. They don't think they have to pass the discussion on to the seller, after all you are not actually making an offer just gauging the agents view.

If I were the seller and I had only reduced last month then I would be waiting at least 4 or 5 weeks to see the effect of the price reduction.

The house opposite me started out at £425, was reduced to £350 and eventually sold for £280! It did need A LOT of work, and was worth nowhere near its original asking price, but I think it’s always worth a shot

Talk to the estate agent first. And at least you will get a better idea of their position. Sometimes people get furious if a low offer is made and take it as a personal insult.

Why is it an insult? It's only an insult if the sellers choose to react in that way and more fool them if they do. It's a business transaction and a business offer, not a personal insult.
@TicklishRubyCritic the OP can set her RM search for whatever she likes. A lot of houses are being over priced at present and are subsequently reduced. This is not 2021 anymore, where most properties were being sold as soon as they hit RM.

The estate agent will have an idea what the vendor might accept, so worth having a discussion with them to see if it’s worth viewing.

Just because £310k is all you can afford doesn’t meant they will accept it. However if £350k is an overly optimistic price and £310k is closer to the market value, then the vendor might eventually realise and accept that sort of amount.

I think you'd be fine offering 310 as an opening to negotiation. Offering it when it's all you have is almost certainly wasting both your times.

They've only just reduced so it's really unlikely they'd accept what will be practically double their reduction again.

The op can do whatever she likes whenever she likes… no skin off my nose 😆

but obviously £350k homes are going to be nicer than homes £310k and below

so you’re just torturing yourself

if you can’t go a penny over £310k then best set your filter more modestly

I think the vendor is the one with the insultingly high asking price in the first place.
Would your advice have been ‘Don’t offer less than £265k’ in December?
The bartering over houses is not an exact science. The agent/vendor tried it on with the first asking price, now they are trying to find its market value, which could easily be -11% of the current asking price.

I love loads of houses that are out of our budget 😁.
There’s no harm in trying though.

Your max is only a little more than 10% below asking, that’s not insultingly low! Odds are they won’t accept but worth a look and conversation.

Have you researched for sold house prices of similar houses in that area?

Have you researched how much the same house was bought for by the current owners and any prior sales?

A bit of research and it soon becomes clear whether it’s reasonably priced or whether the vendor is taking the piss.

If reasonably priced then I think your offer is too low and you’re wasting your time as someone else will offer closer, but if they’re trying to take the piss then make your offer - you never know.

Not sure how you can tell it's an insultingly high asking price with no details of the property or area.

The vendor listed at a time when the market is slow. Perhaps they did list it high, or maybe it was a fair price but they're keen to move quickly hence the swift reduction.