Offer declined - Not sure if I should offer more or walk away

[Manifesting2025]

Good morning, first time solo buyer here with a budget of £175,000.

I have been searching for a house for the past 5 months and I think I've finally found "the one". It's a 2 bed semi on at 165k. It's currently vacant (ex rental). I've done some digging and it was first listed in November 2023 for 185k, then reduced to 175. They accepted an offer in May 2024 but the sale fell through a couple months later. It came back on the market at 170, then reduced to 165 in October.

I viewed the house last Friday and offered 160 which was declined straight away. The estate agent said that the vendor felt it was priced correctly and that she wouldn't accept a penny less than the asking price. I told the agent that I'd think about it over the weekend and get back to her.

I'm really struggling to make a decision though. The house has potential and ticks all the boxes. It's in a lovely, quiet area but it needs some work. The heating system looks like it needs updating (I think it's the original boiler from 40-45 years ago), the windows/front and back doors need replacing (definitely the bathroom window anyway as the frame is rotting away) and the driveway doesn't look in good condition either, potholes etc. This is all before decorating, new flooring. These are the things that I noticed during the viewing but there could be more that a surveyor would pick up. The vendor has installed a new bathroom suite, but that's it I think. I've also checked sold prices in the area and the last 3 houses on the street sold for 157, 166 and 160k.

I know 10k won't cover all this work and my savings would be completely wiped out too which scares as I'm on my own and if I lost my job, well, I'd be fucked basically. I'm trying to not let my heart rule my head but it's difficult as I really do love the house.

What would you do if you were in my position?

Don’t offer any more
all the works you need to do are costly

Stand firm, don't offer more, see what happens.

Just carry on looking . If you think it’s overpriced .

it’s not selling . You haven’t even seen the survey yet

Leave it on the table say, and walk away. If it’s meant to be it will be. Survey may reveal more horrors so hold out

This. Tell the agents your offer is based on what you can see you'd need to spend on it.

She's got an offer £5k under asking from a first time buyer with no chain. I'd let it sit and see what she does personally. Are there any other suitable houses at all?

Definitely let the offer sit on the table and keep looking.

Another vote to let the agent know it’s on the table but you’ll carry on looking.

There's a reason the previous sale fell through, likely connected to the survey. I wouldn't offer any more money.

Yeah I'd sit tight with your offer on the table.

Going against the grain but I wouldn't lose a house I thought was "the one" over a 5k difference between what I offered and what the seller wanted, if I could afford that extra 5k.

You've been looking for 5 months so you know how good houses don't appear every week or even every month. You may well be able to knock them down a bit after the survey if it reveals something not obvious right now.

Personally, I would try one more time to get a reduction. Maybe by pointing out what you know about the price previous houses went for and say you will compromise on splitting the 5k if they will meet you in the middle. But if they stick to 165k again, I would offer it to secure the deal.

I would up the offer by £1-2 k and tell the estate agent you can't do anymore but are good to move quickly then wait. They'd be daft not to take your offer unless they genuinely can't afford to.

If you love the house that much, be a shame to lose it.

I’d go back with an offer if £161, 250 (final offer it’s your max budget etc). That way, psychologically the seller hasn’t lost out as you’ve offered a bit more. Humans like that sort of thing.

Then if that’s refused (I’d be surprised!) just leave it on the table.

They might even come back with 162, which is a good compromise. It’s a game.

I understand why people are saying don’t offer more. But also you need to consider that you’ve been looking for months and have finally found ‘the one’. Do you want to risk losing it for sake of £5k?

You could stand firm at £160k and eventually they’ll relent and accept it. Equally someone else could along and offer £165k.

Keep looking and see if you see anything else over the next few weeks. If you don't consider upping but remember the work you've listed is expensive and the vendor doesn't sound easy to deal with.

I would go back with £161000, reiterate that you are a first time buyer, no chain and ready to go with that offer, but due to the boiler etc you would not be going any higher than that

They would be mad not to go with that its been on the market a long time, it's ex rental but vacant so not bring in any money, and it needs much improvement by the sound of it

The previous sale that fell through was more than likely due to something picked up in the survey. Have you asked the EA why it fell through, and if there was a survey what it picked up? These questions are a basic for a house in disrepair.

If you organise your own survey, it will probably pick up a couple of things which you can use to negotiate the price downwards. But if the vendor isn't willing to negotiate at that stage you could be wasting your money. Ask the EA if that is likely to be the case . . .

Looking at this from a different perspective

you have searched for 5 months - how much rent have you paid in that time ? Add this to yet another 5 months rent whilst you continue to look and you probably would have spent more in rent than the outstanding difference

if there is a lack of suitable housing and if it really meets all the tick boxes offer to go up slightly with your offer , you can always improve a house as you go along living in it but impossible to change where the house is ie quiet road , nice area etc etc , explain your reasoning, be honest with yourself that most houses in that price range will need some work to be done on them , and better that the work is obvious and apparent rather than bodged and covered up

I would rather get on the ladder than paying rent

It sounds like it needs £25k+ of work needed if you're saying it needs new windows and doors, new heating system, new carpets, decorating, driveway redoing, etc, plus you'll want extra funds for the other hidden work that inevitably needs doing and contingency.

How easily can you renew your savings to get all that done over time?

I am a first time buyer and I went for an extremely low maintenance house in the end, one that didn't need much work. I've still spent at least £15k on a new boiler, minor electrics, new loft hatch, some minor plumbing upgrades, basic loft insulation and repainting. If you earn well and can save well then you can do the renovations/repairs over several years, but only you know how easy it will be to save for what you'd need.

Many price houses 10% over as a buffer to offers however this house has now been discounted 10% to its finally value and has previously received higher offers.

You either want the house or don't... its in your price range and you are going to loose it by playing silly buggers over £5k (2%) of the asking price.

Also what boiler is lasting 45 years? is it an old coal furnace? oil boiler? because gas boilers have a life span of 10-15 years, even with maintenance and constant fixing (more trouble/cost than worth) more than 25 years is rare.

Don't offer more but do stay in discussion with the agent. Explain you have a fixed amount to spend on the house, including essential works. List and cost the works you mention here (good boilers can cost £2k, new windows £2-4k, a new front door at least £1k including fitting, new locks etc, a new drive several grand too. It sounds like there is well over £10k's worth of remedial work to do before you even start on flooring and decor and cosmetic updating. Point out that recent sales have been £157k and £160k.

My guess is that they may come back to you. The previous sale may have fallen through once the survey came in. They may have dropped their price due to the cost of improving it.

You will need to get all the essential work done soon and you absolutely need the funds to do that, so to offer more than you can afford on this would be a mistake. But cosmetic updating can be done gradually. It took us years and we are selling now without ever having done some of the major but non essential work we'd love to have done if money were no issue.

I'd raise my offer a bit but not to £165k. Not sure what you'd feel comfortable with.

I'd really give it a thorough look over though myself before spending money on a surveyor. You can see a lot for yourself - get up into the loft and check the roof lining for holes/tears, make sure there's no sign of a leak, check the roof from the outside and also check the neighbours to see if a lot have had new roofs (my place had a leak that the surveyor didn't spot and while there were some signs I didn't follow them through - only one neighbour has had a completely new roof though with the others just doing patch-up jobs, which is cheaper). If they accept your amended offer ask for the boiler to be serviced. I did this and the plumber condemned it so the sellers offered £5k off. Be a pain, flush every toilet, run every tap, check every radiator works, and plugs/lights too. Check doors close as well - some of mine have to be planed so that is another little job (the little jobs mount up in price). The reason I say this is because the seller might be miffed at reducing the price and might baulk at reducing it further after a surveyor has been so try and spot everything before making your final offer.

Sometimes I think it is all psychological - the seller wants to feel a bit in control. When a buyer won't budge on price even a little it makes a seller sometimes feel the buyer has got one over on them. If you raise it a bit, pointing out all that needs doing that isn't obvious, they I think they might be more inclined to agree as you've been a bit flexible too.

It was on for £175k and then the sale fell through. I highly suspect that it fell through because a survey picked up a lot of expensive issues.

If you did proceed you should pay for the best survey you can get that will highlight everything so you can cost it out.

At this moment, perhaps consider - if you're feeling uncertain, so you want to invest money in a survey that you already expect to list works that are going to cost more than your savings?

The boiler is a definite replacement job - you're probably looking at £2.5k alone for that. We replaced our front and back doors about 8 years ago now and they cost us around £2k. We replaced our driveway with a brick paved driveway, which wasn't the cheapest way to do it admittedly, but cost £3k.

Personally, I agree with @SereneCapybara - I wouldn't offer more, but I'd point out the calculation of your offer (i.e. what it might be worth "done", minus the required costs) and give links to recently sold properties and compare what is lacking in comparison to those.

I'd highlight your excellent position as a first time buyer with finances in place and the ability to proceed quickly.

It's their choice then to accept £5k less than they wanted or let it sit on the market for even longer.

If it doesn't work out - don't panic - something else will come along.

I wouldn't lose a perfect house after 5 months of searching over £5k if I could afford it. I think it's whether you can afford it or not that you need to work out. £5k is nothing in the long term of house ownership so the only thing that really matters is can you afford it?

@Manifesting2025

Why did the seller not make it clear? It's perfectly acceptable to list at £XXXXXX and make it clear that this is a fixed price. Buyers do not have to prove themselves by "making an offer" and causing delay