Fallen in love with a house - should we bid hard ball or just go for a deal clincher?

[Pavlovthecat]

We have seen a property. Its pretty damn perfect.

It is on at a competitive figure, and we, Dh in particular thinks it is worth the asking price.

There is also some magnificant furniture there, which is negotiable as the vendor has a property elsewhere.

So, do we put in offer of asking price with furniture included, or go for a figure lower than the asking price, and negotiate the furniture seperately?

What is a reasonable offer for us to be taken seriously but is not going straight in for asking price?

DH wants to just offer what we are prepared to pay. I think we should offer lower, the figure I think of is 4.5% lower than asking price. This will check the waters and we have some room to move upwards?

If they accept lower asking price, we have flexibility on the offers we can take on ours, which means a quicker sale for us, and them, should we tell them that?

This is only the second time we have done this, the first time was quite easy as we only had one property in the mix and it was not a gorgeous family home like this, did not matter so much if we lost it!!!!

So, how ruthless should we be? This property might go quickly as it is great.

Without knowing any more about the houses I would say your second choice house sounds better. The received wisdom is that it's always better to buy a bad house in a good location than a beautifully presented house in a bad location. This is because you can improve a bad house, but there is very little you can do about a location.

titchy - you are very right. We decided not to go in with an offer yet. Went back to view it. House is still, well stunning. The vendor was there with the agent had a good chat with her about fixtures fittings blah blah to get a feel for where they are at.

She said they have another place already. So while they need the cash from this place, as next place is a renovation project like this one, they are not desperate for it immediately. Should we consider putting in an offer which they would accept, they could move in two weeks if needed, or 6 months for example (we said we were on the market but new so no offers yet).

So, that side I am not concerned about. If we bid and its the right price, or can negotiate the right price, the would be ok with waiting for a bit. If not, someone else might get it, so be it.

But. The courtyard. Its too small. There is no park nearby. This week DH found DD impossible to handle as she was a bit manic so he took her to the park for a run around. We cant do this at this place. In the rain, we will be inside, in the sun we will be inside. So. DH is gutted, but as beautiful as it is, its not good.

We have revisited our first thoughts of the place in a great area. We went to look at another one. Again, needs a lot of work, and this one was too much work for us. BUT it made us realise how realistic the other one in the good area is. And it gives me butterflies in a way the one that started this thread did not. The outside space is not huge, but is is enough to put slide and swing, table and chairs, and a little veggie patch. And the park at the end of the road is fab fab. And, if we spend £10,000 now on doing it up, we can live there for a while if the market does not allow us to move. It will keep its value eventually as the area is so desirable.

We are going to get a builder who we know to come out and give us some rough ideas of prices regarding essential work - need to move the kitchen into the dining room to make a huge kitchen diner, as kitchen is unworkable. Thats the most dramatic piece of work.

This one feel less desperate, more right. Does that make sense?
And thats everyone, your thoughts have been a tremendous help

Bran - you too are right. But DH just cant seem to get this. I am prepared to live in a brown house for a few months/year in a great location. DH is not so sure - he wants all the work done in the first week!

sounds like you are making the right decision pavlov!

i meant to say thanks everyone, not thats