Unsure if should accept low offer on house

[HollyJane92]

Hi everyone,

We sadly lost my dad last year, and have been trying to sell his house since summer 2024.

We have recently received three offers, from one person, all of which we rejected due to being too low.

But I’m really questioning if we’re over valuing the house and think it’s worth more than it is.

When we were looking to sell, we asked four EA to value it. 3 came back saying it was worth £200,000-£220,000 but one came back saying £310,000. So naturally we went with the latter one. Since August, we’ve had little interest. We dropped it twice, now on at £255,000.

As mentioned, one person is really keen for the house, but they’re saying it’s only worth £190,000, £200,000 max and they won’t go beyond £205,000. She’s a first time buyer, not in a chain and as far as I’m aware, she has a good job and has the deposit etc.

We really want to sell, as we’re really exhausted by it all, but £205,000 seems so low when we were originally told it would get us around £300,000.

I should say that the house is a little dated, and needs a little TLC. Also, with it being a pre-war house, the bathroom is downstairs. Which suited my dad, but I think this is causing a bit of an issue.

Although we rejected the offer of £205,000, the person has left it on the table.

Has anyone else been in this position? And what did you do?

Thanks, H :)

I'd dump the EA, so no commission due there. Take the house off the market for a month or so, do a bit of tidying, restaging, new pictures, try someone like PurpleBricks and put on market again. Invest a little time in the property, broaden marketing and see if it shifts at a more reasonable price.

Get it sold op. You need to move on from it.
It was never worth 300k unfortunately

This sounds like madness. The agent is not the one paying the council tax on this house each month, or the insurance (hopefully you have made the insurance company aware the house is empty), the heating to stop damp, and time or money - or both - to keep the garden and house looking presentable.

Also to doesn't matter if they are getting a ton of calls and "interest", that has translated into precisely one offer at the level that all the other agents told you the house was worth. I hope you have at least put a time limit on when you will review the situation again.

You say there is clearly interest but I would say there clearly isn't, otherwise it wouldn't have lingered on the market for nearly a year.
You were totally misled by the agent suggesting a higher price, I hope you are not longer with them, they really don't deserve your commission.

If you feel 205 is too low, would you consider 210? 215? If so, counter offer that and bring this whole thing to a close.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Greed is a sin because it leads people down bad paths.

Try and restructure your thinking, How much is the house COSTING you (money that you cannot recoup)?

Where I live in 9 months you would spend around:

• £1,700 in council tax
• £100 in electric/gas (to heat the house)
• £260+ in empty home insurance

That is throwing money away. You do NOT have a magic asset, you have a money pit and the longer you have it the LESS money you make.

The longer its empty the more damp and damaged it gets and the less its worth, it only takes 1 burst pipe (a common issue for empty houses) before it tanks from being worth £210k to being worth just £100k.

The EA has also recommended going to auction, but that worries me even more. I always thought houses that go to auction are ones that need a lot of investment and renovations.

My dad’s house is outdated but doesn’t need major major work per se, so I was a little confused by this suggestion.

The last viewing as far as I’m aware was last week. There was someone else who was interested about 2/3 weeks ago and they done several viewings, but we’ve heard nothing since. So I’m assuming they won’t be putting an offer in.

Again, why are you still listening to the EA's opinions? Everyone has told you the same but you seem to be ignoring all the advice on here and continuing to listen to the dishonest agent. Of course, that is entirely your prerogative, albeit not a very smart one.

Your EA needs sacking

The trouble with auctions is that the buyer pays the fee so in my mind if I was buying a house at auction and the fee was £6000 for buying costs
I would deduct that £6000 from my offer
Which may or may not suit you because somebody’s got to pay the £6000 whether it’s Estate Agents fees or the buyer in buyer costs.
But I would suggest that reduces your market enormously because first time buyers are not going to have a spare six grand lying around as well as a deposit as well as all of the money for the updates
So that’s them out of the equation.
Morally would you not rather sell to a nice first time buyer and let them get a foot onto the ladder as opposed to somebody buying their 60th by to let House ?
I think if I was going to give anybody a discount, it would be a young person. Not a greedy Landlord

@HollyJane92 You're not outnumbered on this one. The EA isn't one of the people who gets to decide the price you will accept. That is 50/50 between you and your brother.

Your EA sounds absolutely useless. It should pick up come summer? That is very bad advice. Spring is the best time to sell, ie, right now.

I would try again to persuade your brother to accept the 205k offer on the table. The fact that the EA has suggested an auction shows you that even he is doubting his ability to sell this house and you are very unlikely to get a better offer at auction, people use them to get bargains.

A house is worth what somebody will pay for it. The market is slow for sellers. It's been on for a year and only one person has offered. It's overpriced. The agent is a snake who told you that to get the job. I'd bite her hand off.

I mean the hand of the woman making the offer.

Why do you keep listening to the worst estate agent you have found?

Your believe in them us astounding.

An estate agent is supposed make you money, this one is costing you!!!!

OP, a house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. When my DM died, her house was valued at a similar amount by three different estate agents - it eventually sold (by which time we were in despair over getting rid of it) for over £100,000 less than we had been quoted.

Auctions are good for a quick sale, as the contract is on the fall of the gavel but buyers expect a bargain. I would expect to get way less than 200k in an auction.

Valuing a house shouldn't be guesswork. If there's comparable evidence, which there is, then the valuation will be based on that, with the condition and spec allowed for by adding or subtracting value.

If an RICS valuer comes out to value the house for mortgage, say someone has suddenly believed your EA valuation and offered, they will be down valuing it as they don't have any evidence to support that high value. The underwriters will not lend on a house that does not give them the security they need for risk.

You're losing money in inflation, maintenance, council tax, interest...

I don't understand the EA gets the business argument, they only get the fee if it sells and they're clearly a bit clueless to leave it on the market for this long. You're almost out of the spring marketing period, which is the best time of the year to sell...summer is quieter.

I appreciate everyone’s advice, I really do. The reality is I can’t convince my family. I’m going to keep on at them but I am very concerned that summer is round the corner and the house is just sat there empty.

Maybe show them this thread?

It may not change their minds but they should consider we are all neutral with no vested interest in whether you accept the 205k or not.

Who's paying the bills on the house at the moment? – you or your brother or someone else? I am assuming that this house forms all or the bulk of your late father's estate?

Whose the executor, shouldn't they be handling it.

There needs to be an ultimatum, either you sell now or he buys you out.

Does the EAs company name begin with F?

When I was selling my parents house after they died I got 3 EAs in for valuations for probate etc. 2 valued it at about 410-450. One, (beginning with F) said 500-550! They were absolutely insistent it would get that much. Told me they’d sold identical properties nearby recently.

I had a little research online and sure enough they had sold 3 properties nearby. Identical? No where near. My parents was an old 3 bed mid terrace. Tiny galley kitchen where you needed to breathe in and walk sideways to get past another person. Double smokers household. Last been decorated 15+ years ago. Old fashioned separate toilet/bath. Pebbledashed house. The entire place needed totally gutting.

The 3 “identical” properties nearby were:

A 4 bed extended end of terrace with garage went for 550.

A 3 bed end of terrace with kitchen extension and very modern interior went for 510.

A 3 bed mid terrace with loft conversion and separate garage in a block went for 500.

In the end I got 445. Top end of the other estimates and I sold it at a “good” time.

That agent has really done a number on your family haven't they. A house is what people are prepared to pay for it not necessarily what an agent says.

The length of time it has been on the market tells you all you need to know.

Show your family this thread.

You were quoted 2 prices
one much higher than the other
you have had offers around the lower price but not the higher one.

I completely understand why you would want to hopefully hold out for the higher price, but the reality is that there is tonnes of evidence that the lower price is more realistic. If you want to sell it, drop the price!

As others have said, you have as much right to make this decision as your brother and anyone else involved. Perhaps you can give him an ultimatum such as, if we don't get any better offers within the next 2 months, we change agent and reduce dramatically, ie £200k or so. He has, after all, had plenty of chance to see if his approach worked. If it doesn't within a year, it's the wrong approach.

Perhaps suggest that your family buys you out at your % share of the high valuation 😅

Sorry for your loss OP

Overvaluing is a common trick to get the property on their books. When a valuation is wildly over, and you say in a previous post, the property hasn’t bathroom upstairs or some other popular improvements how could such a price be achieved?

I assume you are still paying council tax, utilities and what’s the position with the home insurance? Assuming no one is living there. Personally if

I was in your position I would want the property sold ASAP. I would worry about the property being empty, I be inclined to either accept the offer, then you are still up for around 4mths for the sale to go through.

I would also consider putting the property in an auction for a quick sale, most around us, sell well over guide, a recent bungalow sold for £206k guide was £130k-£150k. Especially as there is interest in the property.

The market is notoriously bad once the schools break up for summer, so you need to get it sold.

Good luck,I know it’s difficult when you have siblings that need to agree and sensitivities regarding the sale etc.