What would you consider a cheeky offer?

[beachgirl2]

Just wanted to see if anyone would be able to offer advice / thoughts.

House in question has been listed with various estate agents since late 2023. Originally listed at 535, now down to 500.

Detached Victorian 4 bed, 1 bath in South East which is liveable but requires some work e.g. rotten window frames, possible damp, dodgy floorboards etc.

Would an opening offer of 460-465 be outrageous? Don't want to be counterproductive by offending sellers but equally don't think it's worth the asking. For context houses in this area do usually sell quickly and often around or above asking so this one seems a bit of an anomaly.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Most sellers higher the price because they know they’ll get lower offers. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. I’d go for it

Just following up to add this house isn't a state by any means (kitchen and bathroom both probably less than 15 years old) but does need some TLC.

Well 460 isn’t even a 10% reduction so I don’t consider it offensive at all. Actually I’d go in even lower if it’s somebody who really wants to sell. Also I loathe “cheeky offer” if anything the asking price is cheeky if nobody is willing to purchase the property.

I have heard it said, if you're not embarrassed by your first offer, it's too high.

The house is only worth what someone would pay for it. If you think that's the right price, or thereabouts, go for it.

Have to say, I would be put off by the length of time it's been on the market. Why is it taking so long to sell? Are they serious about selling? Is it massively overpriced? Hmmm. Anyway, best of luck OP.

Thanks everyone for thoughts so far - does make me feel a lot better!

For a bit more context the house sold 5 years ago for 450 so they probably would expect to have made a bit more on it - they rewired and cleared garden but can see by comparing old listing on Zoopla they've made no other improvements/alterations other some painting and putting in an outside toilet (it's in an outdoor cupboard on back of the house with a see through door - we would want to remove it).

Flooring, bathroom, kitchen, windows etc all the same as when they bought. It has original fireplaces and is a really characterful home with so much potential. Both sellers and estate agent have been lovely so mindful of that too.

Bear in mind your offer makes it effectively £60K lower than what they were first expecting, so this may colour their reaction to your offer.

have you done plenty of comparisons between the sale price of this property compared to others to see if the asking price is unreasonable compared to what other properties have achieved. There is a view that doing lots of maintenance on a house never gets realised in terms of the price it achieves, but it does depend on a lot of factors.

if you haven't completely set your heart on the house, go for it, take a chance and all they can say is no thanks, but hopefully yes.

How badly do you want the house?

Your proposed starting offer is only £10K over what they paid 5 years ago with a re-wiring of the house. They’ve probably spent that on the house. They clearly aren’t in a hurry to sell.

It’s been on the market for 18+ months, someone will have offered low, especially if it’s an area that houses sell fast. That tells me that they have a price in mind and probably won’t go below that. I’d see if you get any info from the estate agent.

If you make an offer, I would say you only make one revised offer and then walk away. They’ve been on the market so long, you want to make it clear that you don’t want to drag this out. I also think by the second offer you’ve lost a lot of your bargaining power. So if it’s not that special, there are other houses like it, go low and see if you can get a deal. If you desperately want the house and you can think you can really bring it to life, consider an offer that will get them interested.

It sounds like they are in the midst of having to lower their expectations from what they hoped when they first listed the house.

I don't think 460/465k is cheeky but neither would I expect them to accept it. I would probably go in at 465 and then if they reject it which they probably will, you could offer another 10k (if you feel it's worth that) and you will both feel like you have come to a compromise.

Thanks, appreciate your thoughts. I think it certainly can be a special house in future so that's a big part of the dilemma.

It's a bit unusual as it's (as far as I can tell) the only Victorian house remaining in a street that is otherwise a mix of 1930s bungalows and 60s/70s homes. In the wider area there are other lovely period properties but not quite at this price point (often better maintained and modernised, usually have min 2 bathrooms so are understandably priced higher).