Low offers due to people wanting to make big changes to the house

[CBradshaw]

We are selling my Dads house after he passed away. The offers received so far have been 10% or more below asking price. They've all said it's because they want to extend or make changes to the house (such as moving the location of the front door). We have declined all offers, as we know the house is worth close to the asking price, due to location (sought after road in the town), and the size/privacy of the front and rear garden.

Is it normal for buyers to pay a lot less for a house that they want to change, but doesn't actually need any alterations? I think they want a house on this road, but the actual house/layout doesn't meet their requirements.

Then he's wasting his time looking at houses priced £70k above his maximum!

I would not come down that far, OP. Unless you are desperate to sell, if you feel it's a fair reflection of value then I'd decline offers that are not close to the asking price. It's only been a month.

Some people might be waiting to see what happens with property taxes in the budget.

I just popped 700K into this interest calculator
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/education-resources/savings-calculator
at 3% interest the interest is over 21k in a year (£1774 every month!) so definitely not worth keeping the house on sale long term by being super rigid about your sale price.

If you don't get a price you are happy with by the spring you really do need to look at compromising but it's early days yet.

Not necessarily.
It completely depends on the position the vendors are in.

Some just need rid of the property.
Some will need top dollar to move to their next property.
Some might have wiggle room and might have been quite surprised by how much the EAs have suggested putting it on the market for.
In the same way that you are emotionally attached to your old family home, you'd be surprised how many people want the home they've been very happy in for many years, to go to "a nice young family" rather than be sold to someone who is going to turn it into an HMO.

Although in theory it is purely a business transaction, for many, many people it isn't just a business deal, so people are able to get bargains and money off sometimes, so it is worth them looking at things above what they can afford.

You got a house for free and now you are coming up with reasons people want to pay less. The answer is it is just worth less than you think it is. Prices need to go down for the next generation to afford to have a roof over their heads. Your Father probably bought that house for peanuts. Just be grateful you have been given a free house.

It isn't 'a problem'. Given the current market, it's worth potential buyers looking at properties over their budget. Many sellers are over valuing and then having to reduce and accept much lower offers. Obviously, not all sellers will choose to do this but some certainly are.

It’s worth sitting down with anyone else involved, and being brutally realistic about difference in offer price and value of time.

You've said you’re keeping on the gardener. You’re also heating it. Paying council tax. Insurance (and need to make sure it’s properly covered for being empty so much). You’re also not getting any value from the money that’s tied up in it. Eg. Once sold, you can get at least 3.5% interest on your share by putting it in the bank. That lot starts to add up.

On the offer price, people will look at what their total budget is, and want to achieve the end result for that budget. On your own description it sounds like the location and plot that are the biggest assets, not the house itself. So people will price their offer factoring in changes to get what they want. That’s their prerogative. You get to choose whether you’ll take that.

(also, if estate will be subject to inheritance tax then 40% of the difference goes in tax anyway).

Buyers are wary of probate properties, they are a hassle. Lots of childhood memories blinds vendors / beneficiaries to the actual market value.

Having to negotiate with multiple family members who may be in varying stages of bereavement makes these purchases more awkward for buyers.

Maybe you need to flip this around and pretend you are a buyer in this neighbourhood. How does it compare with similar nearby? 99% of deceased estates are dated or have some issues. If you’re a buyer, would you choose the house you’re trying to sell which has an unconventional (sub optimal?) layout and needs other work. How old is the wiring? How old is the roof?

my observation- the cost of refurbishment like re-wiring or re-roofing or other big works is now seriously under estimated by buyers and values. Zoopla won’t allow for that. That essential work can suck up £50k in the blink of an eye.

The fact that you’re consistently getting offers under asking price shows the property / price is the issue - not the buyers.

So, you can wait and keep the property for a year or more whilst others sell, or cut your price and sell now. Your choice.

"thanks" for your compassion! 😪

It was bought 10 years ago when he got a lump sum when he retired. Various circumstances meant that was my parents first property. We don't have childhood memories attached to the house.

Whilst we realise we are lucky to get an inheritance (which means we should now be in a position to look at becoming home owners for the first time), I would give that all up to have my parents back (as they both passed away in their 60's within the last 2 years).

Who pissed on your chips?

So sorry you have all lost both your parents so young. That is horrible for you.

Do you have other trusted people (Aunts, Uncles, or friends) who have a little more experience in terms of buying and selling?

The advice on this thread is good.

You (all) have to get your head(s) round the fact that the EA's valuation, is, at best a 'guestimate' of what the house might be worth.
Have a think about what the pp said about the costs you are incurring month by month (insurances, heating, council tax, gardener, water rates, utilities) and the fact you are all in limbo, not able to move on. Compared with you all having your % of the money in your banks, earning interest, and being able to think about buying yourselves. Remember, you too will be able to put in lower offers on properties you see. Their prices aren't fixed either.

Of course, a month is no time at all, so you might all decide to leave it on the market, but do share what you have learned here with your siblings and have a think.

Again, sorry for your losses. You are all too young to have lost both parents.

If the house us well priced / asking price is a good deal already but you cant get what you want for it/ what you believe its worth.... One idea if might be for you or your sibling to buy it for the 750 asking price and get a mortgage to buy out the other out.

Looking at houses that are £100,000 over a buyers budget is pointless. It wastes everyone’s time. Looking at houses that are just outside of their budget yes fair enough because sometimes negotiations can be made or sellers may reduce. The current market isn’t doing as bad as some may believe

What happens when you counter offer?

most people would lowball first and then expect to agree a price somewhere in the middle...

@Coconutter24 sure, but sometimes “that’s as much as I can afford” is a slightly polite fiction for “that’s as much as I want to pay for this house”

Estate agents always say the house is worth more than you will get for it. I would accept one of the offers but tell them you are not prepared to drop the price any further and will pull out if they mess you around. I think, as has been said, you are better off having the cash now rather than waiting.

How many siblings is the money to be divided by? A bird in the hand etc. We once looked at a house and were gobsmacked by what it had been valued at, it was a virtual wreck. When I questioned the EA, she rolled her eyes and said it wasn't a valuation they agreed with but the chap selling had 3 daughters and had decided how much inheritance he wanted to give them and so that was the sum he insisted the house was put on the market for. It was madness. It didn't sell for a long time and eventually went for A LOT less than the figure the stupid man had had in mind.

£670k to be rid of the hassle of an empty house is a nice windfall. Divided by 2 is lovely, divided by 3 is still a very decent amount with which to buy a house. Selling also means you can move forward with your own lives.

I don't agree, although it obviously depends how long the property has been on the market, the area and whether the price is realistic compared to others that have sold. I've seen a lot of properties reduced by well over £100k, multiples, in fact. Sellers and agents are frequently over pricing and then needing to accept much lower figures if they want to sell. I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case here. It is possible that the OP may achieve asking price but she has already had great advice about not hanging on too long for various reasons.

That's really sad to have lost both your parents so young. I'm sorry to read that @CBradshaw.

I’m sorry you’ve lost both parents, in their 60’s is too young to die 🥺.

Well it depends how long you want to wait and how much you’re happy to pay to maintain / keep it empty.

If you’re not paying a mortgage, the only outgoings you have are council tax and energy bills, water bill, home and buildings insurance.

It’s a personal choice if you’ve got time to hang around in the hope you get a higher offer, do so, you never know. Personally I’d sell it to the highest offer with no chain, received in the first 6-8weeks.

10% under asking price is not a ''low offer''. It is rather standard.

You don't have to accept it of course.

But be prepared to have your house on the market for a while which will also probably mean that potential buyers will see that the property has not sold for months and will still offer you a lower offer than what you expect because of it...

Haven’t read every single post but if it’s only been on the market a few weeks then it’s very early days. I think lots of people are waiting to see what happens in the budget. Think you need to do the sums ie how much the house is costing you at the moment versus what you could earn in interest. You only need one person to come along and fall in love with the position and size of the plot. And I agree that wanting to change the layout is not a reason to put in a much lower offer.
Sorry to hear you have lost your parents, they were far too young.
Hoping you get an offer soon that you are happy with. Sometimes it takes time to get your head round what offer you would be happy to accept.

Which is fine but that doesn’t mean the seller has to drop the price

Of course, I never said otherwise.

Don't forget they are paying an extra £25k stamp duty on a £750k house. And no one knows what the budget will bring. I'm not surprised they are putting in low offers.
With the UK government currently in chaos and only controversial alternatives, I'd take the low offer.

I think those are very low offers and it's interesting that the people who made them haven't come up at all. Everyone knows house-buying is a negotiation, so it's unusual to make one offer and then walk. It suggests to me that these are people who don't have the budget to afford the asking price - so I'd be talking to my estate agent about what they are saying to the viewers and how they are vetting them. If you are expecting to achieve closer to asking, you need to be clear with the estate agent that it's wasting everybody's time to take viewers with a a top budget way below that.