Is offering £210k on a £260k house unreasonable?

[Crazycatladyh97]

Offered 210k on a 260k house
The houses in area didn't go for more than 200k
They bought it for 999k
It's been on the market since January

What's the chances of this being accepted or am I silly for even chancing it

You have to be very honest about is there any reason this house has been valued by the EA so high compared to other houses in the area. If it has a big extension for example, that could affect the price.

You can offer what you want on the house but £210k is a huge reduction as a percentage of the asking price so it will almost definitely be rejected.

Still - no harm trying if that is what you think the house is worth.

A different strategy could be to wait until the house is reduced in price, which it should be eventually if they are serious sellers who get no offers. Swoop in then when it won't seem such a big reduction on the asking price.

It’s ok to offer that, but what they paid for the house is completely irrelevant.

Totally irrelevant.
you offer what you think it is worth and justify it.

Picking a price without any basis won’t get you far, you need to explain your offer and why you feel it is fair and realistic.

have you viewed other properties? How does it compare? Why do you like this over something else?
if the area is own with a price ceiling then look elsewhere as you are minimise your return by having the most expensive.

What they bought for is nothing to do with your offer either.

when did the last house in the area go for <200k ? (exact figure?)
how closely does the for sale house compare to that most recent sold house?

as others have said, you can make an offer. It can be refused.

Your status as a "serious" potential buyer may, or may not be impacted by that offer and you may, or may not, find that if you make a subsequent higher offer they will not accept it until they have decided there is no one else at all to compete against you.

it is how the housing market works, the seller controls when to accept and (unless in Scotland) they can still drop you right up until exchange if they consider you to be "insulting" to them.

You need to consider the state of the house vs. surrounding houses.

If, for example, the house needs no work doing it but other houses will need a new bathroom or kitchen in a few years, that automatically increases the price of the house you're considering.

Hard to know without you providing more detail and the link to the property so we can compare it to others nearby

You can offer whatever you like, but they don't have to accept it.

There's nothing wrong in starting with a low bid to get things moving.

If your house was worth £250k then yes £200k was a laughable cheeky offer.

However in this case it sounds like the house is only worth £200k. So £260k is a laughable cheeky asking price.

You can offer what you like and they can respond how they see fit. If you think that's what it's worth then offer that but what they paid is not the point as it depends when that was, the market then and the condition of the house at the time.

You can offer what you like. They can chose whether they want to accept it or not.
Whether they think it's reasonable or not is for the sellers to decide. They may already have rejected offers higher than that or they may not have had any offers at all. You won't know until you try.
I don't think how much they initially paid for the house is relevent though

I made a low offer like this before, and likewise, the EA laughed. But he wasn't laughing at few months later when he called me to see if I was still looking to buy because they had to continue reducing the asking price. It sold for 20k less than I offered.

I'm here for the drip feed that it's the only house on the street thats been extended or something equally valid for that price difference. 60K above street value is a lot.

Depends when they paid 99k, if it was four or five years ago they are dreaming at 200k+ asking price.

@Crazycatladyh97 have you heard back yet about the offer?

Its a business transaction not a relationship. If that is what you think it is worth to you then that is what you offer. They are free to reject your offer and hold out for more (or withdraw from the market).

Offered 210k on a 260k house

Presumably the offer was declined?

Are you thinking of increasing your offer or looking elsewhere?

It isn"t a "260k house" until it actually sells for that, it was bought for 99k, very unlikely they will be doubling their money IMO.

The housing market works on cheap mortgage debt, it has stopped working, kite flying sellers don"t control very much at all, the buyer has loads of other houses to look at.

Not really, if they bought during super low interest rates the house will now be losing value as rates rise, the OP has to be very careful not to overpay for the current market.

I’d be questioning the estate agent as to why it’s so much more money than the ceiling … if it’s a wobbly answer then tell the EA

How does what they paid for the house matter, though? What have interest rates got to do with anything, barring affordability?

They will have had a number of values from the estate agents and have gone for the highest. Given the market they won’t get it. Put your offer in

We’ve got a house for sale on our road, pretty much identical to ours (less the condition) up for 300k. It’s been on the market for 6 months, multiple agents but the sellers will not budge on the price.
Houses are snapped up fast in our area and there is a little bit of a premium for the area. But 300k is ridiculous. But ultimately it’s down to the seller to budge regardless what it’s really worth

you miss the point, (outside of Scotland) a seller can accept a 210 offer and then 5 minutes before exchange can drop the buyer because someone has gazumped them.
In just the same way as a buyer can lead a seller on and then jump ship or, more controversially, gazunder just before exchange.

You can offer. They can say no. Or they may negotiate if they haven't had enough offers. Depends how keen they are to sell and how soon.

We did something similar, it was initially a refusal but the agent got back to us to negotiate and we did end up paying a bit more but not too much.

How much buyers can afford is basically the market! If they paid X when rates were low higher rates mean it is losing value as affordability tightens.