ok, so house we like is going to sealed bids...how much to offer???

[JackiePaper]

they are asking for oiro 185k, it needs a fair bit of work doing, at the peak of the market was prob worth 250k in good condition. we are first time buyers and have no idea how much to bid, never come accross this before, all best offers to be put in writing by 14th july.

do you think it is worth asking them to take it of the market for 195? or what should we offer? if we offer more than the mortgage company think it's worth, we could re-negotiate after the survey couldn't we? or are the bids legally binding?

any help gratefully recieved

oh and there is nothing else on the market in our price range in the village we want to live in...

Offer what you think it is worth but not more than you can afford.

bids are subject to contract and subject to survey in the same way as any other offer - unless it is being sold at auction, in which case the bid is binding at the fall of the auctioneer's gavel.

Have you had a look at zoopla www.zoopla.com? put the address into zoopla and fill in the details and will come up with a rough guide price.

House prices have fallen about 20% from their peak haven't they? So 250,000 would become 200,000 today. Then knock off however much you feel it will cost you to bring it up to good condition.

Plus if you really really love it, add £5,000. It's worth paying a bit over the odds for a house that you really love.

Frankly I'd leave it, come autumn they'll be delighted with offers around £150k do not get sucked in.
Honestly could you get it up to scratch for £15k tops, I guess if your DH is a builder it might be worth a punt but if everything needs doing I would keep looking there will be another house.

Make sure the bid figure has a bit of a quirk: if you offer 195000 then make it 195050 in case someone else offers the same.

more importantly, if you are in a good position to progress (your house sold or whatever) amke sure this info is in the bid

TBH sealed bids could IME be over the asking price - even in this climate - at least round here.

When considering your bid price als o consider your existing situation. As you are first time buyers, are you currently renting? If so, what will it cst you to rent for another 6 months if it takes that long to find another house you like?

When we went to sealed bids on our house we offered quite a few thousand over the asking price, as the cost to us to rent for a further 6 months would have been approx 12000. That would've been "lost" money so I was happy to spend it securing the house we loved instead.

After our offer was accepted, we were able to reduce a bit based on the survey so ended up paying close to the asking price in the end.

Good luck!

PussyGalour that really depends which area you are in.

Here if they are coming onto the market they are selling within 3 weeks mainly because there isn't the competiton. Few houses are coming on so they go quite quickly.

JackiePaper you could always ask them to take an offer, they may say yes they may say no. You can ask on here how much work costs to do (roughly) and then that may give you an idea of when it is renovated how much it would be worth.

If you like it then go for it. A house is a home not just an investment.

thanks for all the advice everyone. I am aware we are in a really good position, ftb, mortgage offer in place, however 2 houses we've previously liked (on the same road!) have both been sold very quickly, very close to the asking price. The problem is the area is tiny, so there is not much at all on the market.

tbh i'm not really fussed about whether the purchase price + cost of the renovations = value of the house in 5yrs as we plan to be there for the long term.

It's just the kitchen that needs doing (there isn't one lol!) the rest we can live with and do it up as we go along (benefit of this would be a much cheaper mortgage than a 'ready done' one, which would prob cost iro 235k.) so.. low mortgage costs, money to do the place up.

aagh! don't know what to do...am tempted to offer high, get the place, and then re-negotiate after the survey...that's a bit cheeky tho isn't it

will ring agent and go and have another look round me thinks