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Negotiating a purchase

Covering Market, Trends, and Practical (but see LEMON-AID for Building & DIY)
MyNameIsUrl
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Negotiating a purchase

#346069

Postby MyNameIsUrl » October 8th, 2020, 8:52 am

Young relatives, first-time buyers, have just made an offer on a house which has been rejected. The agent isn't keen on any dialogue about whether further offers might be considered or whether the vendors will hold out for full asking price. If the latter, my relatives would drop this property now.

The agent has revealed that the vendors haven't yet found a property to move into, and clearly it would be a good position for them to be in to have an offer from first-time buyers in their pocket as they negotiate their own purchase.

The property has been on the market for three months, so maybe other offers have been flatly turned down. I imagine the agent must be fed up if this is the case.

Any suggestions on next steps please?

Dod101
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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346076

Postby Dod101 » October 8th, 2020, 9:15 am

Why not consider a direct approach to the owners?

Dod

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346107

Postby fisher » October 8th, 2020, 10:29 am

What I might do. Up the offer a bit, tell the agent it's the final offer. Leave it with them a while. Even if they reject it, you can always go back with a higher offer. Don't panic. Let the vendor mull it over.

AsleepInYorkshire
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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346127

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » October 8th, 2020, 10:54 am

MyNameIsUrl wrote:Young relatives, first-time buyers, have just made an offer on a house which has been rejected. The agent isn't keen on any dialogue about whether further offers might be considered or whether the vendors will hold out for full asking price. If the latter, my relatives would drop this property now.

The agent has revealed that the vendors haven't yet found a property to move into, and clearly it would be a good position for them to be in to have an offer from first-time buyers in their pocket as they negotiate their own purchase.

The property has been on the market for three months, so maybe other offers have been flatly turned down. I imagine the agent must be fed up if this is the case.

Any suggestions on next steps please?

As you know the agent must under the law pass every offer to the sellers.

Who can know what is in the mind of the sellers? So you can strategise and approach in a million ways and still not know the outcome. I'd offer them £500 more and then park up my efforts on this house and perhaps pursue other alternatives. They are first time buyers and do need to use maximise that leverage as well as find a home they will like and can move on from in time.

AiY

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346154

Postby MyNameIsUrl » October 8th, 2020, 11:48 am

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:Who can know what is in the mind of the sellers? So you can strategise and approach in a million ways and still not know the outcome.

Thanks, a very useful observation. If for example they've stuck it on the market (at no immediate cost to themselves) to see if anyone bites for the next couple of years, my relatives are wasting their time. I feel the agent is the key to this as he won't want to be used in this way by the vendors if there is no hope of a sale in the forseeable future. One strategy I thought of was for my relatives to view another property with the same agent, so that if the original vendors ask him if they are still interested, he can tell them not - that might flush something out.

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346165

Postby krobaa » October 8th, 2020, 12:35 pm

I have just purchased two properties and offered the full asking price because I wanted to buy them. As long as the asking price is in the right ballpark for the type of property over time any overpayment is easily made up.
I am about to sell another property and will put it on for what I and the estate agent feel is the market price. I will not inflate the price so would expect offers to be on or near the price asked and I would expect the agent to advise possible buyers that it is a fair price and am unlikely to accept any offers which are unreasonably low although I would not rule out reasonable offers. However if it does not sell then perhaps the original valuation was wrong and needs to be revisited. Sometimes it is worth throwing a bit of money at something you want to happen.
Regards
krobaa

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346178

Postby dealtn » October 8th, 2020, 1:18 pm

MyNameIsUrl wrote:Young relatives, first-time buyers, have just made an offer on a house which has been rejected. The agent isn't keen on any dialogue about whether further offers might be considered or whether the vendors will hold out for full asking price. If the latter, my relatives would drop this property now.

The agent has revealed that the vendors haven't yet found a property to move into, and clearly it would be a good position for them to be in to have an offer from first-time buyers in their pocket as they negotiate their own purchase.

The property has been on the market for three months, so maybe other offers have been flatly turned down. I imagine the agent must be fed up if this is the case.

Any suggestions on next steps please?


How close to asking price was the offer? Has the asking price been the same since it was put on the market 3 months ago? Is it sole or multi-agency? Why are they selling?

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346217

Postby MyNameIsUrl » October 8th, 2020, 3:04 pm

dealtn wrote:How close to asking price was the offer? Has the asking price been the same since it was put on the market 3 months ago? Is it sole or multi-agency? Why are they selling?

It was a low offer, but it was based on market price and cost of necessary upgrading work and explained as such. Unfortunately no feedback on the offer, just a rejection - I understand that normally agents give some clues as to whether to make further offers or look elsewhere. Asking price hasn't changed, sole agency - so I'm surprised the agent isn't being more proactive just to get it off his books.
As to why they are selling, they aren't saying (they are giving a rather new-age hippy reason which is meaningless).

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346218

Postby dealtn » October 8th, 2020, 3:10 pm

MyNameIsUrl wrote:
dealtn wrote:How close to asking price was the offer? Has the asking price been the same since it was put on the market 3 months ago? Is it sole or multi-agency? Why are they selling?

It was a low offer, but it was based on market price and cost of necessary upgrading work and explained as such. Unfortunately no feedback on the offer, just a rejection - I understand that normally agents give some clues as to whether to make further offers or look elsewhere. Asking price hasn't changed, sole agency - so I'm surprised the agent isn't being more proactive just to get it off his books.
As to why they are selling, they aren't saying (they are giving a rather new-age hippy reason which is meaningless).


I don't think I can provide much help in that case, but were it me (as the seller) I wouldn't respond to a low offer either. Of course I could be setting an unrealistic price, and have an agent either unwilling to point that out, or complicit as that's how they "won" the sole agency. (Or I could be an unwilling, time wasting, seller, for a multiple of reasons.)

As a buyer in that situation, unless I was really interested, I would be moving on (pun intended), and not wasting further time. I don't know how reflective that position is of your young relatives.

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Re: Negotiating a purchase

#346406

Postby Gerry557 » October 9th, 2020, 11:14 am

Having sold a few properties recently, here is my two penny's worth. There is a compromise in finding the maximum price for the seller and lowest price for the buyer. The personal circumstances of each side also play a part. How desperate is one side?

I put one property on the market, as is. It was "lived in" and in my opinion needed updating. I was advised this would be the quickest way and most cost effective. I did receive some low ball offers that were rejected instantly. Some people will always try it on. These were substantially below both asking and general market expectations. There was another offer that we did except but issues with the estate agent meant that they didn't follow it up and made matters worse as they advertised it as sold. We initially wondered why the sale had failed and why interest had dryed up!

Thinking it was the poor conditionand or to rent I started to uprated the property and finally got rid of the bad estate agent. The new agent was much better in fact he wanted to put the property back on the market before it was finished. He had several buyers looking for just what I was selling. I did allow one visit, on the understanding that it wasn't quite finished. This resulted in an instant offer. Although I decided to put it on the open market, received a number of further offers. I gave the first person the opportunity to purchase at the highest offer price. From my point of view, I was trying to be fair but maximise return. I would have understood if they turned me down and I had the backup option if they did. This was accepted.

The sale took a couple of months longer than expected because of the bad agent. I did have the updating costs and time invested but the property was more of a wow factor and I got my investment back plus a bonus. Maybe there is a generation who have free cash flow but not large savings. Who will happily buy modernised properties at say £250k but won't buy a £200k do upper, spend £20k on it to make it the former.

It all boils down to how willing someone really wants a property and how desperate someone wants to sell. We did pay extra for one property because my wife really wanted that one even though others were available cheaper on same estate. The last property purchased was discounted as there were no other offers and had been on the market some time. This almost fell though as the seller was very difficult with lots of things. Wanting to sign contracts but not setting a date for 8 months, pulling out of setting dates because his cat didn't have a passport! Even his estate agent was pulling his hair out. He wanted a quick sale but put it off several times. Eventually I pulled out of the deal, upsetting the misses. Eventually the estate agent made him see some sense. We were genuine buyers, had put an offer on another place, he was back where he started, no offers no interest. I suspect they might have been a bit more forthright. He came back saying if I offered "a little more" he would compromise and agree to sign contracts and move date within a fortnight of each other. I countered that some issues had been found on the survey and this was a project and there needed to be some movement "slightly lower" to now make it happen.

Eventually we agreed to the lower price. He did ask for an extension on the move out day as his removals firm wouldn't agree and he had booked and cancelled them x3 times. We didn't accept!

It is difficult doing property buying and selling with so many mixed variables. If you really want it, pay up or find a compromise you can afford.

I'm sure there are many horror stories, gazumping, unsafe states fraud etc hopefully they will find something better.


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