Do you know the stage when previous buyers pulled out? Could it have anything to do with adverse surveyor's reports?

As much as you have fallen in love with it, do keep your business head close by.

Sounds great though - I also do not mind the sound of trains - better that than joy riders or learniing to know the sound of a petrol tank exploding after they have finished their joy riding!

Glad to hear you have fallen in love
I agree with you, in your position I would not make an offer below £190K.

Thanks both, much appreciated. ILrush, from what they told me the first buyer pulled out because she had not sold her house (and as it turned out, couldn't do so) - in fact, the lady told me they only realised this as she told them where she lived and after weeks of delays, they saw her house for sale in the paper! Second lady couldn't get a mortgage in the end -again, after loads of hassle this was the end of it. So from what they say, all seems kosher.

I tell you velvet - that house has to be mine, or I will be so upset. Obviously I am trying to remain calm and adult, but it is difficult!

Wow! This is a fast thread! I can hardly keep up...!

Re: the deposit. Ask your solicitor how she expects you to come up with the deposit until you have the cash from your sale. She may have a solution... I'm surprised they want it upfront though...

Re: the offer. I got the idea of 15% below from a book called "How to be a Property Goddess" by Smita (forgotten her last name!) I think it makes good sense. They will turn the offer down, but you can increase.

The steps are: (a) offer 15% below (in this case, round it up to £180K if it makes you feel better!), (b) they turn it down, (c) ask the agent what they hope to get,(d) offer a compromise halfway between your first offer and the vendors' hoped-for price (£200K). It looks like you are being reasonable in meeting them 'halfway'. That should do the trick. (e) The agent will then advise his/her clients to accept your offer to 'get things moving'.

Don't give any indication at this stage that you can/will go higher....

In the end, you will probably get it for £190K But don't start off with £190K - at least I wouldn't!

In terms of offers it depends what you feel comfortable with. If Laura does not feel comfortable offering that low, and particularly in view of the fact she is 'in love with' this house, it is not a good idea.

If someone offered me less than the equivalent of 10% below asking I would think they were a timewaster (or had read a book by Smita whatsit ).

Im with Donnadonna, go in with 190k. If it gets refused you will normally get feedback on what they would like to get. Then you could try going up 2,500 and see how they respond.

Donna suggested £180K, Crystal.

Agreed,
Vevet sorry stupid typo ment to type 180k

Donna, have you tried this strategy that Smint-woman recommends and if so, did it work for you? I am interested in the concept, but my gut feeling tends to be with velvet's i.e. they will think I'm a timewaster (especially as 180 would be *unbeliveably* cheap for a house round there i.e. impossible.

I suppose my thought is, I don't want to insult them, I want them to know I am serious and I don't want them to grudgingly take it because they feel they have no choice then get gazumped by some person who offers a more realistic price later on, leaving me heartbroken .

My thinking is, if I start at 190, this is not miles away, it is what I expected to have to pay for a house (this one being perfect for me means I will stretch) and is not insulting to them. I am rather assuming I *might* get it for 200 (which is then bang on in the middle of their and my price).

Do you know, I've been reading this forum for ages and it's only when you're in a situation yourself you realise how knowledgeable and experienced everyone on here is. I wish I could invite you all round to my lovely new house and give you some sausage rolls and a bit of booze!

I can't wait to see it tomorrow, I hope my boyfriend doesn't p1ss on my bonfire

I dont think i would worry about a low offer. Normaly a good EA will tell you if someone is bidding against you.

I sold my last flat after two sales fell there was a bidding war.

Couple 1 bit 178K
Couple 2 and 3 Bid 190K

After negotiating with all 3 couples I ended up selling to couple 1 who put in the lowest initial bid. They went up to 195k.

I got 2 couples up to 192,500 and said the first to offer me the 195K could have it!

I wouldn't start too low. For the reasons alrady given here.
Also, it's not really a game, is it?
As said here on this forum many a time: the value of a property is what you think it's worth.

Don't be too gullible in believing what the alleged reasons were for the other buyer's pulling out. With a house in that location you need to be paying for a full structural survey in my opinion. It's quite common for the passing train vibrations to cause structural problems with big cracks appearing in the inner and outer walls sometimes. If the outside is rendered, be particularly suspicious.

Don't ignore it as "it won't happen to me". Make sure you get it checked out and good luck with the purchase!

R

Yes but its not just what you think its worth its also about how much you have to spend and when you dont have much every little counts

If the interest rates keep hiking you need to save where you can. Anyway nothing wrong with a cheeky bid

quote:

Originally posted by pont:
I wouldn't start too low. For the reasons alrady given here.
Also, it's not really a game, is it?
As said here on this forum many a time: the value of a property is what you think it's worth.

Laura you seem to have a gut feeling about what you want to do re the price, in which case go with it. I have in the past been given dispassionate advice on this subject by people much more experienced than me at housebuying, but that advice turned out to be completely wrong. That was not their fault, they were not in the situation and so couldn't appreciate the full scenario. You are in the situation, and are best placed to know what you need to do in order to get the result you want.

We will all of course be waiting with bated breath to hear what happens

quote:

Originally posted by velvet:
Laura you seem to have a gut feeling about what you want to do re the price, in which case go with it. I have in the past been given dispassionate advice on this subject by people much more experienced than me at housebuying, but that advice turned out to be completely wrong. That was not their fault, they were not in the situation and so couldn't appreciate the full scenario. You are in the situation, and are best placed to know what you need to do in order to get the result you want.

We will all of course be waiting with bated breath to hear what happens

Yes we are just giving advice. This is your baby so go with whatever you think. If our advice helps in any way its a bonus

All valid points. Velvet, I agree and this too is my instinct, so I think I will go with that and see how far it gets me. I would feel more comfortable with that, so that's what I'll do.

Crystal, the advice really does help - your story's interesting and shows exactly how these things can work - your flat must have been lovely As you say, at the end of the day you have to go with what you feel (with as much sense as you can muster chucked in I think).

Snooze - I had already planned to have a full structural survey for the very reasons you mention In fact, talking with my mortgage advisor today I asked her about the differences in surveys, and apparently there's the basic valuation, homebuyers and full structural. I didn't realise, but she says if I have the homebuyers, this will tell me if there is anything I would *need* to have seen by a structural engineer on a full structural survey. Based on that, I wonder should I save money initially by getting a homebuyers then only if they throw up something pay the £1000-odd for the full structural? No, outside not rendered, all brick

God, what a drama and I haven't even made an offer yet!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Laura NB:
Snooze - I had already planned to have a full structural survey for the very reasons you mention In fact, talking with my mortgage advisor today I asked her about the differences in surveys, and apparently there's the basic valuation, homebuyers and full structural. I didn't realise, but she says if I have the homebuyers, this will tell me if there is anything I would *need* to have seen by a structural engineer on a full structural survey. Based on that, I wonder should I save money initially by getting a homebuyers then only if they throw up something pay the £1000-odd for the full structural? No, outside not rendered, all brick

Don't bother with the Homebuyer's survey - it's not worth the paper it's written on, believe me. Everything that they "check" (and I say "check" in the loosest possible way) in a homebuyer's are things that you can easily check for yourself if you've got a working brain in your head and are prepared to do a little bit of crawling about. The result of your homebuyer's (if you do decide to get one done) will just say things like "wiring MIGHT need replacing, plumbing MIGHT need replacing, roof looks like it might need attention soon" etc, it tells you nothing really and it's all stuff you can pretty much see for yourself. Skip it and just go for the full structural which will actually tell you if there's anything to be concerned about. You've got no comeback on a homebuyer's because everything's listed as "might", "maybe" "possibly" and they never commit themselves whereas you've got plenty of comeback with a full structural if they get it wrong.

R

Cheers snooze, makes sense. Will speak to mortgage woman about that when the time comes.

SAH - what's your situation, are you currently buying a property but having problems? In a funny way, I don't think these property programmes help with the "game-playing" element - I enjoy watching some of them and it's opened my eyes to the property business a but, but I'm sure there are plenty out there who are making the absolute most of their new-found "knowledge"

Hi Laura The other bit of advice you need is 'the anti rose tinted glasses filter' (all prospective buyers should have one!)Yes my flat was cute as hell but when i viewed it i hadnt activated my 'anti rose tinted glass filter'. I fell in love with it payed top whack and moved into a monster.

The masonette was badly seperated from the one downstairs. I could here every phone conversation and at night could here people walking across the downstairs floor.

The roof has the tiles attached straight onto timber, no tarpaulin or insulation= massive heat loss and water leakage when tiles fell off. Also sweet traditional windows let in so much cold air you could get wind chill standing nearby in winter.

Electrics..dont get me started behing the modern lighting was ancient wiring (the old black and red colour coding system)

The boiler was faulty (£1000)

So be cautious of anything hidden and dont pay over the odds.Also after what happened to poor holly cheese check the local governent website and see if there are any scary planning applications proposed for your area. You could also park outside it Friday/ Saturday night to see if there is are rowdy drunk elements staggering for the last train home.

Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by Laura NB:
Donna, have you tried this strategy that Smint-woman recommends and if so, did it work for you? I am interested in the concept, but my gut feeling tends to be with velvet's i.e. they will think I'm a timewaster (especially as 180 would be *unbeliveably* cheap for a house round there i.e. impossible.

I suppose my thought is, I don't want to insult them, I want them to know I am serious and I don't want them to grudgingly take it because they feel they have no choice then get gazumped by some person who offers a more realistic price later on, leaving me heartbroken .

My thinking is, if I start at 190, this is not miles away, it is what I expected to have to pay for a house (this one being perfect for me means I will stretch) and is not insulting to them. I am rather assuming I *might* get it for 200 (which is then bang on in the middle of their and my price).

Do you know, I've been reading this forum for ages and it's only when you're in a situation yourself you realise how knowledgeable and experienced everyone on here is. I wish I could invite you all round to my lovely new house and give you some sausage rolls and a bit of booze!

I can't wait to see it tomorrow, I hope my boyfriend doesn't p1ss on my bonfire

Looking forward to the House-warming, Laura!

I haven't personally tried Smita's strategy (wish I had!) but I know someone it worked for. He got a house for £250K which was on the market for £310K. The vendors accepted his very first offer. Unbelievable!

Of course the vendors know you're serious. After all, you're making an offer, aren't you? If that isn't serious, I don't know what is...

Don't worry about 'insulting' them. You like their house enough to pay good money for it. What's 'insulting' about that?

If it was me, I'd go in with £180K. Just say it to the agent in an unemotional blank sort of way. Don't be tempted to say, "Do you think it will be enough?" (Practise your 'blank' voice beforehand!)

The agent's reaction will soon let you know how the vendors will take that. After all, she seemed 'surprised' that the railway line didn't bother you overly. That is probably the one thing that's stopped it selling thus far.

I imagine that she will be glad just to get the house off her books as it's been around awhile.

I was in a similar situation a few months ago. I fell in love with a mid-terraced house with a half-acre garden (yes, really!). It had been on the market for a year.

The agent seemed amazed that I wanted to make an offer. I soon found out why. It was in close proximity to a huge power pylon! I had to let it go on that basis. (Incidentally, it also had a railway line at the bottom of the garden!)

In the end, the vendor held out for the asking price. The house has since been withdrawn from the market.

Laura, we are all offering you our best advice, based on our own poits of view. In the end you must make this decision based on what's best for you and what you feel comfortable with. You go, Girl!

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and I'll bake a cake for your House-warming!

By the way, don't worry about being 'gazumped'. Make your offer on the basis that it is withdrawn from the market THAT DAY if your offer is accepted. A good agent will not let anyone else get involved. After all, she has done her job. She wants to move onto selling the next house now...