Annie Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 We put in a low offer (40,000 less than asking price) in April this year - the estate agent said the vendor was 'expecting a little more'. We didn't increase our offer because we didn't want to pay any more. Anyone got any ideas on how to convince the vendor their house is worth less? Perhaps we could hypnotise them during the viewing?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northern numpty Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 The property is worth exactly what you want to offer for it......and not a penny more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungle Bonce Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 The property is worth exactly what you want to offer for it......and not a penny more. Exactly, a property is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. We accepted an offer on our place just over two weeks ago but prior to that we had an offer for £55K under the asking price. Fair play to them for trying it on but there was no way I was going to accept it. Apparently they have done the same on several other properties but nobody has accepted. What it does do though is plant doubt in the mind of the sellers to the true value of their property. If enough people did this then it may well have some effect on asking prices. For a few days afterwards I did think what if it is only worth that much but luckily we found a buyer a few weeks later. It really depends how realistic the sellers are with the initial asking price. I have seen a property similar to ours lower it's asking price by nearly £45K in the past few months. Estate agents are to blame as they build up the hopes of greedy sellers to try and get business. One estate agent valued our property at £50K more than the other two valuations we had. If we had advertised it for that figure then obviously we would have had to accept an offer of £55K under asking price to sell. You might get lucky and find a divorcing couple who hate each other and are desperate to sell. Several properties we looked at 6 months ago are still for sale and I am sure they would be delighted to take an offer. The value of the offer obviously depends on their circumstances and how desperate they are to sell. We eventually sold for £5K under the asking price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Estate agents allegedly invent buyers and make up false low offers to price condition vendors. Like the person above said, if you get a low offer it does make you think if your house is overvalued. I would get a couple of friends to view a house I was interested in (separately) and, over the course of a couple of days, get one to offer say 40k below asking. Then get the second to offer 50k below asking. Then, 2 days later, you offer 35k below asking and get your arm bitten off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungle Bonce Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I would get a couple of friends to view a house I was interested in (separately) and, over the course of a couple of days, get one to offer say 40k below asking. Then get the second to offer 50k below asking. Then, 2 days later, you offer 35k below asking and get your arm bitten off. They will only bite your arm off if the figures add up and still allow them to move. If they can't afford to accept your offer then they are not going to. Saying that I would have accepted an offer for £50K under asking if I could arrange the same discount on the house I was buying. Offering large sums under the asking price isn't going to work unless the property has been on the market for months and months. By that stage they realise it is overpriced, and once that seed of doubt is planted they are going to be more and more open to offers. You need to break the psychological barrier that the house is worth what the estate agent told them. I am sure it is possible to get large amounts off the asking price, you just have to pick the right sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Sacks Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Exactly, a property is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. A property is only worth what the bank will lend you to pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddyboy Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Estate agents allegedly invent buyers and make up false low offers to price condition vendors. Like the person above said, if you get a low offer it does make you think if your house is overvalued. I would get a couple of friends to view a house I was interested in (separately) and, over the course of a couple of days, get one to offer say 40k below asking. Then get the second to offer 50k below asking. Then, 2 days later, you offer 35k below asking and get your arm bitten off. I think this is the KEY. Unfortunately, human nature dictates that we all have greed. It also dictates that most people THINK that the EA's are the experts. So what they say goes. As we see ALL THE TIME on property porn, EA's valuations are as much a guestimate as I would probably do! One programme last week had a valuation of £795K, £775K and £725K. Shows how phucked up the market is really. TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BandWagon Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I went to view a new house in SW London, asking price was £760k. I made some enquiries, and the agent called me a week after I'd been to view the place. He asked if I was interested in making an offer, and I said that I was, but that they probably wouldn't like it. His reply: "All offers will be considered by our board". I offered them £500k, so about 34% down. That's still expensive, but I'd consider going ahead at that price. The offer was rejected. The house is still on the market 6 months later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAL Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I went to view a new house in SW London, asking price was £760k. I made some enquiries, and the agent called me a week after I'd been to view the place. He asked if I was interested in making an offer, and I said that I was, but that they probably wouldn't like it. His reply: "All offers will be considered by our board". I offered them £500k, so about 34% down. That's still expensive, but I'd consider going ahead at that price. The offer was rejected. The house is still on the market 6 months later. Pyschology comes in handy when playing this game. Here is a trick worth trying. Get a friend to view the property of interest and then make an offer of say 40% below asking price - if it is rejected then you or another friend go in a few weeks later and make an offer of 35% below asking price and wait. The first offer softens them up and lowers their expectation - the second elates them slightly. Not guranteed to work but I think it may pay off. If you are really intersted and the property is'nt sifting then keep on with offers at 35% below (with other people). It will hit its mark. HAL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Whip out a large calculator whilst viewing the property, and say innocently in front of the vendor/ea "Now then, so 30% off the asking price maaakes iiiittt.." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expatowner Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 (edited) Whip out a large calculator whilst viewing the property, and say innocently in front of the vendor/ea "Now then, so 30% off the asking price maaakes iiiittt.." I have lived abroad for 7 years now and think nothing about taking 30% off and more sometimes when I make an offer. Its a game, and the more you play the better you get. Selling is the same, just in reverse. Offer them a price you can live with and negotiate bit upwards from. Dont start at your bottom line. Stop playing with a straight bat and start to haggle. Edited July 20, 2006 by expatowner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 The house we bought, we (well, I, she was livid i was embarrassing her) first offered £100K under, not least because the sellers had told us they had exchanged on the one they were buying. Process of negotiation got that to an eventual sale price of £75K under asking price..... which was a good day's work [we would have been prepared to pay asking price less 20, so it really did feel like £55K saved (which paid for the revamp of the place)]. But we bought at the bottom of the SE 'trough' in prices in mid-2004 (where everywhere else had rocketed and the bit of Surrey we are in had been stagnant since 2000, and these people wanted out...). Touch wood, we made a good call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.