Advice on Buying Second House

J

jimmyok

Registered User
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I did a quick search of the Forum and couldnt find an answer which covers my question , considering the recent changes to stamp Duty.

I am very unsure how to proceed .

I have a house which we bought in 2004 for 250k it is now worth 350k

We are moving closer to dublin as I have a 4 hour comute to work each day , we have a 5 month old baby .

I spoke with our mortgage lender and we are approved for 430k for our second house and are looking to let our current house in Navan and pay interest only .

The Problem is this , I havent a clue how to handle Estate Agents , we have seen a house we are really interested in , its in Lusk , the asking price is 400k , i dont think it is worth that , we put in a bid for 385k and it was refused .

My Wife is eager to close the deal and just pay the extra money , but I am reluctant , seeing as the way the market has been going , we should try and get as much of a reduction as possible .

But as I said above I really dont have a clue , maybe we should just pay the money , considering the savings on stamp duty , or maybe i am mad and should put in a lower offer and save money which could be used to furnish the house .

Oh and the house has just come on the market ..
 
If the people won't sell for your lower offer how are you going to make them??
 
Thats just it , is the Estate Agent telling them to wait for a better offer , or should i wait it out and see if they come back , i dont know .
 
Well you are never going to know what goes on between the seller and their EA I presume? There's no easy answer here - if you really want the house then €400K will secure it. €385K won't right now. It's your call on whether or not you want to risk missing out or how much haggling and risk you are willing to engage in.
 
If it's just come on the market it's unlikely to move on price any time soon. And the fact that they got an offer so early will encourage the vendor.

If I were you I'd wait it out. I know you've you heart set on this house but I'm sure more will become available. Check back in 3-4 months time, if it still hasn't shifted (which most house aren't at the mo) try again.

Of course, if you have to move, and you have to have this particular house, then you might have to just pay close to asking.
 
The EA won't be advising them to take the offer considering the short time it has been on the market and the time of year we are in. It was a strong offer to lead with, so I would be prepared to sit tight for a month or two if you are hoping to get a below asking sale price.
 
ClubMan said:
Well you are never going to know what goes on between the seller and their EA I presume? There's no easy answer here - if you really want the house then €400K will secure it. €385K won't right now. It's your call on whether or not you want to risk missing out or how much haggling and risk you are willing to engage in.
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I think you are right , my gut says im being ripped off , but we need this house pretty urgently .

camel said:
If it's just come on the market it's unlikely to move on price any time soon. And the fact that they got an offer so early will encourage the vendor.

If I were you I'd wait it out. I know you've you heart set on this house but I'm sure more will become available. Check back in 3-4 months time, if it still hasn't shifted (which most house aren't at the mo) try again.

Of course, if you have to move, and you have to have this particular house, then you might have to just pay close to asking.
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I can probably go as far as february to wait , thats about it , can look around in the mean time ... But dont want to loose out on a good house ( even if it is a rip off )
 
It's not a rip-off. The vendor has an asking price. You offered less than it. You are now into haggling or brinkmanship. There is nothing underhand involved.
 
ClubMan said:
Have (m)any similar properties in the area sold at €385K-€400K?
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Havent a clue , how would i find out ?

MrMan said:
The EA won't be advising them to take the offer considering the short time it has been on the market and the time of year we are in. It was a strong offer to lead with, so I would be prepared to sit tight for a month or two if you are hoping to get a below asking sale price.
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Makes sense , I could wait it out for two months no problem , but it is a risk of losing the house ..

ClubMan said:
It's not a rip-off. The vendor has an asking price. You offered less than it. You are now into haggling or brinkmanship. There is nothing underhand involved.
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To clarify , i do not think the house is worth that amount of money , due to the condition , location etc.. but it is the best of a bad lot which we viewed ( 16 in total ) .. So I guess I mean I think they are looking for too much for it , maybe I am being unrealistic though .
 
I looked at a similar scenario recently where we would release equity from the current house to buy a new house, and then rent the current house and go interest only on the remortgage.

The reason we decided against it is that we were informed that you can't deduct the interest as an allowable expense from the rent for tax purposes. The revenue states this allowance is only for "Interest paid on monies borrowed for the purchase, improvement or repair of certain properties." When you re-mortgage, you're not doing any of these.

I know the OP didn't ask about this, but I'd be interested in people's views on this. Is the interpretation above correct?

Thanks.
 
stanman said:
I looked at a similar scenario recently where we would release equity from the current house to buy a new house, and then rent the current house and go interest only on the remortgage.

The reason we decided against it is that we were informed that you can't deduct the interest as an allowable expense from the rent for tax purposes. The revenue states this allowance is only for "Interest paid on monies borrowed for the purchase, improvement or repair of certain properties." When you re-mortgage, you're not doing any of these.

I know the OP didn't ask about this, but I'd be interested in people's views on this. Is the interpretation above correct?

Thanks.
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I dont really understand what you are saying there . Do you mean dont rent it all or , dont rent it with interest only ? And what do you mean by tax implications ?
 
The original posters question was about how to handle estate agents.
stanman, you post has zero to do with this topic, so you should start a new thread if you want an answer (or search for existing answers)
 
not limiting yourself to viewing/bidding on one property is the only way to handle this. You might be tight on time but this decision will affect you long term. A large proportion of sellers are in no hurry to sell but a significant number are, the more places you look up the more likely you are to find an eager seller. Plus, most importantly, you can play competing sellers/estate agents off against each other
 
Given your conviction the house is worth less given its condition I suspect the EA and seller have picked up on your urgency to complete. Having given that signal it is in their interest to wait for you to give in and pay the full asking price.

You asked for advice. In the circumstances contact the EA, thank them nicely for their time and effort and tell them you have decided that due to the condition of the house and the high price your search continues.

The property market is quiet as a graveyard over Christmas and New Year. There is every likelihood they will contact you at the end of January to accept your - very serious - offer. If they don't it neednt be of concern. Its a buyers' market now and you will - have no doubt about it - quickly find another which fits your criteria and your budget. It must be difficult when you want to get things finalised and with a 5-month-old baby. However don't let sentiment precipitate you into such a huge decision. Step back, enjoy Christmas and keep a weather-eye out.
 
Why don't you just rent in the new area, close to work, get a year lease and then see what to do then, Prices may have dropped by then also will give you a sneak preview of the area before you purchase.
 
jimmyok said:
The Problem is this , I havent a clue how to handle Estate Agents , we have seen a house we are really interested in , its in Lusk , the asking price is 400k , i dont think it is worth that , we put in a bid for 385k and it was refused .
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Hard to know who refused your offer: EA who did not pass it on to seller or Seller who instructed EA to reject any offer below askign price..

Seems odd to me that an offer so close to asking price be rejected if seller is serious about selling, but who knows...

As you have nothing to loose, why don't to drop a nice note into seller's letter box highlighting the fact that you have put in a bid...you may really annoy the EA, but EA are currently lacking of buyers, so you may gain so respect as 1- somebody who is serious at buying 2- a person not to mess with.

Food for thought...

See PM as well.
 
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