Making an Offer!

Some opinions on an offer on a house.

Planning on making an offer on a 3 bed semi detached in south Dublin. It is on the market for €370,000 - there has been an offer of €330,000 which was rejected. Estate agent said they will sell for €350,000 - so we plan to offer €340,000 - good, bad, indifferent?

Thanks!

The EA works for the seller, not you.
Offer what you think its worth, and dont be guided by him.

I agree the EA isn't your friend - seller might be happy to accept the 300,000 offer especially if you can get your hands on the cash (no chain etc.) Have a go - they can only say no.

Thanks for the advice. It is nerve wrecking stuff, and I just hope it works out.

Offer €330k again, and go up slowly in increments.

If you increase your offer by €1000 at a time, you'll obviously get 10 offers made before you reach your current starting price.

Put a time limit on your offer,to keep them from stringing you along while they see if anyone else comes along

As with any such purchase, there's a certain amount of bluff required on each side and it's a test of nerve as much as anything else. It's a buyer's market at the moment so that puts you in a stronger position.

It depends, however, on how keen you are to secure this particular house over other alternatives. Pitch low if you're prepared to accept that you may lose the house and have to look elsewhere.

If the house has been on the market for €370K for a long time, it effectively means that the house isn't actually worth this figure (and perhaps not even the €350k which the EA thinks is acceptable).

It has only been on the market for about one month. It is is a very good location but needs a lot of work done (that doesn't scare me off though). I have been house hunting for awhile and this is the one I keep coming back to, so yes, I really would like to secure it. My reasoning is then to offer a high enough offer, 10grand over the last offer made but yet 10grand under what the EA thinks the sellers will accept.

Not sure if it makes much of a difference but the EA is dealing with a solicitor who is working on behalf of a number of beneficiaries.

Exactly how much work needs to be done to the house? Do you know - why not bring a builder friend along to view it. Then you can assess how much you'd need to spend to bring it up to the standard you need.

Don't rush into anything. If it's only been on the market for a month, yet you say 'you keep coming back to it', you can't have been looking that long.
You sound in a hurry, please, please be patient. There's a huge difference between 300k and 340k - how long would it take you to save 40k? Wouldn't it be nice to get the house for 20, 30 or even 40k less?

Your bidding plan is playing directly into the Estate Agent's hands. You are doing exactly what he hopes.
There may well not have been any 330 bid. (Isn't it peculiar that people always bid using multiples of 10 or 5?)
And he's expecting your call today with an offer of 340k. And then over today and tomorrow, he'll work you up to 348 at which point the offer will be accepted.

And that's all fine if you can afford that, and have another pot of money held back for work on the house, for the deposit, and have stress tested your ability to repair your mortgage if interest rates rise considerably over the coming years.

I'd be urging you to bring a builder to take a look (even if you have to pay someone). Meanwhile read my Key Post for making Offers here: http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=123191

Hi Sadie,

Thanks for your reply. I have read your post regarding making offers and found all of your points very useful indeed.

I am first to admit I am rushing into this - but i honestly do not think I would find a house like this in the area that it is in for a lesser price regardless of what work needs to be done to it. We think the house needs at least €15 to €20 grand of work put into it. This is money that we have aside also.

Regarding the offer of €330,000 you may very well be right about this - honestly I am very naive when it comes to all of this!

Notwithstanding the asking price of €370K, the fact that the EA is willing to accept €350k effectively means that this is the maximum you will be asked to pay.

As already alluded to, I would be cautious about the EA's assertion that an offer of €330k was made and refused. This is an attempt to create a floor below which the price cannot drop. Even if you accept that this offer was made, you are likely to secure the house for some figure between 330 and 350. Opening your pitch at 340 means that you will likely settle for some price very close to the asking price of 350.

As another poster has said, I would urge patience. If you give the convey unbridled enthusiasm, you will end up paying more.

hi there,
I would recommend going softly softly too...advice I'm trying to follow myself too at the moment! we made an offer on a house (considerably under asking price but in line with what similar houses selling for in the area) and EA came back to say the seller would accept a bid 5,000e more- we immediately agreed...and guess what? seller changed their mind and price has gone up again by a good amount...getting closer to the asking price....we like the house but.....what is to say even if we increased near the level they want, then the goalposts wouldn't move again? ...so be careful about showing your hand and seeming too keen....you like that house and that is your weakness...my advice is slow! slow! slow!..there is nobody else bidding against you so its just your own impatience!...once they establish you really want the house then the price will keep going up and they know you will pay it- remember it is a buyers market- only somebody fairly keen to sell is selling in this market- try and bear this in mind! best of luck!...and really what people say is true- no matter how much you love this house- you might be surprised that it is not the only houes you can love!!really!

If this is the house I am thinking about - there is another very similar house on the market quite close by for 295K. To me - that's your starting point!
Personally I wouldn't be looking at buying a house like that for any more than 300K (absolute max). Even 300K is still a lot of money!
Also consider if you have or plan to have a family you will most likely want to build on and/or convert the attic (these houses feel pretty small with a few kids running around) - that's an added cost you would need to think about?
Anyway good luck whatever you decide - I shall be watching to see if it goes sale agreed if it is indeed the house I am thinking about!
One less house for me to get depressed over when I see the asking price.

offer 300 grand.

Did you make a bid wwjjd? I see it is sale agreed now.

sadie said:

There's a huge difference between 300k and 340k - how long would it take you to save 40k? Wouldn't it be nice to get the house for 20, 30 or even 40k less?

Click to expand...

And when you think of 40k over the life of a mortgage, you can easily double the figure.

I did make an offer and it was accepted what site are you looking at that you can see that it is sale agreed ?

Go on, we are dying to know...What did you offer???

Where in South Dublin is the house? I live in Knocklyon but on the Rathfarnham side and I dont think and 3 bed semi is worth over €300k. I hope you didnt offer over the €330k as you will regret it this time next year. I work for a large property developer and we are been advised "privately" by our agents that property prices have another 20-30% to drop from todays prices. So a 3 bed semi currently selling in an area like Boden Park in Rathfarnham for €415,000 is really only worth €300k or even less. If you value a house the American way then the house is probably only worth €230k. i.e 16 times the potential rent = €1,200 x 12 months x 16 = €230k.

Lets just say the offer that I made and that was accepted was well under the asking price (the official one and the agents recomendation) and I am very very happy that I got a house in such a good location. This time last year I would have only got an apartment in the D16 area, so am really really happy that I waited. Maybe prices are going to fall another 20-30% but I just didnt want to wait that long for various reasons. I think I got a good deal and just hope it all goes smoothly now and can't wait to get the keys