Buying in the next 6 months. Smart or very stupid?

Gurgle

PWEI wrote: »

The house next door sold for 415,000

When?

PWEI wrote:

So I went back with an offer of 370,00

sucker!!!

PWEI wrote:

and now the owners have come back and said that they'd accept 400,000

or they said they would accept 370k but the estate agent is trying to squeeze a bit more out of you

Hold fast at 370k, unless you want that particular house badly enough to overpay.

Afuera

Gurgle wrote: »

Hold fast at 370k, unless you want that particular house badly enough to overpay.

I agree. Tell the estate agent that you have made a few other offers of 370k in the area and they seem to be taken a lot more seriously, so you won't be budging. A buyers market means you can play sellers against each other.

mastermind2005

Featherl wrote: »

Buy as soon as possible, house prices have dropped €20-30 k which is huge!

Stupid advice.

Remeber when the house prices were on the rise... anyone who sold their properties before the prices peaked lost out on the maximum price potential (and were talking tens & hundreds of thousands) its exactly the same when buying now that there on the way down...

Featherl

mastermind2005 wrote: »

Stupid advice.

Remeber when the house prices were on the rise... anyone who sold their properties before the prices peaked lost out on the maximum price potential (and were talking tens & hundreds of thousands) its exactly the same when buying now that there on the way down...

I know what I am talking about and have given good advice, thank you

punchestown

Featherl wrote: »

I know what I am talking about and have given good advice, thank you

thats that then, last one down the estate agents get the drinks in. Its all aboard the gravy train, prices are goin back up again.

charggggeeeeee

martian1980

mastermind2005 wrote: »

Stupid advice.

Remeber when the house prices were on the rise... anyone who sold their properties before the prices peaked lost out on the maximum price potential (and were talking tens & hundreds of thousands) its exactly the same when buying now that there on the way down...

+1

mastermind2005

no you dont know what your talking about...... prices are dropping so why buy now. sorry but its stupid advice. it will cost someone dearly if taken. if you lost your wallet that had €500 in it, im sure you would remember that for a long time and be quite peaved... now imagine you lost €50000

Duckjob

PWEI wrote: »

So I ended up putting a couple of offers in via email.The house next door sold for 415,000 but was in immaculate condition and had a huge garden.
So I told the agent that I wanted to offer 350,000 because the house needed a lot of work and needed to be modernised.The house needs all the carpets pulled out and replaced,needs to be painted throughout and also needs a new kitchen and new bathrooms.This is the reply I got back.


Many Thanks for your offer but I am afraid it is a little too low for what the owners are looking for.

We have reduced the price to 420,000 as we are aware that the house next door, which I believe to be in better order but doesn’t benefit from the attic conversion and the extension, went for 415,000.

We would hope to achieve close to the same amount for number 15.

Please feel free to come back with a higher offer and I will put it to the owners.


So I went back with an offer of 370,00 and now the owners have come back and said that they'd accept 400,000.I have not replied to the agent yet but I'm not going to go that high considering its a buyers market now.This time next year they might be lucky to get 350,000 for the house. Incidentally its a 3 bed semi in Swords.

Big mistake raising your offer like that. Absolutely no reason to if the house isn't selling.

If anything you should be putting time limits on your offer and revising the offer download after those limits.

Buyers market.

PWEI

Duckjob wrote: »

Big mistake raising your offer like that. Absolutely no reason to if the house isn't selling.

If anything you should be putting time limits on your offer and revising the offer download after those limits.

Buyers market.

Well in fairness the house has an extension and an attic conversion.
To build both would cost in and around 50k so that's why I didn't mind
raising my offer to 370k.I knew there was no way they would accept 350k as their neighbours house sold for 415k only last month.I've already told the
agent that I can't go as high as 400k as my budget is 390k and that has to include stamp duty.It will be interesting to see if I hear back from them again
because they have had no other offers.

Duckjob

PWEI wrote: »

Well in fairness the house has an extension and an attic conversion.
To build both would cost in and around 50k so that's why I didn't mind
raising my offer to 370k.I knew there was no way they would accept 350k as their neighbours house sold for 415k only last month.I've already told the
agent that I can't go as high as 400k as my budget is 390k and that has to include stamp duty.It will be interesting to see if I hear back from them again
because they have had no other offers.

Fair enough.

Just remember that if, 3 months down the line, they find themselves still trying to sell, your offer may start to look more attractive to them.

If the estate rings you up in 2 months time saying the seller will close if you raise your offer to X, it means they want you. Say no, start putting time pressure on them. Be a hardass!

I'm not in the FTB market, but if I were I'd be out there being cheeky as f*ck with my offers. Sellers and estate agents were merciless during the boom times. Buyers are entitled to be equally mercliess now that the tables have turned.

ionapaul

DO NOT tell the Estate Agent what your budget is - if you do, you can be guaranteed that they will push you to your limit in any sale! If the sellers know you can stretch to 390k, you might be paying that even if they would accept 370k or less with hard bargaining.

whizzbang

Tell the EA that 370 is your final offer and that it only stands for 48 hours.

Ryaller

Featherl wrote: »

I know what I am talking about and have given good advice, thank you

This is a joke, right?

someuser90

PWEI : be more ruthless! :mad: when they eventually accept your offer of 370, tell them that due to <insert lie here>, you can only afford 350 now, and your really sorry, would they please accept your lower offer?

the trick to bargaining lower, is to ask reaaal nice. sellers will immediately get angry at lower offers, and will dig their heals in if the buyer is being a smart arse about it. But if a buyer can get the seller on their side, they won't feel so bad about the lower price, and won't feel like they've lost any honor by accepting. This is why its important to bypass the estate agent, and try to negotiate directly with the owners

and remember time is on your side, be patient and persistent, by waiting 6 months, you could save >20k

ballooba

PWEI wrote: »

So I ended up putting a couple of offers in via email.The house next door sold for 415,000 but was in immaculate condition and had a huge garden.
So I told the agent that I wanted to offer 350,000 because the house needed a lot of work and needed to be modernised.The house needs all the carpets pulled out and replaced,needs to be painted throughout and also needs a new kitchen and new bathrooms.This is the reply I got back.


Many Thanks for your offer but I am afraid it is a little too low for what the owners are looking for.

We have reduced the price to 420,000 as we are aware that the house next door, which I believe to be in better order but doesn’t benefit from the attic conversion and the extension, went for 415,000.

We would hope to achieve close to the same amount for number 15.

Please feel free to come back with a higher offer and I will put it to the owners.


So I went back with an offer of 370,00 and now the owners have come back and said that they'd accept 400,000.I have not replied to the agent yet but I'm not going to go that high considering its a buyers market now.This time next year they might be lucky to get 350,000 for the house. Incidentally its a 3 bed semi in Swords.

Estate Agent was obliged to put your first offer to the seller. It sounds like he didn't. You should insist on offers being forwarded. In my opinion you either make a big jump early and put the brakes on or make small concessions early and a big jump to close. I wouldn't buy at the moment anyway though.

Swords is feeling the crash more than most areas. Don't accept any nonsense from that estate agent. There is an abundance of supply in Swords. He will be glad to see you in 6 weeks time.

gazzer

deleted

meesa

Buying in the next 6 months. Smart or very stupid?
Easy...very stupid.....end of.:rolleyes:

Ponster

meesa wrote: »

Buying in the next 6 months. Smart or very stupid?
Easy...very stupid.....end of.:rolleyes:

Amazing insight. I guess we should close this thread now that that's settled !

PWEI

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the advise.
If they come back to me in a couple of months and accept my offer of 370,I
wouldn't turn around and tell them I could only afford 350 now.I think this strategy would only pi*s off the sellers.I know if it was me and I was selling and accepted a much lower price than the asking price only for the potential buyers to turn around and say "sorry we can't afford that much now" I'd take it off the marker before selling it to them.
Having said that though,I'm nearly certain the estate agent didn't put in my
first offer of 350 to the seller.A friend of mine offered to put in a couple of really low bids to get the sellers thinking and give the estate agent a taste of his own medicine. Far far too long have those agents got away with murder with the amount of ghost bidding that went on.I remember viewing three houses in 2006 as soon as they went on the market and all three times the agents told me offers had been made above the asking price.Two of them remained on the market for about six months.
Anyway I'm not going to budge on 370,it will be interesting to see do I hear back from the agent again as I doubt the house will sell.

PWEI

PWEI wrote: »

Anyway I'm not going to budge on 370,it will be interesting to see do I hear back from the agent again as I doubt the house will sell.

Got an email from the agent today.I think he's trying to call my bluff;
____________________________________________________________

xxxxx

How are you?

Just wanted to confirm that you are no longer interested in Southbank as I have an offer now of 380,000.

If you can let me know,

Many Thanks

Dublin8Girl

that is so frustrating! Would it be possible for a friend to offer say, 375K and see what the EA says to them. if he accepts then you know the 380K offer is fictional. In addition, do you really want this house? Or are there plenty more like it? If there are then I would stand firm and in the event of you losing this house, you'll know better next time. However, if you really want this particular house, if 380K is within your budget perhaps you should consider increasing your offer. I certainly wouldn't do it straight away though, you could wait a while and let the EA sweat it out and see if he comes back to you.:)

punchestown

PWEI wrote: »

Got an email from the agent today.I think he's trying to call my bluff;
____________________________________________________________

xxxxx

How are you?

Just wanted to confirm that you are no longer interested in Southbank as I have an offer now of 380,000.

If you can let me know,

Many Thanks

Dear XXXXX,

I am great, thanks.

I have spoken with a number of agents since we were last in contact. They are currently sourcing properties within my budget and I have viewed a couple late last week. The properties in question actually come in under budget so it looks more than likely that I will be conducting any property purchase through them.

Thank you for your efforts on my behalf and best wishes for the future.

Regards,


xxxxx

Gurgle

PWEI wrote: »

Just wanted to confirm that you are no longer interested in Southbank as I have an offer now of 380,000.

lol, they're not even trying any more.

Supercell

I'd reply back and say how disappointed you are you have been outbid but to keep you in mind if the higher bid falls though.

If its a bluff they will probably come back to you in a weeks or twos time with the joyous news that the higher bid fell through and how lucky you are..

Its a buyers market, I'd be extremely surprised if you can't find a similar property at the pricepoint you are looking at and well the EA's know it.

sarahhurray

as a person selling our own place ourselves, just to let you know I contacted the people who seemed interested when we got an offer just below the asking because I wanted to know if they had any serious interest. I also told anyone who inquired since as I didn't want to waste time showing the place to people who were hoping to get a place well below the asking. Maybe the estate agent is being quite straightforward here, it does happen!!

PWEI

punchestown wrote: »

Dear XXXXX,

I am great, thanks.

I have spoken with a number of agents since we were last in contact. They are currently sourcing properties within my budget and I have viewed a couple late last week. The properties in question actually come in under budget so it looks more than likely that I will be conducting any property purchase through them.

Thank you for your efforts on my behalf and best wishes for the future.

Regards,


xxxxx

I would love to reply back to him with an email like that but I dont want to pi*s him off too much just in case he is bluffing.I emailed him yesterday and told him I was still interested but I couldn't match the current offer of 380k but if that offer fell through to keep my offer of 370 in mind.Maybe the agent is been straightforward here,I'll just have to wait and see.

mathie

PWEI wrote: »

I would love to reply back to him with an email like that but I dont want to pi*s him off too much just in case he is bluffing.I emailed him yesterday and told him I was still interested but I couldn't match the current offer of 380k but if that offer fell through to keep my offer of 370 in mind.Maybe the agent is been straightforward here,I'll just have to wait and see.

Please, please, please don't put so much / any faith in EAs.
Think about this situation for a few seconds.
Why on earth would the EA be trying to get you to budge up towards 380 when he - allegedly - has an offer of 380 already from, oh lets call him Mr I Dontexist?

The real unfortunate thing is that the EA is getting in the way.
I'd bet the sellers would accept 370 but the EA will see it as 'Ah sure the buyer wouldn't go to 380 so in effect it's a null bid'

Shortsighted but sure not the only problem with EAs.

Gurgle

PWEI wrote: »

Maybe the agent is been straightforward here,I'll just have to wait and see.

Or you could pop a note in through the letterbox:

'I made an offer of €370k for your house, but your estate agent seems like a bit of a cowboy and I want to make sure you know about the offer'.

punchestown

Gurgle wrote: »

Or you could pop a note in through the letterbox:

'I made an offer of €370k for your house, but your estate agent seems like a bit of a cowboy and I want to make sure you know about the offer'.

Exactly! If its the place of your dreams, its affordable and its available well then you have to make every effort to realise your dream. You are offering a very fair price.

SkepticOne

Sorry if this has been mentioned already but I think it's a mistake to persue only one house at a time in the current climate. Don't "fall in love" with one particular place. Instead, have four or five houses that you would be happy taking if the price is right. That way you are not vulnerable to games being played by the EA. You can then afford to take a much more hard-line (cheeky) position with vendors and their agents. An example of a hard-line position would be putting a time limit on an offer in order to panic a nervous seller into accepting the price or mentioning that a better offer has appeared and you may be shortly forced to withdraw your offer. In the boom time sellers had buyers bidding against each other. In the bust, sellers should be doing the competing. I don't think buyers realise the strong position they are in at the moment.