€240,000 guide price- what is a realistic bid?

anna78

Hi all,
A period style house in a market town, view of river, 3-4 bed, 2 large front rooms and a good sized kitchen - in good enough condition, no furniture or cooker etc. In need of a little work - what would be a realistic bid?
Any ideas would be great, Thank you.

SoupyNorman

What an impossible question these days.

If you're serious about purchasing this property then I think you need to do your sums and assume you buy at the asking, figure if you can afford it, then factor in the interest rate hikes that are about to come think and fast. Will you be able to absorb them and still be comfortable.

As has been said, buyers need to stop looking at buying a property that's going to have positive equity (I'm not saying in a speculative manner). Positive equity means what now anyway, all we hear of are the horrendous negative equity tales.

You need to ask yourself what a good offer is, does the property fit your needs, can you afford it (now and into the future), are you looking at this as a long term family home etc...If this is a house that fits all of your criteria then it will have more value to you so dont focus so much on the price (although that matters also).

Fact is that the steepest price drops have happened, cant say for sure but I do believe that buyers who are careful wont get too badly burnt from here on in (maybe singed just ), but whats a singeing if your happy?


Personally, I'll not be buying for at least another year...horses for courses but I feel like the market is doing all the hard work so why try to guess whats going to happen.

Long winded I suppose but there isnt a direct answer to the question posed that could be accurate.

To give you a direct answer, offer €195k, work from there but I would'nt go higher then €215k.

anna78

Thanks Soupy Norman for taking the time to reply.
Am thinking of it as a home and a longterm project, had not countered in the hike in interest rates.
Thanks for the reply. ..:)

billybigunz

How much do people earn in the area. How much less will they be earning in a few years time?
How much unemployment is there? Emigration?

Take that average wage (30K I reckon) and multiply it by 3-4 depending on the banks view of job security in the area and on interest rates. So a bid of a half will be about right.

They won't accept it though and this standoff will continue for another few years.

tenchi-fan

anna78 wrote: »

Hi all,
A period style house in a market town, view of river, 3-4 bed, 2 large front rooms and a good sized kitchen - in good enough condition, no furniture or cooker etc. In need of a little work - what would be a realistic bid?
Any ideas would be great, Thank you.

Ignore the guide price.

I bought a relatively cheap house. Houses like it were selling for over €210k during the boom. 8 months ago there were two houses in the same street, one listed at €169k and one at €179k. I knew both prices were too high. I told the estate agent I was willing to offer €130k on both houses, if either bid was accepted that is the house I would take. And I told her that is all the bank approved and I literally could not go higher but would probably look at cheaper houses in a neighbouring area.

In fact, the bank approved €170k and I was willing to go to €140k if need be.

As it happens, one seller accepted the €130k.

At present, I would probably get roughly my money back if I sold it so I'm not doing too badly, although prices will probably fall further. I don't care though because I was ready to buy a home.
I'd advise you to adopt a similar tactic. Check http://www.irishpropertywatch.com and speak to people in the area where you are thinking of buying and ask them what houses recently sold for.

Don't fall in love with one property.. be a slut make many low but serious offers on plenty of properties rather than building up a relationship with one potential home. I know a girl who befriended her potential neighbours and fell in love with a 3 bedroom home even though everyone said she was paying too much.. a few weeks later another buyer bought a 4 bedroom house for the same price. How did she justify it? "they let me choose the fireplace and colour of tiles in the kitchen!"

The guide price is the first lie the estate agent told you and they will tell you a lot more... gazumping can still happen unfortunately, but if an estate agent is trying to prise the deposit cheque from your hand when you made an offer it's probably because you offered too much!

ricman

Bid 200k, but any house now is likely to decline in value by 10-20per cent in 2 years time .Look at other houses on daft ie, myhome to check is the price realistic.
IF you want a large house in the town centre your choice is limited.
GO by the actual size of the house ,eg 900sq ft , rather than the no of front rooms/lounges.What are 4bed homes going 4 in the area.
for example i saw a 3 bed in kells going for 50k 3 weeks on myhome.ie .IT was sold in 5 days.I assume it needs refurbishment.
IF you buy a 3bed semi ,you can always extend it.
a house in the middle of town is harder to extend,its unlikely to have a large garden at the rear.
For EXAMPLE a 5bed home sold 2 weeks ago in dublin west private estate for 198k, a mile from blanchardstown shopping centre.IT was on the market for 4 weeks.
UNLESS i lived in the town its hard to value house x.
is there alot of shops closing, is unemployment high.BY buying in town you save money,you can just walk to shops,pub etc so prices tend to be higher than a standard semi d.
IF you really wanna live there you ,ll pay more than for a standard house.
IS there any other houses in town you can bid on, or is it i want at least x amount square feet .

the ostrich

All properties in Ireland, without exception, will continue to fall in value over the next two to three years. A property today valued around €240k will be reduced to €180k in 24 months.

With this in mind, only an offer in the region of €180k would be sensible. If it is accepted, then proceed, otherwise walk away.

Remember it is a buyers market out there, and there will be hundreds of new "for sale" properties coming onto the market in your area very soon., all competing for buyers.

Finally, it's probably been said before on here, but it is very important.... never, ever trust what your estate agent is telling you, they are becoming more desperate for sales, and will stop at nothing to close a deal.

good luck.

SoupyNorman

the ostrich wrote: »

Finally, it's probably been said before on here, but it is very important.... never, ever trust what your estate agent is telling you, they are becoming more desperate for sales, and will stop at nothing to close a deal.
.

EA's really need to be taken down a peg or two, they are some of the most contemptuous, ignorant and self serving 'professionals' I have ever dealt with ,the majority of my peers agree having had many the distasteful experience.

Only last week a colleague went with his partner to view a property, the EA arrived late with no apology, led them into the house which he described as 'manky' and then told them to look around but be quick as she had to go elsewhere. No sales pitch, no guided tour etc.

He said he would of felt the need to say something only it's been his experience in general with EA's.

I personally cannot understand how they get away with such behavior when it is their livelihood, a livelihood that is hanging on a knifes edge. I was under the impression that this property correction would have weeded out the 'part-time' EA's who've never had to actually sell a house in the last 8years.

Also, I really cannot believe estate agents are still lying bare-faced to to buyers with the line; "we have another offer in/couple interested etc". Hypothetically, If an EA told be there was an offer on a house I was interested in it would lead me to two assumptions...

1. The offer must be a half decent offer, otherwise they would not have made the statement.

2. You're telling me you've got a half decent offer and it's not been accepted, in this market?

...leading me to the fact that its complete horse****. It's such a self-defeating line.