Buying a house (after sale fell through)

padyjoe

I wonder what would be the best approach on a house which had the sale fell through? The property back on market as far as I know with an asking of 125k. I'm not going to say I like the house very much but have nothing against it. At least somewhere to start I want to escape from renting, been there, done that and I'm fed up with it. First time buyer myself, have the deposit already and about to fill in the mortgage application. I want to avoid going into a bidding war. Would that be right to offer 10% or more less of asking price?
Thanks for your inputs!

4ensic15

First thing to do is to get a realistic valuation. Sometimes a house is priced so that it can be bargained down at others it is priced so that interest will be generated and the price will then be bid up. You have to work out what it is worth and bid about 5% less and let your self be bid up to the true value. Location is the only real factor in valuation which you should be able to research.

padyjoe

Yes, I had an bad experience earlier when looking at an apartment with a low asking price. They drew in a lot of interest and the place was sold later more than x1.5 of the price. I don't want that! The price seems about right in that area then might be wrong as well.

4ensic15

Visit auctioneers in the area selling comparable properties and try and strike up a conversation with them. Feign interest in one or more of their properties and try and get some steer about the house you are interested in. they will all be well aware of the house you are interested in and may mention something that will help you decide if the asking price is at or close to a realistic price.

The_Conductor

Also hop on to www.propertypriceregister.ie and check out the actual achieved prices for properties in the area recently.

Going in with a lowball offer even 10% below asking- may mark you as a crank- if the valuation is not a realistic picture of the expected price.

Also- the fact that the sale fell through on the property means precisely nothing- ask any local estate agents/auctioneers- on average at the moment they may have 2-3 sales falling through per property- with 6-7 failed sales in extreme cases (but increasingly common in some areas- notably Dublin West).

If you are reliant on a mortgage- make sure you get a valuation done by an agent on your proposed lender's panel (they all have local panels)- if you use someone else and their suggestion (and they are suggestions) are outside the banks- then you're nixed.

Its getting messier out there for borrowers and indeed for sellers- by the day.

SarahMollie

I agree with some of the previous posters- the fact that a previous sale fell through doesnt really mean anything to you.

Do you research, PPR etc and get a feel for the local market and make a sensible offer. THat siad, you'll really need mortgage approval in principal at least or they wont take you seriously.

You can't prevent a bidding war, other that coming in with an offer above asking price (and even still its not guarenteed) Bidding wars come about when more than one party really want the same house - there is no real way to prevent this.

padyjoe

It's a pot of luck then. There are few pointers you can stick to but nothing more.

padyjoe

Had a look at the house. It's unoccupied for nearly 2 years. Was owned by an elderly person. At a first look it didn't look bad. But it needs a bit more than painting the walls. Let's say it can be bought around asking which is 125k, still there's 5-10k more to spend on it to have it up to scratch. This house located in town. There's an another one for 100k. It's about 10 miles away from this town, in a village which close to motorway and lies between 2 cities. I'm in two minds. The one in town costs more but resale value is more if future is in mind. The village one cheaper option, kind a countryman myself. Must decide!!

4ensic15

Buy in the town. The one thing you can't do with a house is put wheels under it and move it.