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Looking to buy a student flat and preferred one is "offers over" the advertised price of £135k.
There is no chain and we are a cash buyer and looking to move fast.
Can we offer £135001 and is that likely to be accepted or is nearer £140k likely to be the expected offers? Given that we are ready to go, hoping to come in low. Prepared to haggle but never done this "offers over" before.
Where? Scotland England Wales? Town city country?
personally as someone who is selling (with offers over) and just had an offer accepted on an offers over house. I think of it as nearer the 140k.
We are using the offers over as we are keen to sell quickly and for us the minimum we will go to is the bottom of the guide of offers over. Should save on stupidly low offers or so I thought until last night when someone offered 30k below the offers above.
Depends! This is common in Scotland and depending on the market there might be a guideline of what to offer (eg 5-10-15%) for an "average" property. If it's.more or less desirable that adjust.
But I expect there's no such guidance just now.
Sorry UK, Southampton
Go in £135,001 - but limit the time they have to accept and complete.
It's only Scotland that makes a meal of offers over.
I’m in Scotland, I recently bought an offers over property with an offer under in a sought after location.
You can always increase an offer if the sellers don’t like it.
If you're a cash buyer and no chain, you're in a good position so it really depends on the local market and what the house is worth in the current market; is £135k high/low/mid for similar properties on/under offer/sold. If houses are slow selling and price seems reasonable (not high), I'd just go £135,000 and take it from there. If they're flying off the shelf then you'll have to judge what you think a reasonable price to pay based on comparable property
....guess what Im saying, is you'll have to do your research of the local market and current conditions. When we bought our last house, we were renting in the town and closely following the market and we knew the market was very competitive and houses were getting sold as they were coming on so it was straight in at full asking.
Whatever it says, if you offer 130K and there's no other bids, they'll likely accept.
"Offers in excessive of" is a whole load of bollocks especially in todays market, just do yer research and see what similar properties are selling for have actually sold for.
As above, our house was up for offers over, but we didn’t get any offers over the asking price, a cash buyer offered substantially lower.
I don’t really like offers over, so we put offers over the amount we wanted and accepted the first one that offered the asking price.
If they’re keen to sell they’ll probably accept under
My first offer would be 20% below 135, next would be 15% below until I got to the max price I would pay which has nothing little to do with the price in the window.
If you really want that particular one I’d start at 135 and go up in 5. Until you get to the maximum.
I almost certainly would put off buying a rental for 6 months as I guess some students will not head back to uni and some won’t go next year based on Covid.
No evidence, just a gut feeling!
this. They want a quick sale & are trying to drum up interest rapidly. What it goes for depends on how many people want it.Whatever it says, if you offer 130K and there’s no other bids, they’ll likely accept.
House opposite us sold on 1st day with an offer of the asking price and no chain.
As it's a flat, you'll have plenty of evidence of similar sold prices on rightmove. Look at those as a baseline for your highest offer. Anything sold in the last 18 months is relevant IMO. Banks have basically cut 90 and 95% mortgages, meaning there'll be fewer first time buyers. As a FTB, you're chain free and ready to move quickly. That's worth something too. Finally, have you been watching similar properties go on the market and sell quickly, or is there a lot currently on the market?
In the current climate, I went STTC on a similar property before lockdown at asking (circa highest price for my address), then STTC again last week at £4k under. A 30 second look at Rightmove shows nearly 100 flats between £125 and £140k, about a third of them on the market for more than 3 months. In your position I'd be starting well under £135k. And when the agent tells you there's loads of other interest, remember it's utter horseshit!
“Offers in excessive of” is a whole load of bollocks
Yep.
I know it Scotland it seems to be the way of things, but when we were looking last year anytime I saw OIEO or whatever I assumed the sellers were going to be a total ball ache to deal with.
I mean, why not just ask for what you want for it and say “no offers” or if that’s a bit too direct add 5% to the price and say “oh go on then, you twisted my arm”.
It’s only Scotland that makes a meal of offers over
We really don't.
Our entire property market manages to function perfectly fine with the offers over system.
Mandatory home report gives the official valuation for lending criteria.
Offers over figure will be around 10% below the HR valuation.
Bidders are then free to place whatever bid they want
Offers over is a marketing ploy by the estate agent to try and increase the price in the Uk. Our house was OIEO but we got it for 5% under because we offered what we thought it was worth and factored in that we weren't in a chain. A house is worth what someone is prepared to pay, the estate agents valuation is just a guide
Offers over is a marketing ploy by the estate agent to try and increase the price in the Uk. Our house was OIEO but we got it for 5% under because we offered what we thought it was worth and factored in that we weren’t in a chain. A house is worth what someone is prepared to pay, the estate agents valuation is just a guide
This. We've just accepted an offer £5k under asking after the estate agent putting OIEO on the details. I was never comfortable with that and had a figure in mind I'd take.
We really don’t.
Our entire property market manages to function perfectly fine with the offers over system.
Mandatory home report gives the official valuation for lending criteria.
Offers over figure will be around 10% below the HR valuation.
Bidders are then free to place whatever bid they want
OK, but the 'sealed' bid system is a pain the arse for the buyer - not bad for the seller though. You can have all the contractual safeguards you get with the Scottish system without having the charade of the sealed bid bit. IME, and I've bought and sold a few properties in Edinburgh and some outwith, it's a poor system open to fiddling by some solicitors.
How hard is it to name a price that you'll accept?
Southampton prices are dropping and what you can for £135k is improving, especially if it's a 1-bed I'd definitely be offering under the asking, regardless of "offers over."
Plus I think at least the 20-21 academic year is going to be a renters market in the city, there's going to be masses of student accommodation with no students here due to online lectures.
Offers over is a marketing ploy by the estate agent to try and increase the price in the Uk
Absolutely this, it's because their fee is a percentage of the sale. Modern Auction is another pain in the backside that I'm dealing with trying to buy a house for my dad. Just give me a rough idea what you want me to pay and then we'll do a 'Wheeler Dealer' = I'll offer X, seller says 'no, I wanted Y', and we'll settle in the middle!
You don't see the OIEO or Modern Auction so much on online estate agents sales such as Purple Bricks and their ilk.
How hard is it to name a price that you’ll accept?
We have that too. Fixed price. Usually when desperate for a quick sale.
My first offer would be 20% below 135, next would be 15% below until I got to the max price I would pay which has nothing little to do with the price in the window.
That can backfire. When we sold our house last year, the first woman who viewed offered 18% less than asking. Turned that down and refused to entertain any further offers from her for taking the ****. Ended up selling it for <1% less than asking.
Depends on the seller, how long it has been up for sale and if the market is rising, which it isn't. We went in on an OO 20k under, up 5, 5, 3, 2 etc, Over about a month. They were most upset we did not do as we were told and go over asking! Even though house next door just sold 10k less. Their thinking was they had spent 10k more on their house decorating (and fixing the roof). We got it for 3k under. Mrs T was not too impressed with the strategy mind.
Thanks all for your thoughts, proper look round today and need to make a decision.
Southampton Uni have declared that on-campus attendance is required. We are about an hour away by car so commuting is an option. Personal reason exclude halls / shared accommodation at the moment.
Very interesting thread to read!
We've just put our house on the market at the estate agents guide price @220k, next door sold for considerable lower (20k less). However, the previous next door neighbours split up, they'd not lived there for over a year so the house was more or less vacant, she wanted a quick sale and the new owner put in a super cheeky offer 35k lower than asking price, negotiated back to 200 as the previous owner had found somewhere else and just wanted out to move on with her new family.
Puts our house in a bit of a bind when people do their research on sales in the area, why did the one direct next door sell for 200 and these cheeky buggers want 220k...unless you know the backstory we just look like greedy sods.
I'm circling a property with is an 'Offers over'and has a valuation which is quite high really compared to anything else like it in the area. House is fine but not , to me, at that OO price. Agent was bullish that it would sell for way in excess, i declined to put an offer in and said I would wait and see how it went and when they post a closing date will consider our position. Naturally there hasn't been a closing date and talking to the owner yesterday sounds like while it had interest most scared off by price and general challenge of market. Agent is now on me to get the ball rolling. Fun times !
unless you know the backstory we just look like greedy sods
Does that matter? Like anything, It’s worth what someone is prepared to pay. We made £120k on ours over what we paid in 6 years, doesn’t matter to anyone as that’s what someone was prepared to pay on the day.
The flat market is arguably the most responsive to the real economy. I would personally hold back unless it is really special. Offers over in England for a bog standard property is nuts, I had it once where it went to bids, I put in a low bid, got blown out, then the agent called a month later saying I could have it.
I am seeing a few properties reappear for sale but not declared as such on the listing. I reckon the buyers wised up they were overpaying or the survey revealed it wasn't such a top notch property.
As a landlord if I am 50 quid out per month on the rental you get no tenant, the market really is competitive and prospective tenants super informed. Started about 5 years ago.
I think the OP is buying the flat to live in not rent out
Indeed, purchase to use for 3 years and then depending on where childs first Job is live there or rent out.
Flat market prices were driven up by landlords, now they have all but disappeared but prices are still up there. Take away the landlord demand there's only 1 way they will go.
Looking at historic sales prices a few do go for less than they paid, but not many. Govt has thrown everything at the market to support it, help to buy, zero interest, restricting supply.
I m looking to buy but there's a mini boom, 3 months activity on both sides coming to market. Interestingly I m seeing a few reappear on the market as chains break down.
Being a realist I put an offer in which was about 10% below the OO price, the estate agent was mortified but did reluctantly say that of 20 viewings nobody else was in a position to offer as 2 had had funding declined by the Banks now and 2 had got cold feet with talk of a 30% drop in property. That's what it's worth to us so nothing ventured etc.
Presumably you know what 3 years rent would cost and any fall of less that and your ahead
Ignore
Where? Scotland England Wales? Town city country?
Southampton i think they said?