What are your strategies when trying to buy a house?

[northernladuk]

You're right I would expect the agent to warn them not to speak to people direct as it reduces their ability to control the situation. It probably depends how much they trust the agent VS view them as a necessary evil!

I guess it cannot hurt to ask if they would discuss, the agent is (I assume) not going to stop talking to us because they just want their money.


What I WANT to do offer £X if they have no better offer, OR £1k more than any offer they receive up to £X+N, but I guess things don't work this way

I would be straight round knocking on their door IMO. The last house I bought I knew the seller was desperate to go, he had use 10 months of a 12 month relocation package and only had furniture in his bedroom and kitchen so had virtually moved out. I put 2 offers in, both refused. I went round to see him and ask why he had refused my offers and he said he never had them. Agent had refused on his behalf. We did the deal there and then and he was pleased as punch.

Sometimes the agent is the problem not the solution. I don't see why a bit of face to face business wouldn't go amiss but there is the chance the buyer may not be too pleased.

[d000hg]

You're right I would expect the agent to warn them not to speak to people direct as it reduces their ability to control the situation. It probably depends how much they trust the agent VS view them as a necessary evil!

I guess it cannot hurt to ask if they would discuss, the agent is (I assume) not going to stop talking to us because they just want their money.


What I WANT to do offer £X if they have no better offer, OR £1k more than any offer they receive up to £X+N, but I guess things don't work this way

[MyUserName]

Anyone done this - is it common or a total no-no?

Normally the agent will have told them you will try this and not to speak to you directly as they can get a better deal etc.

[eek]

Hmm. Put an offer on 10% under, which was not refused or accepted but now the agent informs us a later viewer has offered more, and the seller wants to know if we would raise ours. Of course they can't disclose the other offer.

It may be against etiquette but since it's basically a few doors down our street and when we first viewed they said "if you have more questions just come and ask us", is it worth just knocking on the door and having a real face-to-face discussion instead of playing the agent's game of passing notes through them blind?
To me it seems a sensible option to at least ask if they would discuss that way, there's no intention to try and cut the agent out of their cut only to expedite negotiations.

Anyone done this - is it common or a total no-no?

no harm in asking but expect the answer to be speak to the agent.

[d000hg]

Hmm. Put an offer on 10% under, which was not refused or accepted but now the agent informs us a later viewer has offered more, and the seller wants to know if we would raise ours. Of course they can't disclose the other offer.

It may be against etiquette but since it's basically a few doors down our street and when we first viewed they said "if you have more questions just come and ask us", is it worth just knocking on the door and having a real face-to-face discussion instead of playing the agent's game of passing notes through them blind?
To me it seems a sensible option to at least ask if they would discuss that way, there's no intention to try and cut the agent out of their cut only to expedite negotiations.

Anyone done this - is it common or a total no-no?

[ZARDOZ]

Firstly I check if it's good value, what did it sell for last time, is that reasonable given house price inflation/deflation. What else is available for the money? Are they getting divorced/in need of a quick sale? Search the internet to see if there is anything going on planning wise that could have a detrimental effect on future value, if that doesn't bother you it can be used to lever a better price.

In the current market if it seemed a reasonable price I'd still want money off, if it's not been on long then try for 10%, if it's been on a long time I'd try for more, they can only say no. Of course if you want 10% off you need to start negotiations lower than that.

Make sure you point out anything advantageous to the seller e.g. no chain, cash buyer, willing to do a quick deal. Don't be afraid to go incommunicado for a while, that will usually work in your favour.
I'd still try the same tactics regardless of if it were in a prime area or not, you have nothing to lose.
I'd also perhaps email the agent saying how much you love the house but can't quite stretch to what they want, and there's a deal should the circumstances be right. The agent is thinking of his commision, it could be a slow month and he's not meeting targets but now he knows he has a sale should he be able convince the vendor. You now have pressure from the agent on your side. This has worked for me in the past.

When it comes to selling I'd be pragmatic, what's the opportunity cost of waiting for slightly more money? If there is none then wait. If it means losing a house you want then that's not clever.

[northernladuk]

Zoopla is utter pants unless you are in a postcode where every house is uniform, to same standard and build etc. If you have a mix of houses on the street it is worthless.

When we put ours up two agents told us that buyers think it is their market and bargains are to be had. They expect a discount now if they want the house or not. What they are not realising is that because of that agents are telling sellers to advertise at 8-12% higher than they would like to take. That way the buyer puts his low bid in and tends to meet you around the price you want thinking he has got a 10% saving.

Funnily enough we are buying from same agents we are selling with so just played the game they told us about for a quick buy. We know the owner would have been happy with that 8-12% less so pushed for 15% less which he begrudginly took (we also knew through friend of friend he need to sell as he was stuck in a chain).

Be aware of the extra the put on when looking at prices and then take other factors like other people put offer in and need to sell etc to push them in to a begrudging sale.

All depends on what type of house as well though, family home, bachelor pad, upmarket house or middle of the road etc.....

[KaiserWilly]

Check the rents of the area for similar houses. Then multiply by x12 months x 15 years. That's the fair value of the property, historically.

You can start offering -20%, -10%, -5%, etc. Anything above the fair value you are overspending.

[d000hg]

I've checked past prices, not many have sold on this street which is a pain but I'll add in some other similar streets.

I've looked at the national index localised on my region (north) but that encompasses all the dirt-poor villages whereas this is city centre... DP you'll probably be familiar how for instance Newcastle city is very different from surrounding villages/towns!

Zoopla seems fairly crap... it reckons everything is worth more than it was last time it sold, even though the prices have been falling since 2008 - it's a new build and I don't think a single house sale since new on the whole street has failed to lose money!

But the tactic of what to offer and how after figuring out what it's worth is still remaining... how much do people play silly buggers with multiple rounds of negotiation?

[sasguru]

Bought two houses for cash last year: BTL and main residence.
As Dim says look at Zoopla and what similar houses sold for.
But strategy depends on area: in popular areas of London, demand is much greater than supply so putting a silly low offer marks you out as a timewaster when a property may have 5 or more offers.
In that case I go in close to asking, assuming it's a fair price (based on similar properties).

In a more deprived area, I'd put in a silly low offer as a matter of principle, you can raise it later.

[MarillionFan]

For me has to be private, no prying eyes, no walkers no cameras on the road to the house, preferably a good distance away from another house where sound doesn't travel. Big basement is good, again soundproofed, maybe a hidden basement, then soft ground, has to have soft ground, preferable a bit of acreage to keep pigs, that would be good.

[DimPrawn]

Look on Zoopla or equivalent and see:

a. How much the house has sold for in the past
b. How much it reckons it's worth now

Has any major "value add" work been done since it was last sold such as a new kitchen or extension?

Basically if it's going to be my home I'm not after the rock bottom price I'm trying to secure it without paying over the odds. This assumes it ticks all your boxes and you really want it.

Very different game when buying for BTL. There it's all about yield and getting in at a rock bottom price.

[d000hg]

Only ever bought one place and that was dirt cheap right out of uni. Now I'm looking at my first proper buy and would love to hear the different strategies used by you property owning types.

After deciding how much we'd be prepared to go up to, we're unsure if one should dispense with all the haggling and just come in with a single decent offer, or if we should consider that any seller will assume that a first offer is the opening point of negotiation only.

How do you play it... assuming it's a property you actually want and the seller has suggested they are open to offers below the asking price?
As a seller, how do you do things... have a fixed price in stone you'd take, or are you influenced by the offers you receive?