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Surely you know from Rightmove etc what the selling history of your target is, and how much quickly houses have gone for? Also different agents seem to have different strategies (also seen on Rightmove) e.g. one round here consistently prices houses low, gets big interest, bidding war ensues. I'm no negotiating expert but I have bought a fair few houses and I never saw the point of a silly low offer - it either gets ignored or else it just offends the seller.
I never saw the point of a silly low offer – it either gets ignored or else it just offends the seller
It depends entirely on the circumstances. Is the owner looking to move quickly (seen their dream house and don't want to miss out)? Are they desperate to sell (impending divorce/financial situation)? Do they not really care what they get for the house (repossession/equity release owned by a bank). There are loads of reasons why a low offer can (and does) work.
Some of the new build estates have shocking road access, back onto railway lines, squashed in and are marketed at premium prices. One buyer bought a whole row and converted it to student accommodation...nice for the neighbours...not.
I looked at house I liked last week, tired, nothing touched for 30 years, new roof needed, kitchen, bathroom, windows so 50k needed and a 1 year wait. Just sold after a week, premium price, hope they got a good price.
Q happy to wait, interest rates are on the rise, inflation at 5%, normality will resume. When everyone says prices can only keep rising is the time to sell.
There is one right on the new roundabout that gave a perfect view straight into the principal bedroom until the owner fitted big curtains to give themselves some privacy – so what’s the point of big windows if you have to close the curtains every time you are in the room?
Not to mention the heat loss - bigger windows in a dim room, fine, but floor to celing windows when there's no panoramic view of rolling hills seems a very strange design choice.
I've had two new builds. One was an average design but good build quality, and the other was a good design but poor quality rushed construction. The bigger problem was that they were all squished together, parking was a nightmare, the gardens were clay and turned to swamps in heavy rain, and the location sucked.
Current place had viewings today and several offers at the asking price but it is a unique house in a great area. I did wonder if it's slightly under-priced but three local agents all came up with pretty much the same figure. Now going to sealed bids. 😬