How to make an offer on a house
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By Maggie Davis, Dan Jones, Rochelle Norman
Posted: Thu Feb 28 2008 -
Associate director at Savill‘s Fulham, Justin Theobald offer his advice on how to get the best price for the house you want
‘Competition is high,’ says associate director at Savill’s Fulham, Justin Theobald, ‘but to gain more flexibility [in negotiating a price], make sure you’re an attractive buyer. Have all your paperwork in order, your mortgage confirmed, a solicitor on standby and, if possible, be chain-free. Having sold and exchanged on a property, but with delayed completion, makes you even more attractive – you’re in effect a cash buyer with no chain.’
Technically, you can offer whatever you like. If it’s turned down, a good agent can negotiate you a counter offer that comes directly from the vendor. ‘Last year it was very much a seller’s market,’ continues Justin, ‘but now I’d say it’s a buyer’s market. Remember to ask to see the seller’s HIP (Home Information Pack). It is there to give the buyer information about the house and the location, and contains legal searches, title documents and lease information.’
If you’re buying a new build, ‘try and hold off until the end of the builder’s financial year,’ says Savill’s residential researcher Yolande Barnes. ‘They’ll be under more pressure to accept a lower price.’
For more info, visit www.savills.com. Feature continuesAdvertisement- Add your comment to this feature
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5 comments
This article may have been accurate 6 months ago, during last year's 'dead cat bounce' but it's woefully misleading now! #
The ongoing Buyers' Strike has already brough house prices down 1.5% last month (Halifax figures), and the latest Land Registry figures show that prices actually started falling in the Autumn of last year (LR figures lag by several months). It was only the Stamp Duty deadline at the end of December that gave the market a temporary lift, showing up in the Jan Haliwide figures.
Savills are right about the market being competitive though - there's tremendous competition between sellers now that property is flooding onto the market following last year's shortage, and the Buyers' Strike means there simply aren't enough people stupid enough to buy!!
These people seem incapable of understanding that simple laws of supply and demand would have repaired the economy automatically without their incompetent and desperate interventions. By leaving monetary policy to market forces we would have normal recessions and minor booms that would be totally self-regulating.
I find it deplorable they are luring innocent young FTBers into the bottom of the pyramid. Lets hope the majority of them are Brown supporters and when they get shafted by falling prices and rising IR's they can hold their dear leader to blame. I suppose they could always be banking on Mortgage Benefit, courtesy of the friendly tax payer...
Run, my pretties, run for your lives.
Another example of the Buyers Strike going on in the UK property market is again found in the Land Registry data for completed sales - e.g. Worcester. The number of properties sold each year in Worcester since 2006 is as follows:
2006 - 2690 sold
2007 - 2179 sold
2008 - 1180 sold
2009 - 811 sold by end of October, so heading towards 973 for the complete year. So, a 64% COLLAPSE in property sales in Worcester in 2009 compared to 2006. Indeed, the 28 Estate Agent outlets sokld 0.7 of a property per week on average throughout 2009 - the year of the 'recovery' according to Estate Agents (they never tell lies!!!!). In 2010, it looks like property sales have collapsed even further!!
House prices are falling, so it is a daft time to buy - but if buying in a market lkike this it is normal to give offers 20% - 30% below the asking price. BTL'ers will even give offers of 40% - 50% below. It is vendors and Estate Agents that need to prove themselves as being 'serious' vendors/Estate Agents not buyers that need to prove anything.
Sorry but this is just the Estate Agents equivalent of '2nd hand car salesman' talk - "yes, its a great car, worth every penny, will keep you going for years, don't worry I wouldn't lie to you, etc." JT says, above that there is stiff competition for houses! Rubbish!! There is an ongoing BUYERS STRIKE going on in the UK property market because Estate Agents are still setting prices at pre 2007 boom time levels despite the Global (& UK) bust. The Buyers Strike is evidenced by the Land Registry data for completed property sales. For example, in Thames Ditton the No. of properties sold each yr since 2006 are:
2006 - 261 soild
2007 - 222
2008 - 120
2009 102 by end of October, so heading towards 122 by year end. This is a 53% collapse in property sales in 2009 compared to 2006. The same collapse in sales is found all over London and the rest of the country - check the Land Registry data - most places have seen sales collapse by 60% or more.