Making an offer on a property

 

There are so many things that come into making an offer on a property. Who do you speak to? How do you make the offer? Do you do it over the phone or email? How much do you offer? How do you explain how you came to that decision? 

 

That’s the $6 million question! There is no easy way to determine how much you should offer on a property, particularly as a property is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, in this case that person is you. 

When it comes to deciding what to offer there are a few key questions you can ask that will help you decide how much to offer: 

 

• How long has the property been on the market? If it hasn’t been long, then the sellers will be more likely to wait for the best offer. If it’s been on the market for a while, they may be open to a lower offer as they become more desperate to sell. This may also be a sign that there are issues with the property that has put other potential buyers off or caused issues with buying or that the sellers aren’t willing to negotiate. 

• How much interest has the property had? Again, it the property is attracting a lot of interest then a low offer is going to be ignored in favour of waiting for a higher offer to come from the other interested parties. 

• Has anybody made an offer already? The estate agent cannot disclose how much has been offered by law, but they can tell you if the offer was asking price, below or above asking too. They can also tell you if those offers were accepted by the vendor or not. 

• What is the vendors situation? Do they need a quick sale? Is the highest bid what they need, or do they need someone that can move in ASAP? Are the vendors sentimental? Do they want their family home to go to a lovely 1st time buyer or young family as opposed to an investor? 

 

Once you have these pieces of information you can determine whether you offer the full asking price, below or over. The main thing to remember is that this property is going to become your home and shouldn’t be seen as an investment. Although it may go up in value and you may be sat on a tonne of equity, but you don’t realise that equity until you sell the property. But in that time, you will be buying another property which will also have increased in value. 

 

If you are happy and comfortable offering that amount for the property and the monthly payments work for you that’s all that should matter. This is your home and where you will be spending most of your time. 

 

Remember we all want a bargain, and nobody likes paying more than they should for a property but making an offer too low could insult the vendor and stop negotiations before they event started. Remember when you make an offer this is someone’s current home so they will have sentimental value on it and will also have a figure that they need to facilitate their next move. 

 

The best way is to keep your interactions with the seller as professional as possible, keeping yourself to a distance. If you become too close to the seller or exchanged numbers with them then it becomes more difficult to negotiate and it all becomes too personal. If the property is being marketed with an estate agent, then make your offer to them. That way you don’t feel as awkward when it comes to putting in a lower offer! 

 

The estate agent is employed by the seller to work in their best interests so they will try to get the highest offer possible and from the strongest candidates. So, when you make your offer and they ask “is this is your best offer”, just reply with “this is my offer”. They legally need to relay any offers made to the seller for them to consider. So, if your offer is lower than the asking price, stay strong and await the seller’s response. 

 

To ensure you stand out above the rest you should have the following things handy when you make your offer: 

 

 

The seller/estate agent is going to ask for these anyway, so if you are in competition with any other buyers and you can evidence that you have these ready you will present yourself as they safer option because you are organised and already have all of the necessary pieces to proceed with your offer. 

 

The best way is to call up the estate agent who is listing the property (Make sure you have the correct office) and make your offer over the phone. Although some agents have an email address it often goes to shared mailbox where emails can often get missed. That way you know for definite that your offer has been received and you can also use that time to explain why you are offering the amount you are offering (especially useful if you are offering below the asking price). 

 

For more advise please get in touch on 01482 205084 or email info@greenandgreen.net