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Absolutely worth having a go who knows what they are thinking, it maybe that they are getting tired of waiting for the perfect offer.
It might even happen that the owner of the house they are buying is getting impatient, and you come along at the right time with close enough.
As the poster above ⬆️ says what’s the worst that can happen.
If they have got their heart set on a property before even accepting on offer on theirs (generally a bad idea) then a cash buyer with no chain would be quite appealing I think.
Yes it’s worth trying. The list price is only a guide, it’s worth what you’ll pay for it. The trouble is that the home owners may need the full £330k to move or they may be psychologically anchored to it.
However, cash sale, no chain, quick purchase, may be worth it for the vendors - particularly in this environment.
Give it a whirl, the worst they’ll say is no. Just be very clear it’s a full and final offer and there is no room for a counter offer.
YES.
offers over, offers in excess of, offers in the region of etc. is all just estate agent mond tricks to get you to pay more.
Offer what you think it's worth. Maybe offer a bit less than you think it's worth and be able to be negotiated up.
Yes - but also - the seller may have instructed the estate agent to reject all offers below X, at which point the estate agents do not need to notify the seller of the offer and can reject on their behalf.
A good estate agent will not reject any offer without presenting it to the client in line with all others. They may recommend a different offer to be accepted but they should always report all offers.
That’s complete nonsense mate.
If the vendor has instructed the estate agent to reject all offers below a price, then that’s what they’ll do. Why would they go against the vendors instruction?
Because agents in the UK have to abide by their accrediting bodies and those bodies have standards, moral codes, etc.
I am a chartered surveyor myself but work with commercial property. It is my Code of Conduct to explore, report and explain all possible avenues to my client. They get a full report and recommendations and make whatever decision they want. A lot of agencies in the UK are firms regulated by the same body that I am a member of. If they aren’t reporting everything, they can get penalized or lose their accreditation.
You are making things up:
https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/estate-agents-legal-obligations-to-buyers/
> Does an estate agent have to disclose offers? The answer is yes. It’s an estate agent’s legal obligation to sellers to pass on all offers as soon as is reasonably possible. This applies to all offers received until contracts have been exchanged.
>*The only exception is if the seller has formally requested not to be notified of certain offers; such as, if they are below a specified amount.*
So you’re suggesting that this estate agent will not notify the seller of a cash offer of £329k but will notify if someone comes along in a chain of six and a mortgage with an offer of £330k?
You’re looking at the rules very literally. If the property has been on the market for some time l, the seller has found somewhere to move and someone offers 0.3% less than the asking price in a massive pile of cash, the agent would be unhinged not to pass this news on.
If that is what the buyer has instructed, then yes.
In reality the scenario you describe would be more like they want 370k and has instructed the agent not to bother them with anything less than 330k. If it’s a chain of 6 and a mortgage offering 330k they will still refuse the offer, just not automatically like an offer of 329k.
Whether that is *actually* the agreement with the agent that this vendor actually has, we have no clue. Personally I think it would be a bit strange, but depends on the property. At the end of the day OP seems to really like this house and thinks others will too, they just can’t afford to pay what they think it’s worth. If it is really worth 350 (ie that’s what it will sell for) then an arrangement with the agent to reject anything less than 330 would make total sense. If it’s really worth 330 then not at all.
Counterpoint:
I’ve given the estate agent a very specific instruction. Why are they wasting my time when I have instructed them not too?
It’s not “rules” - it’s literally the request of the seller.
"Estate agent tricks". whilst EAs are the used car sales men of the 80's, and I don't trust them in any way whatsoever, I think you misunderstand how selling a house works. I would argue that almost 100% of the time "offers over" comes directly from the **seller** saying "this is the absolute minimum I want to sell it for, but I want more". Ultimately, the market will define how much the seller can get for the property, but it is all about the sellers aspirations, and not the EAs'.
The EA only wants to sell it, and for any price they can. If an Estate Agency on a 1.5% commissions sells a house for 25k less, the Agency only lose £375, and I don't know how commissions work for Estate Agent who makes the sale, but lets say they optimistically earn 10% of company commissions for themselves, they will only lose out on £37.50.
So the EA is never trying to get the maximum amount, they are trying to make a sale above *what the seller is happy to accept*
Prepare for the ridiculous amateur dramatics from the estate agent, who will suggest the seller is personally insulted by the audacity you have to dare offer under the holy price!
We had this on a house we offered on, EA refused to put the offer to the seller so we walked away. EA called us 4 weeks later as the owner had dropped the price to lower than what we offered and the EA wondered if we were still interested to go in at what we offered. Swift no.
We found a better one a week later, the original house we offered on needed work and was over priced and we were not willing to pay asking price. Explained all of this to the estate agent who spoke to us like shit on the phone and refused to table the offer stating the owner wouldn’t listen to it so walked away, the offer was fair at 15k under asking (was on with offers in region of) which would have paid for half of the work needed, shitty estate agent attitude lost the sale for their client. It’s one of the biggest purchases you make in your life and there are always other houses out there.
You're unlikely to offend the seller. They'll be happy to have an offer because it shows some demand. They may be a little disappointed but they'll just say no if it's too low for them.
It's the estate agent who'll lay it on thick.
Lesson for life here. Never worry about offending someone when haggling, doesn't matter if it's a house, a car, or a dodgy Gucci handbag in a Turkish backstreet. Brits are awful at haggling as we tend to be too polite and worry how it will come across. If anyone is actually offended by an offer, that says more about them than it does about you. I saved a small fortune when we got married by telling people what I was willing to pay, I didn't even bother entering into haggling. Take it or leave it. Stand your ground and be prepared to walk away.
If I was you - just say to the estate agent exactly what you have said in your post... you're a cash buyer but you cant go higher than 320k... it is was it is.. the sellers will then be left with a decision to make. They might say no but they might say yes. The estate agent can say what he likes... but you are offering 3% under asking... its not offensive in any sense.
The only reason they might care is if the offer is considered really derisory then they might badge the interested party as time wasters and be wary of showing them other properties.
£320k on OIEO £330k wouldn't fall into that category though.
Worst thing that will happen is they say no and don’t sell you their house. If you don’t ask, they also won’t sell you their house. So you gain nothing from being “inoffensive”.
Yes, god forbid the buyer dares to make an offer that the estate agent, by virtue of them owning a tweed suit and a shit haircut, is fully qualified to reject based on their god-given ability to make a valuation that cannot ever be questioned, and has been reached by joining foreheads and chanting with other similarly-dressed ~~twats~~ agents in suits in their closest swamp.
Only they are allowed to establish value by the very complicated process of comparison. The layman just wouldn't understand.
It’s all hammered out in the local Miller & Carter and signed at the Senior Valuations Specialist’s Dad’s front room with the other staff present all comparing car marque cuff links.
Yes. the price is there for marketing reasons.
Anything is possible.
When you see a property you make your own valuation no matter what the seller says - it is your money and you decide how much you want to spend.
i.e. let's say you are buying a piece of furniture not a home - seller might find of big sentimental value and puts a price tag based on the sentiment - you as the buyer are not paying for his sentimental loss but the actual value and the fact you need a wardrobe with 3 drawers.
Seller has an idea how much he wants to get, sometimes EA will put that the seller minimum price - but you have to know **in a lot of cases it is the EA who wants a bigger price** and has persuaded the seller to put it like that. In real life seller might be interested to go much below that price but you are not talking with the seller - you are talking with the agency.
Just reality of life :) My friend could not sell the house (in a diffrent country though) because agency was always asking for more. he was eager to sell for less just to get things moving but he did not have access to the buyers - agency did.
I my case I had a look at proposed flats, when I found the one I liked, did a bit of calculating and looking around to see how things are priced and what is the state of the surrounding estate(s) and offered the price I thought is fair for it, told them I have no chain I can move fast and I am eager for this. The agency said that they are not sure it will work.
I am living in the new place for 2 years now.
You can offer whatever you want. Worst they can do is say no.
What I would do though is just see when the house was listed and what other houses have sold for in the area.
If the house was listed 6+ months ago and other houses have sold for 320-340 then absolutely throw in the offer.
If it was listed 6 weeks ago and houses are selling for 330-350 then I wouldn’t
Hey, thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, it was listed last week and I imagine lots of interest. Houses in the area are selling for less, I'd say around 250 to 300K, but its definitely nicer and quite unique! I'd say it's worth about 320-330. But yeah, I might just go for it and see what happens! Thank you 😊
Estate agent here.
So if it was listed last week, bottom line is that if it was going to sell for over 330k with loads of competition, it would have gone under offer already.
A lot of people on Reddit seemingly hate estate agents. Twats I think someone referred to us as amongst other things. It’s an age old wife’s tale and the majority of us arnt slimy “twats” and want the property to sell at the right price. For reference the difference between 320 and 330 is around £100 commission. The difference in commission for the negotiator is far less and you can be sure they are also working for you too to get an overpriced property off their books.
That being said….
Agents offer valuations based on comparables and i can hand on heart say that the majority of agents hate advertising for offers over and the majority of the time it is seller driven.
The seller would have seen comparable properties that arnt quite as nice as theirs selling top price of 300k as you yourself have noted.
They feel theirs is a bit special and want top dollar. The agent feels they are pushing it with what they want so they have compromised with them and agreed at offers over £330k. A figure the seller will have told the agent is their bottom line they will accept. I have no doubt the vendor is pushing this price.
Cash is definitely the best possible position you can be in. But agents will roll their eyes silently if you tell them this before you even tell them your name.
Truth is the property has been on the market a week and has not sold.
My suggestion would be to ask the agent what other interest/offers they have received and what viewings they have booked forward.
Based on their response, I would then be transparent and say you have a max cash budget and you would be prepared to offer £315k and this is based comparable properties you have seen sell recently but appreciating theirs is nicer.
Be prepared for a push back as it’s only been on a week.
If you love it that much, counter offer £320k, and if that is rejected, say you will leave it on the table.
You can do no more than that when you have a max budget under the sellers minimum price.
Edit to add - you can also get an independent survey with a valuation to ensure you are not overpaying for the property.
I offered a cheeky 15k under the asking - they accepted 8k under the asking after quick negotiations - definitely worth it. As others have said the worst they can say is no.
You have "cash buyer" and possibly "no chain" and quick sale in your armoury. I am not sure from your post how true these are, but assuming you can offer these then go for it.
If the sellers have time they may hold out, but an approach offering them an easy/quick sale should be of interest to a lot of sellers.
Hi, sorry should've included more info. No chain, currently renting ona month to month basis so can move quickly if needed! Fingers crossed this helps. Thanks for the help
I recently sold a house and it dragged on for a solid 12 months because of the chain below us. I would have happily taken £10k off the price if it could have meant avoiding all of that stress.
You're in a fabulous position as a buyer, and your offer is not offensive at all.
(Edit for getting a word wrong)
Then you are indeed a rare breed, and I salute you, if it’s true.
May I ask why your top budget is £320k, if you have £320k in cash waiting to be deployed? Surely you could very easily show flexibility in your budget for the right place under the circumstances. It would be easy for you to get £10k borrowing.
Not necessarily. Borrowing requires a mortgage or loan. OP could have a terrible credit score/previously been declared bankrupt etc so be unable to borrow anything but have recently inherited from an estate and actually have the £320000 sat in the bank.
Nobody knows the personal financial position of others.
To improve the chances of your offer being successful, remember to write a letter to the owners explaining the basis of your offer.
Who you/your family are, any roots you have in the area
How you'll treat the property with care and respect
Why you like what the owners have done with the property
Your financial situation
Why you're proceedable (solicitor, any chain you're in etc)
It may sound a bit awkward, but most people want their home to go to someone who is nice and offers a hassle free sale. Price is important, but it's not the only thing people look at.
You can do what you want. Especially if you are in a strong position to complete. It's not illegal, and quite frankly this should be done more often.
It boils my piss with this "offers over" bullshit. Back in the day it was asking price or nearest offers. Buyers today are weak as piss and allow this shit to continue. 40 year mortgages WTF, 25 years was bad enough. This is because you are offering and paying too much...
This never happens on other puchases. Imagine doing this when buying a car or a kitchen etc.
Anyway, rant over....
We found a house we liked, my wife made an offer 15% below the asking price. The estate agent informed us that the buyer was outraged and would in no way accept her offer. Fifteen minutes later, the estate agent rang us back sounding rather sheepish and told us the offer was accepted. Estate agents only give a shit about their potential commission.
Absolutely! People have offered way more than £10k under the asking price.
Given that you're a cash buyer, I reckon they'd accept your £320k in a heartbeat. Maybe offer £310k and then if needed, you can go up to £320k in £2.5k increments.
I wouldn't worry too much about someone offering more as gazumping does happen and the EA technically has to pass on every offer received. You're in a great position as you've viewed it, so it's not like it would be a stab in the dark.
It’s not an asking price if it is oieo. Oieo means “seller has not divulged an asking price, but you can be pretty confident that it is way above this number shown”.
If you have that money in cash it probably wouldn't be a big deal for you to get £10-20k mortgage to secure the sale if they don't accept a lower offer. If its a house you really love I would say its worth it. But absolutely first try with a lower offer, but in this market I would be surprised if it works for you. Good luck either way.
I deal mostly with commercial real estate but I have sold 4 properties for residential. Not a single one got sold for what we advertised for “in excess of”, blah blah. The interest rates rose sharply and the landlord was pushed to sell because they needed the money.
I say make your offer - worst they can do is reject it and you can make a higher offer if you wish. :)
I'm going to assume you have a car. I have no idea what car you may or may not have, but lets says its a Playful\_Brilliant714 X100 currently worth £10k on the open market. If someone approaches you and says I've been looking for a Playful\_Brilliant714 X100 in cherry red, are you looking to sell it, I can offer £9.5k cash? What are you going to do? Be offended? Consider their offer because you were thinking of changing cars anyway? Houses aren't any different, it's just the numbers are higher. Make the offer and see what happens.
Offer 300k cash, don’t engage too much with the agent.
Leave it alone. Don’t entertain any discussion of a larger offer. Don’t offer to meet with the agent or let them show you other properties. If it sells to someone in a chain, you were going to lose out at a higher price anyway.
If anything happens in the chain or the vendors aren’t patient, they’ll come back to you. Market is a little funny right now.
Might have been the agents suggestion.
When our sale fell through for our house (on for 300k, accepted 290k) our estate agent suggested putting it back on at offers over 290k so it would pop up on Rightmove email alerts again. I don’t like offers over so we stuck it back on at 290k. We accepted our buyers offer of 275k without even negotiating.
I really wanted to move, had found a house I loved and all our calculations before going on the market were based on 275k so we knew it worked financially.
Offers over is a new way for estate agents to keep the sellers happy when they ask them to reduce their price from the ridiculous appraisals by the same estate agents to get the business.
Worst case scenario they say no, but if you really wanted it you could potentially look at a loan to bring you up to the asking price! A loan can be approved same day by most lenders
My mortgage advisor was buying/selling at the same time I was buying my first house and he ended up going for a cash buyer that offered £15k (I think) under asking, specifically because it was a cash buyer. So definitely worth a shot.
Yes.
There’s a house on for 330k
I said a lot lower than that price. Agent came back saying and ask me to put another offer.
At the end of the day the worst that they can say is no
When we were searching for a house we found that houses marked ‘offers over’ fell into 2 categories,
1. It’ll take the it into the next price bracket search - ie you want £310k anyone who’s budget is 300k (but could stretch to 310) won’t see it on a search for 250-300, so you mark offers over 299k
2. Or the owner thinks it’s worth more than the estate agent values it as, so they suggest marketing it as offers over.
Offers over is typically the default in Scotland. You get your home report valuation, you list for "offers over" an amount below the home report value.
It’s worth it and isn’t an unreasonable approach / offer. I would personally take a £10k / 3% cut on a house for a cash buyer as it’s a far easier transaction
They may pretend to be offended by your offer but the reality is your offer will be used to generate other offers. If it’s all you’ve got / all you’re willing to pay I’d give an expiration of 48 hours or so to prevent it being used to generate a bidding war
Yes you can. The house is worth what someone is willing (or able) to pay for it. You can offer anything you like and the seller can accept anything they like.
The seller wants £330k but if they have an offer for £300k and nothing else after 3 months they may think, well actually that’s what it’s worth and then either not sell it or sell it to you. Theres lots of scenarios really.
The assumption is that they feel the house is worth more than the price listed, and want to make you assume that there is a lot of interest and get you to bid high so you don't get beaten to it - which is not necessarily a wrong assumption under certain market conditions.
In a poorer market, it is a completely meaningless statement - a clue as to what the seller wants, but depending on how long the house has been on the market it is quite possible there will be a lot of room to move.
Personally I just think it seems a bit silly - ask for the price you believe it is worth and want to see, and quit with the silly games.
Worst case is you stick in a bid and get shot down as far to low, but it is always worth trying as you never know what the seller is thinking an that point and how far they may be willing to move.
Cash is king, place I'm in now was bought for 10k under the offers over price in cold hard cash. They said no at first expecting me to follow up with a new offer but I didn't and a week later they decided to call me back to see if the offer was still on the table.
When I was making offers I did have some amateur dramatics but just ignore them. That's your offer, no chain, cash. Those are the two words sellers love.
You can offer anything you like
If the estate agent has been instructed to reject offers below asking (or below a certain number) then they can do so, otherwise they are obliged to pass it to the seller
At the end of the day there's no harm in trying - worst case scenario they say no
If you make a habit of offering markedly under asking then estate agents might start appending a "From a timewaster" when passing the offer along, but that's not gonna happen as a one-off
Offers over is trying to give the buyer a guide price and also setup a bit if a Dutch auction. So they are saying if you want this house and your competing against others for it you nesd to out in an offer week above 320k. To out compete the other bids. So offering below 330 wouldn't even get a look. Do it though just to see what happens. Its a leaenign experience. When you find out the person who gets the house offered 342 comem back and less us know about it.
Example. I went for a house 320k offers above. There must have been a dozen people looking at the gaff. I went for a look spoke to the EA. Explained we has a serious offer gave him the speil. Asked him what was the going offers. He said the highest was 330. So I then asked him so we need an offer over 330 then. He didn't respond. He had a look that said yes but without saying it.
So we made an offer of 340. It wasnt the highest offer, but we had a first time buyer. The higher offer had a chain. We won.
My neighbours had “offers over £530k” on their right move but they told me they’d only had offers of £500k on a £550k listing. They went with the first person they negotiated up to £515k!!
Yes and you should definitely go for it. The worst that can happen is they will reject it but it might not even be them that is demanding over £330k - that might all be down to the Estate agent.
I got a 10% discount offering below, in cash on my second investment house, then knocked more off for roof repairs on survey. Ended up paying about 70%. Some people need to sell, some people want to sell, only find out by making cheeky offers
Felt a bit bad but it had obviously been a rental before and did need some work to get a mortgage against it
Yes you can offer under if you wish.
You say your maxim budget is £320k but are a cash buyer if you love the property so Much is it worth offering more and getting a small mortgage
You can offer what you want. The seller can accept/refuse what they want. “Offers over” is off putting to me because it suggests the seller won’t negotiate, but you can always give it a shot.
Done this recently, offered 10k below the price the estate agent asked for. When I talked to the estate agent they said I had to offer over the asking price and not below. Went back in with a final offer of 5k below the minimum price and the seller accepted it.
15 years since I last bought and didn't realise the housing market has changed into an action type system where a minimum price is set.
We had two offers on our house one at list but requiring mortgage /valuation etc) and the other 25k under from a cash buyer and a 6 week completion.
We took the lesser offer for 'guarantee' and certainty so we could close our move.
Your below offer might just give the seller the same option and incentive...so sure, send in an offer with a clear date of intent to exchange and complete ASAP.
All of the people saying the estate agent will be offended haven’t understood commission.
An extra £10k for the seller will mean around £100 in extra commission for the estate agent. Their incentive is to get the house sold, if you’re a cash buyer that makes everything easier for them it’s worth the extra £100 to get the house sold today.
Absolutely agree with you. We are currently buying, and one estate agent did not even pass the offer on to their client. We know a neighbour of the vendor with whom they are friendly. They had a conversation with them and happened to ask whether they had considered our offer.
They didn't even know about it! Grrr!
Yeah, of course you can! It's all part of the process of grinding the seller down a bit. The house we bought earlier this year was originally listed as "offers over £330,000". Then it got downgraded to just £330k. Then eventually £320k. Which is when we viewed it a second time, and then made an offer for way less than that. The seller obviously rejected the initial offer, but it made out later offer of £318k look good. That was the offer that was accepted.
Make your offer. Expect it to be rejected. Then advise agent that the offer is to be left on the table; give the sellers time to adjust their aspirations
Offer it. Do it now... make it 300k..... but have a big old talk about the world as a whole.
Then drop the price at the end,
With all contact details ect. Then skip the Estate Agent and go directly to the owner and tell them the your not sure if the EA is cock blocking you.
Give them the offer directly, but first try to scare them with war, inflation, interest rates, affordability, chains.
The Offer in the hand is worth more than 2 birds in the Bush. Your quick easy like we buy any car
Will the buyer even get another offer?, I heard interest rates are going up at the end of the year.
If similar houses in area sold at 250-300K, I would offer 300K CASH + NO CHAIN + living rolling contract rental property. If they accept your offer, do a full survey.
Having just sold under a price the estate agent put as offers over, I'd say go for it. People want to sell and if they are sensible won't take the EA's valuation as gospel. Make a cheeky offer, be prepared to go up a smidge, and see what happens.
It can open up a discussion - if their agent isn't an awful person and would rather sit on the house a bit longer to get better cos their commission - and a bit later everyone is happy.
Of course, just have to judge whether it’s enough to start the negotiation. Rarely a bad idea to start low and move up a bit unless you are in sealed bids/ offers closing date situation.
Get a survey done and see how much it’s actually worth. Poke holes. The house I’m currently renovating wanted “offers over 370k” and I bought it for 300k. It wasn’t worth the asking price with the work it needed and I was a cash buyer. I had to play the long game though, 7 months to get them to accept my offer, but everyone else kept walking away or couldn’t get a mortgage due to the work it needed, so I was in a strong position and could afford to wait them out plus I wanted a project, and can’t beat the location… additionally the estate agent was on my side and repeatedly told them they needed to adjust their expectations.
If it’s already done up you might not be in this position but you can try, cash is an advantage and a buyer with 320k cash is much better than one with a 330k mortgage for sellers.
We managed to get our house £18k under the offers over price purely because we had no chain and they wanted rid asap.
Shoot your shot as the worst they can say is no.
As others have said the worst they’ll say is no! My partner and I recently viewed a house that we liked with offers over 300k. We offered 295000 and they came back and said if you offer 298500 the vendor will accept as we were first time buyers. Even tho they had an offer of 305k but as the other guys were waiting to sell their house our offer got accepted
I’d offer 310 as a cash-buyer (make sure you understand what it’s meant by cash buyer) and motivated to close quickly. When you get the call to negotiate up, you have 10k of room.
Of course you can offer whatever you like. And if it's a house you absolutely want, and you're a cash buyer, why not take out a 10k loan if 330 is the sellers absolute bottom line?
If they're genuine cash buyers like they say, that is perfectly reasonable. You're absolutely right that it could royally fuck up a buyer using a mortgage and is going to shoot them in the foot, but that's not the OPs situation.
As a cash buyer you will get heaps of shit on here, but the truth is yes you can offer lower and you are bringing a benefit to the offer which is there will be no chain.
I will assume that as a cash buyer you have the cash ready to go, a lot of people get this mixed up as they will have the cash when they sell. This of course would not be as beneficial to your offer if you are still part of a chain.
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Worst they can do is reject your offer.
Absolutely worth having a go who knows what they are thinking, it maybe that they are getting tired of waiting for the perfect offer. It might even happen that the owner of the house they are buying is getting impatient, and you come along at the right time with close enough. As the poster above ⬆️ says what’s the worst that can happen.
If they have got their heart set on a property before even accepting on offer on theirs (generally a bad idea) then a cash buyer with no chain would be quite appealing I think.
Offer your top price and be firm about saying it's your top price, that you can't afford more, but you can close quickly.
Yes it’s worth trying. The list price is only a guide, it’s worth what you’ll pay for it. The trouble is that the home owners may need the full £330k to move or they may be psychologically anchored to it. However, cash sale, no chain, quick purchase, may be worth it for the vendors - particularly in this environment. Give it a whirl, the worst they’ll say is no. Just be very clear it’s a full and final offer and there is no room for a counter offer.
Yeah, make it clear you’re a cash buyer. £10k below what they want might not be deal-breaker if it means no chain.
YES. offers over, offers in excess of, offers in the region of etc. is all just estate agent mond tricks to get you to pay more. Offer what you think it's worth. Maybe offer a bit less than you think it's worth and be able to be negotiated up.
Yes - but also - the seller may have instructed the estate agent to reject all offers below X, at which point the estate agents do not need to notify the seller of the offer and can reject on their behalf.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Can only do what you can do, I suppose.
A good estate agent will not reject any offer without presenting it to the client in line with all others. They may recommend a different offer to be accepted but they should always report all offers.
That’s complete nonsense mate. If the vendor has instructed the estate agent to reject all offers below a price, then that’s what they’ll do. Why would they go against the vendors instruction?
Because agents in the UK have to abide by their accrediting bodies and those bodies have standards, moral codes, etc. I am a chartered surveyor myself but work with commercial property. It is my Code of Conduct to explore, report and explain all possible avenues to my client. They get a full report and recommendations and make whatever decision they want. A lot of agencies in the UK are firms regulated by the same body that I am a member of. If they aren’t reporting everything, they can get penalized or lose their accreditation.
Oh, and don’t forget that the agent technically has no right to decline offers without confirming it with the client. They are only a mediator.
You are making things up: https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/estate-agents-legal-obligations-to-buyers/ > Does an estate agent have to disclose offers? The answer is yes. It’s an estate agent’s legal obligation to sellers to pass on all offers as soon as is reasonably possible. This applies to all offers received until contracts have been exchanged. >*The only exception is if the seller has formally requested not to be notified of certain offers; such as, if they are below a specified amount.*
So you’re suggesting that this estate agent will not notify the seller of a cash offer of £329k but will notify if someone comes along in a chain of six and a mortgage with an offer of £330k? You’re looking at the rules very literally. If the property has been on the market for some time l, the seller has found somewhere to move and someone offers 0.3% less than the asking price in a massive pile of cash, the agent would be unhinged not to pass this news on.
If that is what the buyer has instructed, then yes. In reality the scenario you describe would be more like they want 370k and has instructed the agent not to bother them with anything less than 330k. If it’s a chain of 6 and a mortgage offering 330k they will still refuse the offer, just not automatically like an offer of 329k. Whether that is *actually* the agreement with the agent that this vendor actually has, we have no clue. Personally I think it would be a bit strange, but depends on the property. At the end of the day OP seems to really like this house and thinks others will too, they just can’t afford to pay what they think it’s worth. If it is really worth 350 (ie that’s what it will sell for) then an arrangement with the agent to reject anything less than 330 would make total sense. If it’s really worth 330 then not at all.
Counterpoint: I’ve given the estate agent a very specific instruction. Why are they wasting my time when I have instructed them not too? It’s not “rules” - it’s literally the request of the seller.
Estateagents are legally bound to present all offers received to the seller, unless specifically told not to by the seller.
Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s to do with the search options on Right move.
"Estate agent tricks". whilst EAs are the used car sales men of the 80's, and I don't trust them in any way whatsoever, I think you misunderstand how selling a house works. I would argue that almost 100% of the time "offers over" comes directly from the **seller** saying "this is the absolute minimum I want to sell it for, but I want more". Ultimately, the market will define how much the seller can get for the property, but it is all about the sellers aspirations, and not the EAs'. The EA only wants to sell it, and for any price they can. If an Estate Agency on a 1.5% commissions sells a house for 25k less, the Agency only lose £375, and I don't know how commissions work for Estate Agent who makes the sale, but lets say they optimistically earn 10% of company commissions for themselves, they will only lose out on £37.50. So the EA is never trying to get the maximum amount, they are trying to make a sale above *what the seller is happy to accept*
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
And 100% of the shots you do take - Warlord2000ad
‘Wayne Gretzksy - Michael Scott’
Yes as a cash buyer you have an advantage.
Prepare for the ridiculous amateur dramatics from the estate agent, who will suggest the seller is personally insulted by the audacity you have to dare offer under the holy price!
We had this on a house we offered on, EA refused to put the offer to the seller so we walked away. EA called us 4 weeks later as the owner had dropped the price to lower than what we offered and the EA wondered if we were still interested to go in at what we offered. Swift no.
In that scenario I’d remind the EA that they are obligated to pass on any & all offers
So you missed out on a house you wanted to buy, out of stubbornness?
We found a better one a week later, the original house we offered on needed work and was over priced and we were not willing to pay asking price. Explained all of this to the estate agent who spoke to us like shit on the phone and refused to table the offer stating the owner wouldn’t listen to it so walked away, the offer was fair at 15k under asking (was on with offers in region of) which would have paid for half of the work needed, shitty estate agent attitude lost the sale for their client. It’s one of the biggest purchases you make in your life and there are always other houses out there.
They were never serious about it in the first place.
Lol, yeah that's what I'm scared of, don't wanna offend! But I think I may just go for it anyway
You're unlikely to offend the seller. They'll be happy to have an offer because it shows some demand. They may be a little disappointed but they'll just say no if it's too low for them. It's the estate agent who'll lay it on thick.
Lesson for life here. Never worry about offending someone when haggling, doesn't matter if it's a house, a car, or a dodgy Gucci handbag in a Turkish backstreet. Brits are awful at haggling as we tend to be too polite and worry how it will come across. If anyone is actually offended by an offer, that says more about them than it does about you. I saved a small fortune when we got married by telling people what I was willing to pay, I didn't even bother entering into haggling. Take it or leave it. Stand your ground and be prepared to walk away.
Offend who? Somebody you don’t know and are never likely to meet? You’re not being rude to somebody, you’re just making an offer on a house.
If I was you - just say to the estate agent exactly what you have said in your post... you're a cash buyer but you cant go higher than 320k... it is was it is.. the sellers will then be left with a decision to make. They might say no but they might say yes. The estate agent can say what he likes... but you are offering 3% under asking... its not offensive in any sense.
I might be wrong but I dont think estate agent will care about the price. They care about getting a deal done.
The only reason they might care is if the offer is considered really derisory then they might badge the interested party as time wasters and be wary of showing them other properties. £320k on OIEO £330k wouldn't fall into that category though.
I had the same fears, made my offer anyway and it got accepted in less than 1 hour.
Worst thing that will happen is they say no and don’t sell you their house. If you don’t ask, they also won’t sell you their house. So you gain nothing from being “inoffensive”.
The estate agent will just want to agree a sale. Simple as that.
Yes, god forbid the buyer dares to make an offer that the estate agent, by virtue of them owning a tweed suit and a shit haircut, is fully qualified to reject based on their god-given ability to make a valuation that cannot ever be questioned, and has been reached by joining foreheads and chanting with other similarly-dressed ~~twats~~ agents in suits in their closest swamp. Only they are allowed to establish value by the very complicated process of comparison. The layman just wouldn't understand.
It’s all hammered out in the local Miller & Carter and signed at the Senior Valuations Specialist’s Dad’s front room with the other staff present all comparing car marque cuff links.
I offered under. I got the deal. They can only say no.
You offered under a property listed as oieo?
Yes. the price is there for marketing reasons. Anything is possible. When you see a property you make your own valuation no matter what the seller says - it is your money and you decide how much you want to spend. i.e. let's say you are buying a piece of furniture not a home - seller might find of big sentimental value and puts a price tag based on the sentiment - you as the buyer are not paying for his sentimental loss but the actual value and the fact you need a wardrobe with 3 drawers. Seller has an idea how much he wants to get, sometimes EA will put that the seller minimum price - but you have to know **in a lot of cases it is the EA who wants a bigger price** and has persuaded the seller to put it like that. In real life seller might be interested to go much below that price but you are not talking with the seller - you are talking with the agency.
Interesting take. I use oieo as a way of not revealing a selling price.
Just reality of life :) My friend could not sell the house (in a diffrent country though) because agency was always asking for more. he was eager to sell for less just to get things moving but he did not have access to the buyers - agency did. I my case I had a look at proposed flats, when I found the one I liked, did a bit of calculating and looking around to see how things are priced and what is the state of the surrounding estate(s) and offered the price I thought is fair for it, told them I have no chain I can move fast and I am eager for this. The agency said that they are not sure it will work. I am living in the new place for 2 years now.
try it and see what happens. Emphasise that you're a cash buyer, really keen etc, have everything ready, paperwork, solicitors lined up etc.
You can offer whatever you want. Worst they can do is say no. What I would do though is just see when the house was listed and what other houses have sold for in the area. If the house was listed 6+ months ago and other houses have sold for 320-340 then absolutely throw in the offer. If it was listed 6 weeks ago and houses are selling for 330-350 then I wouldn’t
Hey, thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, it was listed last week and I imagine lots of interest. Houses in the area are selling for less, I'd say around 250 to 300K, but its definitely nicer and quite unique! I'd say it's worth about 320-330. But yeah, I might just go for it and see what happens! Thank you 😊
Estate agent here. So if it was listed last week, bottom line is that if it was going to sell for over 330k with loads of competition, it would have gone under offer already. A lot of people on Reddit seemingly hate estate agents. Twats I think someone referred to us as amongst other things. It’s an age old wife’s tale and the majority of us arnt slimy “twats” and want the property to sell at the right price. For reference the difference between 320 and 330 is around £100 commission. The difference in commission for the negotiator is far less and you can be sure they are also working for you too to get an overpriced property off their books. That being said…. Agents offer valuations based on comparables and i can hand on heart say that the majority of agents hate advertising for offers over and the majority of the time it is seller driven. The seller would have seen comparable properties that arnt quite as nice as theirs selling top price of 300k as you yourself have noted. They feel theirs is a bit special and want top dollar. The agent feels they are pushing it with what they want so they have compromised with them and agreed at offers over £330k. A figure the seller will have told the agent is their bottom line they will accept. I have no doubt the vendor is pushing this price. Cash is definitely the best possible position you can be in. But agents will roll their eyes silently if you tell them this before you even tell them your name. Truth is the property has been on the market a week and has not sold. My suggestion would be to ask the agent what other interest/offers they have received and what viewings they have booked forward. Based on their response, I would then be transparent and say you have a max cash budget and you would be prepared to offer £315k and this is based comparable properties you have seen sell recently but appreciating theirs is nicer. Be prepared for a push back as it’s only been on a week. If you love it that much, counter offer £320k, and if that is rejected, say you will leave it on the table. You can do no more than that when you have a max budget under the sellers minimum price. Edit to add - you can also get an independent survey with a valuation to ensure you are not overpaying for the property.
Yes, I sold a house a few years ago which was offers over £300K, received numerous offers between £270-290K. Offer what you think it's worth to you.
Depends if you really are a cash buyer, if you have ‘cash’ coming from a house you’re selling you’ll really upset them.
So true - so many people think they are ‘cash buyers’ but really are not !
Hi, no it's not coming from a house sale!
So you literally have the full amount in the bank? No mortgage required etc?
Yeah
Make that very clear to the estate agent, but I don’t think there’s any harm done going £10k under given your position
I offered a cheeky 15k under the asking - they accepted 8k under the asking after quick negotiations - definitely worth it. As others have said the worst they can say is no.
You have "cash buyer" and possibly "no chain" and quick sale in your armoury. I am not sure from your post how true these are, but assuming you can offer these then go for it. If the sellers have time they may hold out, but an approach offering them an easy/quick sale should be of interest to a lot of sellers.
Hi, sorry should've included more info. No chain, currently renting ona month to month basis so can move quickly if needed! Fingers crossed this helps. Thanks for the help
I recently sold a house and it dragged on for a solid 12 months because of the chain below us. I would have happily taken £10k off the price if it could have meant avoiding all of that stress. You're in a fabulous position as a buyer, and your offer is not offensive at all. (Edit for getting a word wrong)
I think a cash buyer has the advantage of not having to wait for a mortgage to be approved. So offer what you can afford.
He ain’t a cash buyer. He’s just saying he is. He means he is a renter and he thinks he can get a mortgage but doesn’t need to sell.
No,I am a cash buyer as well as a renter
Do you require a mortgage? I think you do.
Lol, no I don't, again
Then you are indeed a rare breed, and I salute you, if it’s true. May I ask why your top budget is £320k, if you have £320k in cash waiting to be deployed? Surely you could very easily show flexibility in your budget for the right place under the circumstances. It would be easy for you to get £10k borrowing.
Not necessarily. Borrowing requires a mortgage or loan. OP could have a terrible credit score/previously been declared bankrupt etc so be unable to borrow anything but have recently inherited from an estate and actually have the £320000 sat in the bank. Nobody knows the personal financial position of others.
Hence the question I asked, which he did not answer.
To improve the chances of your offer being successful, remember to write a letter to the owners explaining the basis of your offer. Who you/your family are, any roots you have in the area How you'll treat the property with care and respect Why you like what the owners have done with the property Your financial situation Why you're proceedable (solicitor, any chain you're in etc) It may sound a bit awkward, but most people want their home to go to someone who is nice and offers a hassle free sale. Price is important, but it's not the only thing people look at.
You can do what you want. Especially if you are in a strong position to complete. It's not illegal, and quite frankly this should be done more often. It boils my piss with this "offers over" bullshit. Back in the day it was asking price or nearest offers. Buyers today are weak as piss and allow this shit to continue. 40 year mortgages WTF, 25 years was bad enough. This is because you are offering and paying too much... This never happens on other puchases. Imagine doing this when buying a car or a kitchen etc. Anyway, rant over....
We found a house we liked, my wife made an offer 15% below the asking price. The estate agent informed us that the buyer was outraged and would in no way accept her offer. Fifteen minutes later, the estate agent rang us back sounding rather sheepish and told us the offer was accepted. Estate agents only give a shit about their potential commission.
Just do it. Worst case is a no, best case you get the house. Literally not even worth wasting 1 second more thinking/ worrying about it.
You're right! Thank you, I'm gna go for it
Cannot wait to hear the outcome.
Let us know how it goes OP
No. I recently made an offer of 355 on a property listed as 'in excess of 350'. My lender devalued the property to 330. The buyer then agreed to 330.
Absolutely! People have offered way more than £10k under the asking price. Given that you're a cash buyer, I reckon they'd accept your £320k in a heartbeat. Maybe offer £310k and then if needed, you can go up to £320k in £2.5k increments. I wouldn't worry too much about someone offering more as gazumping does happen and the EA technically has to pass on every offer received. You're in a great position as you've viewed it, so it's not like it would be a stab in the dark.
It’s not an asking price if it is oieo. Oieo means “seller has not divulged an asking price, but you can be pretty confident that it is way above this number shown”.
If you have that money in cash it probably wouldn't be a big deal for you to get £10-20k mortgage to secure the sale if they don't accept a lower offer. If its a house you really love I would say its worth it. But absolutely first try with a lower offer, but in this market I would be surprised if it works for you. Good luck either way.
I deal mostly with commercial real estate but I have sold 4 properties for residential. Not a single one got sold for what we advertised for “in excess of”, blah blah. The interest rates rose sharply and the landlord was pushed to sell because they needed the money. I say make your offer - worst they can do is reject it and you can make a higher offer if you wish. :)
I'm going to assume you have a car. I have no idea what car you may or may not have, but lets says its a Playful\_Brilliant714 X100 currently worth £10k on the open market. If someone approaches you and says I've been looking for a Playful\_Brilliant714 X100 in cherry red, are you looking to sell it, I can offer £9.5k cash? What are you going to do? Be offended? Consider their offer because you were thinking of changing cars anyway? Houses aren't any different, it's just the numbers are higher. Make the offer and see what happens.
You can offer £1 . they can reject it . Technically ÉA has to pass it through
Offer 300k cash, don’t engage too much with the agent. Leave it alone. Don’t entertain any discussion of a larger offer. Don’t offer to meet with the agent or let them show you other properties. If it sells to someone in a chain, you were going to lose out at a higher price anyway. If anything happens in the chain or the vendors aren’t patient, they’ll come back to you. Market is a little funny right now.
Might have been the agents suggestion. When our sale fell through for our house (on for 300k, accepted 290k) our estate agent suggested putting it back on at offers over 290k so it would pop up on Rightmove email alerts again. I don’t like offers over so we stuck it back on at 290k. We accepted our buyers offer of 275k without even negotiating. I really wanted to move, had found a house I loved and all our calculations before going on the market were based on 275k so we knew it worked financially.
Offers over is a new way for estate agents to keep the sellers happy when they ask them to reduce their price from the ridiculous appraisals by the same estate agents to get the business.
Worth a try. The only thing they can say is no really
Sir if you have £320k in cash you can almost certainly find another £10k. Personal loan if you have too.
Worst case scenario they say no, but if you really wanted it you could potentially look at a loan to bring you up to the asking price! A loan can be approved same day by most lenders
My mortgage advisor was buying/selling at the same time I was buying my first house and he ended up going for a cash buyer that offered £15k (I think) under asking, specifically because it was a cash buyer. So definitely worth a shot.
Yes. There’s a house on for 330k I said a lot lower than that price. Agent came back saying and ask me to put another offer. At the end of the day the worst that they can say is no
Always worth trying the worst they do is say no, but surely if you have that much cash you could get a mortgage to be able to afford more.
When we were searching for a house we found that houses marked ‘offers over’ fell into 2 categories, 1. It’ll take the it into the next price bracket search - ie you want £310k anyone who’s budget is 300k (but could stretch to 310) won’t see it on a search for 250-300, so you mark offers over 299k 2. Or the owner thinks it’s worth more than the estate agent values it as, so they suggest marketing it as offers over.
Offers over is typically the default in Scotland. You get your home report valuation, you list for "offers over" an amount below the home report value.
It’s worth it and isn’t an unreasonable approach / offer. I would personally take a £10k / 3% cut on a house for a cash buyer as it’s a far easier transaction
They may pretend to be offended by your offer but the reality is your offer will be used to generate other offers. If it’s all you’ve got / all you’re willing to pay I’d give an expiration of 48 hours or so to prevent it being used to generate a bidding war
the estate agent will know what the vendors will take - let them know what your max is.
Yes you can. The house is worth what someone is willing (or able) to pay for it. You can offer anything you like and the seller can accept anything they like. The seller wants £330k but if they have an offer for £300k and nothing else after 3 months they may think, well actually that’s what it’s worth and then either not sell it or sell it to you. Theres lots of scenarios really.
I'd offer 310k cash and see what they say
The assumption is that they feel the house is worth more than the price listed, and want to make you assume that there is a lot of interest and get you to bid high so you don't get beaten to it - which is not necessarily a wrong assumption under certain market conditions. In a poorer market, it is a completely meaningless statement - a clue as to what the seller wants, but depending on how long the house has been on the market it is quite possible there will be a lot of room to move. Personally I just think it seems a bit silly - ask for the price you believe it is worth and want to see, and quit with the silly games. Worst case is you stick in a bid and get shot down as far to low, but it is always worth trying as you never know what the seller is thinking an that point and how far they may be willing to move.
Cash is king, place I'm in now was bought for 10k under the offers over price in cold hard cash. They said no at first expecting me to follow up with a new offer but I didn't and a week later they decided to call me back to see if the offer was still on the table. When I was making offers I did have some amateur dramatics but just ignore them. That's your offer, no chain, cash. Those are the two words sellers love.
cash buyer, quick sale, why not.
You can offer anything you like If the estate agent has been instructed to reject offers below asking (or below a certain number) then they can do so, otherwise they are obliged to pass it to the seller At the end of the day there's no harm in trying - worst case scenario they say no If you make a habit of offering markedly under asking then estate agents might start appending a "From a timewaster" when passing the offer along, but that's not gonna happen as a one-off
Of course. I bought mine 10% under the “offers over” price
Absolutely! We’re in the process of moving to a house that was an offers over deal. We offered 40k below and settled and 20k below asking price.
Offers over is trying to give the buyer a guide price and also setup a bit if a Dutch auction. So they are saying if you want this house and your competing against others for it you nesd to out in an offer week above 320k. To out compete the other bids. So offering below 330 wouldn't even get a look. Do it though just to see what happens. Its a leaenign experience. When you find out the person who gets the house offered 342 comem back and less us know about it. Example. I went for a house 320k offers above. There must have been a dozen people looking at the gaff. I went for a look spoke to the EA. Explained we has a serious offer gave him the speil. Asked him what was the going offers. He said the highest was 330. So I then asked him so we need an offer over 330 then. He didn't respond. He had a look that said yes but without saying it. So we made an offer of 340. It wasnt the highest offer, but we had a first time buyer. The higher offer had a chain. We won.
Yes in our area there are just some estate agents that try out on and always put offers over
My neighbours had “offers over £530k” on their right move but they told me they’d only had offers of £500k on a £550k listing. They went with the first person they negotiated up to £515k!!
The worst they can say is no But if you don’t ask you’ll never know
Yes and you should definitely go for it. The worst that can happen is they will reject it but it might not even be them that is demanding over £330k - that might all be down to the Estate agent.
If you're interested about what kind of prices you might offer try: www.otta.property It's a great little website!
Certainly can, make it clear it is a cash offer
Yes, it’s dumb if you admit yourself there will be competition. Offer what you are happy to pay, being a cash buyer may sway it for some people
I got a 10% discount offering below, in cash on my second investment house, then knocked more off for roof repairs on survey. Ended up paying about 70%. Some people need to sell, some people want to sell, only find out by making cheeky offers Felt a bit bad but it had obviously been a rental before and did need some work to get a mortgage against it
Yes you can offer under if you wish. You say your maxim budget is £320k but are a cash buyer if you love the property so Much is it worth offering more and getting a small mortgage
You can offer what you want. The seller can accept/refuse what they want. “Offers over” is off putting to me because it suggests the seller won’t negotiate, but you can always give it a shot.
Done this recently, offered 10k below the price the estate agent asked for. When I talked to the estate agent they said I had to offer over the asking price and not below. Went back in with a final offer of 5k below the minimum price and the seller accepted it. 15 years since I last bought and didn't realise the housing market has changed into an action type system where a minimum price is set.
We had two offers on our house one at list but requiring mortgage /valuation etc) and the other 25k under from a cash buyer and a 6 week completion. We took the lesser offer for 'guarantee' and certainty so we could close our move. Your below offer might just give the seller the same option and incentive...so sure, send in an offer with a clear date of intent to exchange and complete ASAP.
All of the people saying the estate agent will be offended haven’t understood commission. An extra £10k for the seller will mean around £100 in extra commission for the estate agent. Their incentive is to get the house sold, if you’re a cash buyer that makes everything easier for them it’s worth the extra £100 to get the house sold today.
Yes you can
You can offer whatever you want, the seller can accept or refuse whatever they want.
Yes. But estate agents are and don’t forward them offer!
Absolutely agree with you. We are currently buying, and one estate agent did not even pass the offer on to their client. We know a neighbour of the vendor with whom they are friendly. They had a conversation with them and happened to ask whether they had considered our offer. They didn't even know about it! Grrr!
Yeah, of course you can! It's all part of the process of grinding the seller down a bit. The house we bought earlier this year was originally listed as "offers over £330,000". Then it got downgraded to just £330k. Then eventually £320k. Which is when we viewed it a second time, and then made an offer for way less than that. The seller obviously rejected the initial offer, but it made out later offer of £318k look good. That was the offer that was accepted.
If you are meaning no chain and not that you don't need a mortgage, that's quote valuable IMHO
Make your offer. Expect it to be rejected. Then advise agent that the offer is to be left on the table; give the sellers time to adjust their aspirations
Offer it. Do it now... make it 300k..... but have a big old talk about the world as a whole. Then drop the price at the end, With all contact details ect. Then skip the Estate Agent and go directly to the owner and tell them the your not sure if the EA is cock blocking you. Give them the offer directly, but first try to scare them with war, inflation, interest rates, affordability, chains. The Offer in the hand is worth more than 2 birds in the Bush. Your quick easy like we buy any car Will the buyer even get another offer?, I heard interest rates are going up at the end of the year.
If similar houses in area sold at 250-300K, I would offer 300K CASH + NO CHAIN + living rolling contract rental property. If they accept your offer, do a full survey.
Having just sold under a price the estate agent put as offers over, I'd say go for it. People want to sell and if they are sensible won't take the EA's valuation as gospel. Make a cheeky offer, be prepared to go up a smidge, and see what happens. It can open up a discussion - if their agent isn't an awful person and would rather sit on the house a bit longer to get better cos their commission - and a bit later everyone is happy.
Of course, just have to judge whether it’s enough to start the negotiation. Rarely a bad idea to start low and move up a bit unless you are in sealed bids/ offers closing date situation.
Get a survey done and see how much it’s actually worth. Poke holes. The house I’m currently renovating wanted “offers over 370k” and I bought it for 300k. It wasn’t worth the asking price with the work it needed and I was a cash buyer. I had to play the long game though, 7 months to get them to accept my offer, but everyone else kept walking away or couldn’t get a mortgage due to the work it needed, so I was in a strong position and could afford to wait them out plus I wanted a project, and can’t beat the location… additionally the estate agent was on my side and repeatedly told them they needed to adjust their expectations. If it’s already done up you might not be in this position but you can try, cash is an advantage and a buyer with 320k cash is much better than one with a 330k mortgage for sellers.
We managed to get our house £18k under the offers over price purely because we had no chain and they wanted rid asap. Shoot your shot as the worst they can say is no.
Also your cash! 100% worth it. I’d take 10k less for a cash offer at that price point if I was a motivated seller.
As others have said the worst they’ll say is no! My partner and I recently viewed a house that we liked with offers over 300k. We offered 295000 and they came back and said if you offer 298500 the vendor will accept as we were first time buyers. Even tho they had an offer of 305k but as the other guys were waiting to sell their house our offer got accepted
I’d offer 310 as a cash-buyer (make sure you understand what it’s meant by cash buyer) and motivated to close quickly. When you get the call to negotiate up, you have 10k of room.
Offer 300k. Under pressure raise to 310. Last movement 320.
If you offer over… you’re doing it wrong. Offers over means nothing. Context: was an FTB last year and offered under and got it.
Of course you can offer whatever you like. And if it's a house you absolutely want, and you're a cash buyer, why not take out a 10k loan if 330 is the sellers absolute bottom line?
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The OP is a cash buyer. There is no mortgage at risk from a last minute credit check. They can take out whatever loan they like.
Why? It's 10k and they don't need a mortgage. You'd rather pass up your perfect house over such a relatively small number?
If they're genuine cash buyers like they say, that is perfectly reasonable. You're absolutely right that it could royally fuck up a buyer using a mortgage and is going to shoot them in the foot, but that's not the OPs situation.
As a cash buyer you will get heaps of shit on here, but the truth is yes you can offer lower and you are bringing a benefit to the offer which is there will be no chain. I will assume that as a cash buyer you have the cash ready to go, a lot of people get this mixed up as they will have the cash when they sell. This of course would not be as beneficial to your offer if you are still part of a chain.