Had a house offer and REJECTED it!

[Guest Helchops]

We must be crazy. Waited weeks for a house offer and then rejected the potential buyers as they wanted to offer (in our opinion) a price that was way to low.

 

Feel a little lost now as it would have been nice to know we had that extra money in the bank but we may be stuck renting it out now...hey, maybe it will be a pension in the future?

 

Anyone been in the same boat? Was it the right call?

[Guest lyn]

It's such a difficult call, isn't it! We turned down the first two offers but accepted the third which was obviously slightly higher. I'm sure we could have got more if we were prepared to leave it on the market but we really didn't want the hassle and the tie of renting/selling our house here whilst trying to set up home in Adelaide. I know plenty of people who've done it successfully but we took a half decent offer while we had the chance.

 

If it's a silly offer then you're right to sit it out a bit longer. If it's on at the right price, then a decent offer will come along.

 

Good luck.

Lyn x

[Toni]

Ask the agent to ask the buyer if they will come up in price. My friend (albeit in Adelaide) asked the agent to contact the buyers and ask if they would come up in price and they came up by $30k (a few years ago now). Some agents aren't good negotiators so doesn't hurt to ask. The buyers can only say no afterall. If you put yourselves in their shoes you would want the best price you can get but it doesn't mean you have to accept any ridiculous offer that comes your way.

[sush]

The housing market is not what it used to be,

 

All I would say is as long as you have made some money on the house I would of said Yes ? even if that would be £20, 30, 40k

[trevorpayne]

yep we did exactly the same.

Re mortgaged it so we had some money to arrive with.

quite happy to leave it rented now as we have both found jobs here and are looking to purchase a house with in the next 6 months.

So to be honest its worked quite well especially with the exchange rate being so poor and house prices dropping quite fast here.

[Guest PaulandVicky]

Are you saying house prices are dropping in Adelaide or uk?

[Guest vikkiann]

We kept knocking back offers 30-40k under the asking because i don't think that's an offer!

We have a cash buyer now though but they originally came in 30k under which we rejected, they then immediately raised their offer by 15k which we have now accepted. Just waiting for it all to go through. We didn't want to go down the road of renting it out because i personally would then have a safety net to fall back on and i know that if i waas struggling to settle i'd come back because i'd still have a home. I'm honest!!

It just depends on what is best for you. Was it ridiculously under the asking price?

 

Good luck

 

xx

[brucesbabe]

We dropped our price 10 grand and within a few days someone offered 20 grand under the asking price, we felt that would be like dropping 30 grand and as there was no shortage in people arranging to come and view the property we felt that a better offer may just be around the corner. That was a couple of weeks now and no better offer so far. Still a steady trickle of viewings though.

Lisa

[Guest Helchops]

The house is only worth £135K but obviously people want to avoid Stamp Duty. The annoying thing is that what little equity we have (25k) is eaten by the offer of 125K, the agent fees of 2K, the redemption fees of 3K and the solicitors fees of 1K. We'd come out with about 9 - 10K which is less than we put in, and we've done work to the house.

 

Coupled with a bad exchange rate, I just can't help but thinking selling is a bad call.

[Guest Helchops]

The people who offered also said, and I quote, 'we're first time buyers, so we have all the power in this. We will not be negotiating on the offer we put forward'.

 

Power to them.

[Guest Helchops]

We'll also have a small income if we rented...it just means saving from scratch when we get to oz for our home down under

[Toni]

The people who offered also said, and I quote, 'we're first time buyers, so we have all the power in this. We will not be negotiating on the offer we put forward'.

 

Power to them.

 

In that case I would have rejected it too - I think you did the right thing, especially seeing as you have done some work to it too. You can't give it away!

[Guest vikkiann]

You have all the power not them.

Remember ...its not just a house, its your home!

[Guest Helchops]

It's hard when you really love your home; you want it to go to people who will love it, but you've got to get a good price too...it's just such a bad bad market at the moment.

 

Anyway glad to hear others have made the same decision, makes us feel a little better I guess.

[jim and adel]

The people who offered also said, and I quote, 'we're first time buyers, so we have all the power in this. We will not be negotiating on the offer we put forward'.

 

Power to them.

 

The seller has as much power as the buyer. They can decide to offer or not (and what to offer) and you can say 'yes' or 'no' to their offer. Given the margin you're dealing with, I'd leave it on the market or rent it out.

[Guest Helchops]

I think that in emigrating, there is the added factor of wanting to have as much cash as possible, and not having any ties back home. I think we're slowly coming around to the renting idea though, as anything else will mean us loosing money which neither of us want to do.

 

You would think that if buyers fall in love with a property, they'd offer anything. I know that when we found this house, we'd have done anything to have it: we paid asking price virtually. Still, times are different now, and there is so much choice, especially for first time buyers who can actually get a mortgage!

[Toni]

Some people don't have the same affinity for a home and can just look at it as a roof over their head. They are also in "for the kill". Someone will come along who will love it for what it is and the improvements you have done. Make sure you get a good agent to manage it for you. Get recommendations - don't go with the lowest fee being charged. I had an agent in Adelaide (which won't help you any) who was terrific (and fee quite reasonable too) and did quarterly checks (initially a first check at 2-4 weeks) and I used to go with her to some of the inspection. If you have family or close friends perhaps get them to go with the agent the first few times to make sure they are on track. Get them to send you photos also of how it is being kept. You worked hard for your home - the good thing is that prices in Adelaide have stabilised, properties are staying longer on the market and they have dropped in some areas.

[Guest Helchops]

The only downside to renting for us here is that it would mean saving for a deposit from scratch! I guess that it we could manage it, it would improve our wealth in the long term, but I've been a little put of renting in Adelaide by comments from people who found it really difficult securing rental with a child...and we have a dog too! Double whammy!! Anyone have any experience in this area?