what should you ask the estate agents
 

Seen a house I like on an estate agents website

I'm a first time buyer, Do i ring, ask if its still available and when can I view it?

Or should I ask other questions?

This is all new to me!!! :wonder:

Ring them, or even call in, point out the house that you've seen, and ask when it can be viewed, they will soon tell you the situation with the house, they may ask you what 'postion' you're in, by that they mean financially, they would ideally want to know wether you've got something to sell, (which you haven't) that in itself may put you in a good position if you're able to finance it..... the mere fact that you have nothing to sell means the sale (if it went that far) could proceed faster than someone looking to sell their existing house.......

Don't be put off by the way they are.... they're apparently only human.....:wonder:

Estate agents, human??:eek2: You are kidding :mad:



Pretend you're buying a new fridge................it's really not that important :)


And they are nothing more than fridge sales people :razz:

and dont be too keen, play it nice and cool, pick out the negatives - in the house and on the street (only if viewing is with an agent not the vendor!), mutter things like 'seems overpriced compared to the other one' and 'looks like it needs a new damp course' that way they wont try to take the piss.

Ask awkward questions about the area... most agents dont seem to do any homework these days, look like they should be still at school but earn plenty of money so make em work for it :thumb:

And dont forget to ask what the vendors situation is, ie are they in a chain, are they buying another place etc. Buying off a divorcing couple can grab you a bargain but can also lead to lots of protracted communications as they argue whether or not to include the brass door knobs :sleep:

I did say ...'apparently'......

I'm sure they earn more than fridge sales people ;)

chop

ok. The 1st house wasnt up to my liking, but I've seen another house I like.

Its currently on the market at 220k, the same style housing in a nearby road is on at 215 but doesnt have a garage (the 220k one does).

I want to make an offer on the 220K house, what should i start at? the house hasnt been on the market long. I'm a FTB.

What sort of questions can I ask to find out how much the vendors are willing to accept? Can i ask if any offers have been made on the house and what these offers were?

If you ask the agent how much the vendors will accept the answer is going to be "They are asking 220K". There is nothing to stop you saying that you will offer 203K and seeing what happens.

As it is only recently on the market, they probably won't accept that if they've already had a few viewers. However, if they haven't had any other offers a few weeks from now they may be prepared to discuss a price with you.

A lot of the flexibility depends on how "saleable" the property is.

Except if the 203k offer is rejected which I would have thought is likely if £220k is realistic then seller might well accept another offer of £210k the next day. I don't think agent is obliged to call you and see if you want to up the anti. May be I am wrong on this?

As said it sounds as if you would be an attractive buyer if you can promise buyer cash which is not dependant on a sale.

Is house in reasonable nick with no obvious work required?

Best of luck. dl

Yep, the house is in perfect order. (except for an iron mark in the carpet in one of the bedrooms)

yeah, those bedroom restraining irons can leave quite a mark in the carpet over the years

First Time Buyer - They should treat you like a king.

You wouldn't have a chain so will make the estate agent's life easier and the vendor will be happier as you make there life easier to. Less headaches.

Do your research about the prices that similar houses have sold for. Try somewhere like www.upmystreet.com

Be cheeky put in a low bid - you never know they could be desperate to sell and snap you up.

That means more money in your pocket.The list price is only a guide.

Be warned - the estate agent however helpful is only trying to line his own pocket.

Aquanaut, the Estate Agent is trying to get the best deal for their client - the owner you dumb arse! I assume when you sell a property you want the estate agent to tell any prospective buyer that you will knock an amount of the asking price because it is too much money, lol

Recaro, If you go on rightmove and register you will be able to see what price other properties have sold at. Just because the same type sold at a certain price doesnt mean the next one will. Every situation is different.

If a property has been on the market a while then it is worth putting in a cheeky offer, if it has only just come on the market it is probably a waste of time unless you find out the owner needs to move quickly, this info should not be readily available unless the owner states it tho.

Also any decent estate agent will follow up to see if you want to increase your offer.

My bit said

Vicki :D

What do you ask Estate Agents ?

What qualification do you have, are you over 13, do you think I was born yesterday, do you give a F*ck, are you an idiot, are you joking, why are you such a cnut etc etc.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud. :D lol

I registered with rightmove, unfortunately its on an estate which is very mixed, (some are terraced, some are flats, some are detached, etc)

The house prices range over the last 2 years between 150K - 350k.

It does seem some areas seem to get much nearer the asking price than others. Some vendors will take a noticeable prcie reduction from a cash buyer, others only consider the "headline" cost. So do some research, be it on rightmove, upmystreet, ourproperty or other similar websites. Find out how bouyant the market is, how close to asking price other houses have gone for, how much similar houses have gone for, etc. Be aware that just because the one round the corner was on at £215k, it doesn't mean it will fetch that, it might end up going for £195k, it might get asking price.

Local to me whilst I was looking, there were two identical houses, one asking £265k, one asking £289k - the £265k one was nicer inside. Needless to say, 6 months on the other one still hasn't gone.

Ultimately, the agents aren't obliged to come back to you at all, although it's foolish not to if they think they can get the price up by playing two buyers against each other. (I dropped out of one house back in February when they were trying that with me and two others, and had already allegedly gone past the asking price). Also, most people won't often expect your first offer to be the final one; as a rule of thumb, on any house I've bought/nearly bought, it's about the 3rd offer by the time you reach a mutually acceptable position.

I guess to summarise the above - everything and everywhere is different - so do some research, work out what's right for you. Offer a bit less than you can afford to pay - but don't be surprised if you have to up the offer to secure the place.

Something else I should have mentioned, buyers and agents will usually take you more seriously if you have an approval in principle for the mortgage.

remember not all property is shown in 'sold prices'. I sold a house 18 months ago and it still doesn't show on rightmove, ourproperty etc.

all recorded by the land registry. they do make mistakes though - that'll be the human element i expect.

remember that the "sold" prices you're all looking at are effectively 2-3 months out date. still a useful guide though, but they don't mean a lot without some level of qualification (ie size, spec, improvements, etc etc) which isn't on the web

Dont for god sake tell em how much your willing to spend.

if you say your willing to spend 100k say they'll tell the seller to hold out i know they've done it to me.

I will be making an offer of 203K this afternoon.

I won't go alot higher. Theres a more attractive 3 bedroom semi-detahed down the road for £230K.

I want to use my FTB status to get me a good deal. I like the house, but I'm in no rush to jump on the ladder.

surprisingly I made the offer and it was rejected,

May up it, but the EA is a prat. Puts me off as I'll have to speak to him again.

He told me that 17k of the asking price was stupid. Told me if its not nearer the asking price its wasting peoples time.

17K off the asking price isn't stupid if he's overpriced the house in the first place and there's no other interest in it and it's been on the market for ages.

A few years ago, I tried a low offer on a house thinking that there were no other offers. I got the response that the sellers would accept below the asking price, but not that far below. Could we meet midway?

Anyway, it hasn't cost you anything to make the offer so you haven't lost anything. If you feel that the house is ideal for you and that it is worth 220K you've still got the chance to make a higher offer if nobody else bids. As others have said, as you've expressed an interest the agent should let you know if other offers are made to give you the chance to put in your best offer.

Good luck!