Owning your own home

You can try to grade your fee to incentivise them. take the price you would like, 0.5% under this and 5% on everything over....or whatever works.

Do this.

Your best bet for the best price at the moment is to start with an attractive asking price and aim to exceed it. In fact, aim to smash it.

Get three agents in, go with the one who sounds the most plausible and knowledgeable (they'll sound good to buyers too), put it on at the lowest of the valuations and put them on a heavily graded fee based on their success.

If you're really brave putting them on 10% of anything over the asking price will really make them push for every last £1000 for you and paying them another £5k if they get you another £50k doesn't sting at all.

It's brave, but it works.

So I have just done a little maths. So if you go 0.5% for everything under the list price and 10% over it you get this;

first column is the sale price as a % of list, second is the % fee they end up getting in total. You can see that even with 0.5% and 10% they only start getting to the % fee they first quote at around 35% over the list price.

100.00% 0.50%
105.00% 0.95%
110.00% 1.36%
115.00% 1.74%
120.00% 2.08%
125.00% 2.40%
130.00% 2.69%
135.00% 2.96%
140.00% 3.21%
145.00% 3.45%
150.00% 3.67%

Despite offering 50% over the price sold for in 2012, and significantly more than any other sale in the street for comparable property, our offer was the lowest of all bids received. Can't decide whether to raise or take chips off the table.

fuck. sticks.

I'd raise if you can afford it and really want the place, and sell your credentials as buyers (assuming you're all good and can move quickly). We were the third highest but the most eligible, reliable buyers.

Despite offering 50% over the price sold for in 2012, and significantly more than any other sale in the street for comparable property, our offer was the lowest of all bids received. Can't decide whether to raise or take chips off the table.

You are assuming that what the Estate Agent told you about the other offers is true... (if the other offers even exist)

Like the old joke - how can you tell if when Estate Agent is lying? ..... When their lips move.

I lied about how good a buyer I was. It seemed to work but was a bit stressful after the offer was accepted.

T-V, do you have your own idea about what it's worth based on other similar properties in the area? Ground floor flats down that way were going for under £250k a few months ago, wouldn't be surprised if they've a lot more now

Despite offering 50% over the price sold for in 2012, and significantly more than any other sale in the street for comparable property, our offer was the lowest of all bids received. Can't decide whether to raise or take chips off the table.

Run away. There's always others.

Renting/Not living in your castle with some spare coin is better than having an unaffordable mortgage.

I spoke to the agent again and raised our offer from £300k to £310k (versus sale price in November 2012 of £200k). The agent intimated that there have been offers over £325k (it was marketed in the range £300-325k), and told me that he thought it was 'a bit ridiculous'. The most anything comparable has sold for in the area is £290k, and there are other similar layout being marketed at £250k (albeit without period features).

We could get and comfortably afford a mortgage well beyond £325k, but I don't want to get burned, as the price is a big outlier at the moment.

Sounds like you should keep looking then.

If its the one I've seen online it is really nice, it probably will go for £325 imo. Its madness right now

It is nice, but the market is just insane.

Buy one of the £250k ones and go down your local architectural salvage yard. £50k ought to buy you a few fireplaces and some sash windows.

that is what i would be inclined to do

house prices really are trying to catch up and surpass the 2008 ( pre recession ) values

a 100 - 125k price rise in a year is mental
seems like prices back in 2008 weren't ridiculously high
just what people were prepared to pay and there were plenty of people prepared to pay

Buy one of the £250k ones and go down your local architectural salvage yard. £50k ought to buy you a few fireplaces and some sash windows.

Until Foxton's get wind and move into the salvage business.

I think London prices now have far surpassed pre 2008 prices. everyone wants to buy its completely mental. There were 9 other offers for the flat we went for and luckily they chose us.. if it all goes through

Our flat has gained value at the rate of 30k/year. That's truly scary- where does it stop?

Jesus, the Warner flats are going mad at the moment

I can understand the higher prices for the ones with original floors, windows and fireplaces, but I've seen ones with plastic windows, tatty gardens and bricked up fireplaces go for £300k+

I think Estates 17 probably price them higher than Central and Churchills though

The one I am looking at will definitely sell well in excess of that.

I'm going on the asking prices, and have no reason to believe any of them won't get, or exceed, those prices

I just had a look on rightmove and same flat as ours without the share of freehold is listed for £80k more than what we paid 3 years ago. Another one in the same block sold for 20k more at the same time we bought. What does this mean? Fuck all. Because every other place will be as expensive so I won't be moving any time soon. Meh.