Ann Maurice

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Once you’ve found your dream home, it is time to make an offer. 

• Cash buyers, those with a mortgage offer in place, and people with no chain will be most attractive to vendors.
• Don’t insult the vendor by putting in a ridiculous offer. The estate agent should be able to give you a steer as to how low to go.
• If you are on a stamp duty threshold then you may be able to come to some arrangement for fittings and furniture that suits both you and the vendor. Be careful though, as the taxman could query why you are paying £10,000 for curtains if he believes it to be excessive.
• Set your limit and don’t go above it. You have to be prepared to walk away if the price gets too high. If you don’t like haggling just tell the vendor it is your final price and see if it is acceptable. They may not like the process any more than you do.
• Gazumping can be rife in a seller’s market. Ask for the property to be taken off the market for a week or two once your bid has been accepted, to allow you to get the survey and legal work done. This should reduce the chance of someone gazumping you with a counter offer.
• Houses in demand often go to sealed bids – whereby each interested party puts their highest price in an envelope and the vendor chooses who will buy their house based on these.  This is the standard practice in Scotland.
• Don’t skimp on the survey, especially with older properties. The minimum you should invest in is a homebuyers report, and ideally a full structural survey. Don’t just rely on the mortgage valuation survey as this will only tell you the property is worth more than the value of the mortgage. It won’t tell you if major repairs are needed to the roof, for instance. You can get help from AA legal services on getting a survey done.
• Don’t forget all the extra costs of moving such as mortgage, survey and legal fees, removal costs and stamp duty.
• Judge your vendor. With some sellers, letting them know how much you love their home could swing the deal in your favour. If they have an emotional attachment to the home they are leaving they might prefer a buyer they empathise with. Be careful though, some sellers could use this to push for the highest price possible.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate money off the price if the survey reveals faults that will cost you money to put right.
• Think about changing your will when you move or getting one if you haven’t already done so