[2scoops]

Just had a call from our estate agent that the buyers valuation report has come back at 5K below what they've offered us. I've said there's no way i'm dropping the price. I've said i'm happy to wait for them to get a second opinon though. Is this is standard tactic from buyers to try to wangle the price down, a valuer coming in and Valuing 5K below the asking price seems a little odd to me. They've not even said there's any particular problem.

[Jenn]

When we tried to buy a house about 2 years ago, the valuation came back £25.000 lower than what we offered

The problem was the bank was going to charge us fee for "higher risk" mortgage etc. if we went ahead.
The seller wouldn't lower the price so we moved on as we weren't prepared to take the risk and pay more.

The seller eventually sold his house (about 9 months later) at the price we had offered but it could have been to people with a higher deposit or something.
We went on to buy a bigger house in a better area at a cheaper price so still think the 1st house was overpriced in the end, but they got what they wanted which is fair enough.

[2scoops]

I guess it's one mans opinion against another, 5K just seemed a bit petty really. Their getting a second opinion done, we can't afford to drop the price any lower, we had several valuations done on our house prior to sale and they all came between 5K below and 5K above the offer we eventually ended up accepting. I just did one of those free online valuation reports (not very reliable i know) but it put our house valuation at bang on the offer we've accepted.

I've told our estate agents to put our house back on the market (SOLD - STC - Still view).

I don't think there's much more I can do, if the second valuation comes back still lower, would you consider dropping the price or meeting the buyer half way?

[Jenn]

Well it depends how desperate you are really and what the buyer is facing.

If the buyer has been told like us that he would be charged a fee for higher risk from the bank than I can see what they are negociating.
And if you're desperate to sell then you could go half way or something.

It all depends on how long it would take to get another offer and how much the wait would cost you.
Also it depends on the price of your house: if it's selling for £120k then the £5k make much more of a difference than if it's selling for £300k.

[2scoops]

Well they've now asked for some comparible valuations from my Estate agent (which they have provided). It's sounds like their trying it on TBH.

[Jenn]

It might simply be that they are trying to assess whether the valuer has been very conservative or fair.

To be honest as a buyer you'd be careful with your money too. If your bank told you you're overspending you'd think twice.

Just wait and see what happens once your agent has given them some prices.

[hermanmunster]

The survey or more likely these days the 'house buyers report' has always been used as a late bargaining ploy. It hits you just when you think all is settled and you've started to make plans. I've never seen a HBR that has stated a lower value than the asking price. Surveys on the other hand often differ in valuation. It's a little better than a demand for a lower price on the day you exchange contracts
It really is down to how keen you are to move. If your house is £200K then £5K is not a lot in house buying terms. You could also renegaotiate up the chain if you are moving on.
These ploys do seem to be the 'norm' I'm afraid.

[DJT75]

A higher valuation is irelevant - you can sell your house for whatever price you want. There could've been 10 bidders & you took the best one.

They'll be wasting even more money starting over & paying more fees for a valuation on a 2nd property. If it were me I'd tell them to sling their hook.

[Yandros]

Well, as it look like we're building up to another house price crash, this will all be par for the course.

Your house is worth what someone's prepared to pay for it I'm afraid. Since property is currently AT LEAST 50% overvalued, things could get very colourful if interest rates continue upwards.

[2scoops]

Well prices grew by 1% last month so there's no bursting of the bubble yet, the annual growth is forcasted to be at 10% for this year. I've put the house back on the market for now, they buyer hasn't yet formally backed out of the deal yet.

[paul1967]

Have you seen the report, if not see if you can get a copy to see what was flagged

[Yandros]

Originally Posted by 2scoops

Well prices grew by 1% last month so there's no bursting of the bubble yet, the annual growth is forcasted to be at 10% for this year. I've put the house back on the market for now, they buyer hasn't yet formally backed out of the deal yet.

Mortgage approvals are down sharply this month, which is one of the indicators of future market direction. Money supply is up again, and oil is going up as well, suggesting a further rise in interest rates. The interest futures market is betting on IRs going over 6%.

Not looking good. Actually it is good if you're planning on moving up, or getting on the ladder

[2scoops]

Well I got a copy of the mortgage valuation report, it mentions the pylons we have 500 meters away as being a factor that could effect the future saleability of the house. It's funny but my parents live nearby and they had some wildly different valuations done on the their house ranging between £270,000 and £380,000. The one who valued their property at £270,000 had a real problem with the plyons, mentioning it at the time of the valuation. The pylons are not overhead or anything!

There are no health issues if your house is more than 600ft away (about 180 metres).

[Jenn]

We had a pylon quite close to our house when we sold it and it didn't affect the valuation as far as I know but like the agent told us at the time it's a case of either the viewers care or they don't.

So some valuers will either think it matters or not at all.

That said if someone's bothered about pylons they don't buy the house full stop, they don't negociate on price as if paying less will remove the "effects" of a pylon nearby.

Anyway what the valuer said you can't change, the buyers' bank is the one who "sets the rules". All you need to think about is what's the next step with the buyers and what you're prepared to do.

As for price crash, this discussion's been going on for at least 3 years. If people keep predicting it, eventually they'll be right... eventually.

[2scoops]

Thanks for you advice Jenn. We're still waiting on the buyer getting back to us, my estate agent has provided evidence of nearby houses that have sold at the same level as ours, so now it's up to their mortgage broker to negoitate with the bank I suppose.