making an off

We have finally seen a property we like, we know the owner is having financial difficulties so wants a quick sale,what would everyone think is a reasonable offer below the asking price to make .

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Meant to add agent seems to think we will be in a better position with a good offer after xmas if property is still available.Agent said he could talk to owner and see where or what position he is in to how low he can go ,but i dont want to look silly if he comes back with a price that is still too high for us, so i would rather offer first

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Find out what similar properties have sold for (agents on the whole are more chatty about this in Spain) and go in at least 10% below that.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

There are so many factors and to start yes it is worth looking around aat other properties in the area that are for sale to get a comparison

If you can provide more information about the area, property and price somebody in that area may be able to give you a better idea

Look at how long the property has been on the market, do the sellers have a mortgage and if they are going back to the UK, converting to sterling even now they will get a bit more but as sterling gets stronger they will lose more money

The agent should primarly want to look after the seller but you can ask how long it has been on the market, have they ever had an offer if yes how much and was it turned down

I would disagree with the agent about Christmas, as the viewing reduce up to Christmas and increase after the New Year, if they are desperate sellers they would want a deal

10% could be a place to start but it depends on MANY MORE factors

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Ignore what the agent says and inspectahome is correct I do not get why any agent would say wait until after Xmas if the property is still available!!!!!

Good advice on here, I would make an offer of 30% less than asking price (after checking other similar property values) and see where it gets you. Nothing ventured, nothing gained it is your money and don't worry about the seller's financial difficulties they are not your problem (only your advantage) - harsh but true

let your head (and your finance) lead and not your heart 

You can always increase your offer in stages if it is rejected - negotiate

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

The advice that I gve on this forum is always based on real practical experience, doing the job daily

 It  depends on the price, location etc of thr property and to say offer 30% under, without knowing this information is poor advice, it could be a €90k apartment or a €500k villa

Fact if you make a ridiculous uniformed offer you are likely to p** off the sellers that they then will never sell to that person, I know that been there and seen that, the buyers never get to buy it

More people in financial difficulties are more keen to sell prior to Christmas rather than havng this hanging over their heads

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

 It  depends on the price, location etc of thr property and to say offer 30% under, without knowing this information is poor advice, it could be a €90k apartment or a €500k villa

Nothing ventured nothing gained

if the buyer gets p***ed off then tough there are so many properties for sale buyers market etc.

Make the offer test the water if accepted happy days if rejected then increase your offer - simple really if the seller wants to sell

 

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Nothing ventured nothing gained, true, but I also agree with inspectahome - "if you make a ridiculous uniformed offer you are likely to p** off the sellers that they then will never sell to that person, I know that been there and seen that, the buyers never get to buy it" Exactly, so it's possible that something stupid ventured, everything lost! (also talking from personal experience).The term "buyer's market" (just like "seller's market") is bulls**t IMHO. It's a market, end of. When a seller and buyer agree a mutually acceptable price, then there's a sale. Most of the so called distressed sellers are sturggling to pay a mortgage. They can't sell for less than the value of their mortgage. If they get repossessed, the bank won't sell it for less than the mortgage was anyway - they'll just sit on it for years with an inflated value on their books. Forget it. If the seller was that desperate, the asking price would already be 30% lower. According to opinions on another thread, and many media reports, the market is picking up in many areas, so if you're serious about buying, be sensible and don't take the p*ss. Yes, 10% below asking price might be a good starting point. If you want it for less than that, perhaps you can't really afford it!

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Starting at 30% you might end up at 15% which is better than 10%

Worked before for me

No room for sentimentality

IIf you don't ask you don't get

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

You say the seller's are in financial difficulty, what difference is that going to make to making a offer if they have a Mortgage on the property and in negative equity ,the sellers don't own the property outright they cannot sell the property for less than the amount the amount that the bank requires to clear the Dept .for instance if a outstanding mortgage is on the property for €100,000 and you offer €80,000 the bank wiil stop the sale unless they can pay the outstanding €20,000 ,so if l was you and you really want this property ask them for the bottom line otherwise it would be beneficial to default on the mortgage and hand the keys back to the bank.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

 

 they cannot sell the property for less than the amount the amount that the bank requires to clear the debt

Not true I have bought property when the outstanding mortgage of the seller is more than what I paid.

 

This message was last edited by Tadd1966 on 25/11/2016.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

But in that case the seller had to pay off the outstanding balance of the mortgage at the time of transfer (unless you took on their mortgage debt!) If they had the cash available to do that, almost by definition they weren't a "distressed" seller. Perhaps you were just lucky to find someone who was so disillusioned with their property or so filthy rich that they didn't care about losing money  The OP has said the sellers are in financial difficulty, so I think it's fair in this case to say they can't sell it for less than the mortgage. We could be wrong, but I think it's reasonable to assume that here. 

At the end of the day it's up to Bevgt to offer what he feels is fair and reasonable. I hope he'll get back to us to let us know what he offers and how he gets on. 

 

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

roberto

as far as i am aware the seller transefrred the debt to a differnet loan type with his bank - I am not sure of the details

the point is the comment made regarding the bank stopping the sale is incorrect

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Tadd1966 ,regarding your purchase of course the bank did not stop the sale because the sellers paid the outstanding amount if they could not do this you would not have been able to purchase the property without paying the outstanding amount owing to the bank hence stop the sale.
This message was last edited by windtalker on 25/11/2016.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Well, let's not get into an argument over details, but it's an interesting discussion and all opinions are valid. 

As inspectahome said, it depends on many factors, so there's no right or wrong answer. Personally, as a seller I would be insulted & pi**ed off if someone offered me 30% below asking price - it would suggest they think I'm a bit of an idiot for hoping to sell the property at my price, and I don't like doing business with people who think I'm stupid. I'd feel the same if I were the agent involved, I wouldn't take the buyer seriously and would refuse to show him any more property. But that's just me!

As a point of interest, I know of a couple of recent sales in an apartment block. Both bought in 2003, so 5 years before the crash. One was priced to sell quickly at around 24% below what was paid in 2003. It sold quickly, at about 10% below asking price - or 31% loss on the paid price. The other was priced at about 8% below the 2003 paid for price, and took ages to sell, but just a few months after the first one, sold for about 5% below asking price, or about 12% under the original 2003 price. Take what you will from these examples. Perhaps it does bear out what has been said on another thread about the market picking up?

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Windtalker 

As far as I know he did not pay off the debt I was infor med he had changed the terms of the loan and may even still owe the bank the money

I have heard of banks chasing sellers for outstanding mortgages after a sake below the mortgage value 

If anyone offered me a 30% reduction no point in being p***ed off just have a laugh and refuse life Is far too short to get upset about things like that 

 

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Tadd I do this every week and they cannot purchase a property without somebody paying off the TOTAL debt at time of completion

The bank would not allow the sale to go through without the debt being discharged, a decent lawyer would not allow the buyer to complete because the buyer would end of with any debt

This actually happened to our client this week, the seller owed more than the mortgage and didnt bring and transfer enough funds, no discharge of mortgage no transfer, we are trying again on Monday, but this isn't just nmortgages but also IBI, Community fees, untility bills plus the retention for Plus Valida and the 3% tax

In your case if he didn't fully discharge the mortgage I hope that you had a good lawyer because it will be your debt as a charge on the property, if and when you try and sell it

Now if this was a bank repossession then the banks must settle all of the bills and mortgage and prove this, at time of completion at The Notary and ofetn they will chase the seller for the money, if still owned no settlement no completion, they will sit and wait to repossess

Tadd a bit like your suggestion on 30% you are talking uniformed nonsience, as I always say the advce that I give on this forum is always based on REAL LIFE CURRENT practical experience, not hearsay and rumour

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Would you do it in the UK?

Another real scenario: two identical properties in the NW, one for sale for 2 years @ £160,000 the other marketed @ £150,000 and sold @ £145,000 within weeks. One could argue the first seller has overpriced his property. Should I offer him 30% less? (£112,000) 

I know the Spanish market is a different animal, but not that much - the sooner (potential) buyers wake up and accept that, the sooner it might get back on track a bit. 

In the examples in Spain I gave earlier, I actually think the one who sold quickly massively undersold his place, partly because he believed the lazy estate agent's hype & assertion that "it's a buyer's market blah blah blah". The scenario in the UK I just gave, the agent for the overpriced one actually de-listed the property, presumably because the vendor wouldn't listen to sense and accept an offer of, say, 10% below his asking price. This is what Spanish agents should do with properties that don't sell, instead of just signing up to an MLS system and listing thousands more properties that they know nothing about in areas they've never been to. It's the equivalent of a retail shop keeping years old merchandise in their window even after the sun has faded it to oblivion.

Third edit, to say I think I'm in danger of contradicting myself here, so I'm off to watch telly instead! 

 

This message was last edited by Roberto on 25/11/2016.

This message was last edited by Roberto on 25/11/2016.

This message was last edited by Roberto on 25/11/2016.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Roberto

Don't disagree

Inspetahome 

I have dealt with many properties in spain privately and for business and seen this a few times and there are ways round it

As fir the 30% NONSENSE you are entitled to your view but it does work and has done in the uk and spain many times

I have a friend who does similar offers as a very successful business as discussed on an old thread where he targets couples splitting up not my cup of tea  though 

So my original point in relation to the comment about banks still stands it can be done nothing is black and white as many think 

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Tadd I do this everyday so sorry I don't agree so if as yiu claim to have specialised knoledge on this please expain on the forum, how you get around this, because I would like to know as I must be missing something and I have now been involved in the sales of hundreds of resales

Now sometimes the seller will go to the bank and offer a deal for a lower amount than actually owed but ALWAYS the bank will have a presence at the Notary to agree the final figures

Again we all keep trying to explain that you cannot generalise, it ALWAYS depends on so many factors when making an offer

Today I was involved in quite a heated discussion at a new development, with a gentleman who decided he wanted a discount and with new properties no way. If he had played his cards right he could perhaps have ended up with AC, white goods even some furniture, the developers view p*** off if we don't sell it to you somebody else will buy. He ended up buying at full price, no free bits, bit like the 30% approach

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know