Making an Offer on a House in Nottingham

If you are a First Time Buyer in Nottingham, and just found the right property for you, you’ll be needing to negotiate the asking price and put down an offer fast to avoid any other potential buyers sweeping up your desired property, at the same time you want to put down that ‘magic number’ to secure the property but, would prefer not to overpay for it. As a first time buyer in Nottingham, you may not be familiar with negotiating a property price. Below are the steps you may need to take to put you in a much better position when you make an offer.

What You Need to do Before Making an Offer

Agreement in Principle

Remember that there are other potential buyers. Therefore, it is vital to get your portfolio looking as good as possible to get yourself ahead. This will give you an advantage in getting your offer accepted. Another good tip is to work out how much mortgage you can afford, add your deposit, and set money aside for the costs of buying a property too.

We also recommend sending over a copy of your Mortgage Agreement in Principle, also known as a Mortgage in Principle and Decision in Principle. It gives you a better idea as to which properties you can afford and makes it easier whem making an offer. A Mortgage Broker in Nottingham like ourselves can help you with this, our team can usually turn around an Agreement in Principle within 24 hours after your initial contact with us.

What are the best ways to go about offers?

Getting a mortgage is about negotiating. It will most likely turn out that your initial offer will be rejected but rest assured, this is expected. If this happens, you will be given an option by your Estate Agent to increase the offer. It is best to be sensible and go for the amount which seems the most reasonable price to which you can afford.

If your second offer is also not accepted, the possible reason for this could be down to willingness towards the payment of the asking price. Therefore, if the property is new to the market and the asking price seems too high, sometimes the best option is to be prepared to find another property.

“Sold” prices on Property websites such as Zoopla and Rightmove can be a great insight to giving you a right estimate on correct asking prices depending on the area. A lot of this data is compiled from the Land Registry, meaning it should be reliable.

Certain properties may stand out because they may seem much lower in price compared to the other houses that surround them, there will be an underlying reason for this. The most common reasons include:

  • The house has been repossessed.
  • The landlord has sold it for a discounted price.
  • It was sold between family members.

In our service we will guide you with your offering strategy. It may seem nerve-wracking but it is also a very exciting part of the process.

How to make an offer on a property?

Making a good offer is an integral part of getting the property you liked but there are certain things you need to consider when you are making an offer on any property that you wish to purchase. It is not enough just to be giving asking price to be a good buyer and stand out from other buyers but there are other things the seller considers while making the decision on choosing the buyer.

Make an offer on a property – submitting an offer:

While you can get submit a verbal offer either in person or on phone, most of the agents now ask for you to send your offer via email these days, for records for both parties. This offer is then taken to the seller who chooses to accept or reject your offer. An agent is liable to pass any offer he received to the seller for their consideration.

How to stand out:

The all-set buyer

The seller will take you more seriously if you come across as a well-prepared buyer who can show evidence that they can afford the property with a ‘mortgage agreement in principle’. You should also have a solicitor in place so you can advance their details when the offer on the property is accepted.

Chain-free buyers

Any buyer without baggage of previous mortgages, first time buyers in Nottingham or buyers with pre-organised mortgages will have a benefit of preference from the seller.

Swift and easy processing

Your transactions and agreements will process more swiftly if you are a chain free and organised house buyer.

Tip: If the seller is in hurry to sell or has been trying to sell the property for some time, they might accept a lower offer than the asking price as well, especially if your purchase will pass through quickly.

Property value

Some sellers are not constricted by time or other factors and hence will wait for the buyers who can offer a higher price to maximise the value of the property.

Confidence

No matter what price you are offering for the property, do it with assertiveness and confidence. Most negotiations include several rounds of offers and counter-offers.

Things to remember when making an offer:

While you might be attracted to a certain property, you should always have a budget ceiling in mind. This will help you decide the maximum you can offer for a property and if the investment is worth for you in long term. An agent is required to be transparent and will let you know if other parties are interested in the properties to help you make your case.

Once the offer is made:

Ensure that it is clear to all parties that the offer is:

Subject to Contract (STC) – the final sale is made when lawyers have exchanged and signed contracts.

Subject to Survey – allows any cost for faults and issues to be taken in account.

Once the offer is accepted:

Ensure that the agent has taken the property off the market otherwise, you risk a chance of being gazumped.

Date Last Edited: November 20, 2023