Thursday 24 March 2011

Let the haggling begin!

When does a cheeky offer become a silly one, or – even worse – an insulting one? That’s the question that needs to be the first you ask yourself if you decide that you are going to offer less than the asking price. The last thing you need to do is to rush in with guns blazing and offend anyone. Neither, however, do you want to pay any more than you have to…

Each country has a different take on the thorny issue of exactly how much lower you should offer than the asking price. Here’s where a really good local estate agent could advise you. An agent with extensive knowledge of both the rules and regulations of the property laws plus of the local vendors is worth their weight in gold. They will know local price trends and they will also have a good insight as to how the property game is played in their neck of the woods.

Both the vendor and estate agents need to know that you are a serious buyer and not just wasting their time so it is important to get organised before you make an offer. If you have all your ducks in a row in terms of what is needed to buy - things like a bank account opened, a mortgage agreed to in principle, a good Experian credit reference to hand - they will be far more likely to take an offer from you seriously. Even if it is lower than another offer they may receive, the fact that the sale will probably go through quickly will weigh in your favour.

Another thing to bear in mind is that, although the vendor may not be prepared to accept a lower offer, they may well be prepared to consider other incentives to encourage you to buy. Things such as paying your closing costs, landscaping your garden, providing white goods in the kitchen…if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Remember, if you are buying from a Brit who will be moving the proceeds of the sale back to the UK, the exchange rate from euros into sterling may be more favourable than when they bought so they can perhaps afford to drop their price and still make a profit…

The recession meant that a lot of buyers got their fingers burnt, buying at the top of the market and seeing the value of their properties plummet.

What does this mean to you?

It means that as a buyer you may be a fairly rare species and that fact allows you to haggle. It also means that you need to consider your purchase carefully. You don’t want to be one of those buyers with burnt fingers!

So…to summarise:

1. Leave your British reserve at the door! Remember, after the sale, you may never see either the estate agent or the vendor again. You are not trying to make a new best friend…

2. Do your research before you set foot abroad. Try and get a feel for possible prices, the state of the market etc.

3. Make sure that you have all those irritating bits of paperwork tied up BEFORE you start looking if at all possible and that you are ready to sign a deal immediately (gives massive bargain power to be able to move fast)

4. Get your finances set up so that you know exactly what you want to spend. This should include all purchase costs

5. Then, by all means put in an offer, but make it a sensible one

6. Best case scenario would be that you do this acting under advice from a local estate agent who has a handle on the local market

7. If your offer is rejected, try to get other incentives to sweeten the sale

Good luck!

Kim
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Overseasbuyingguide.com

1 comment:

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