Found a house, now what?

shugana

Hello everyone. I am new to this property/buying/selling. So any help is appreciated. I've been reading the board on and off for a couple weeks to get a feel for things. Anyway, here's my question.

We are moving house for work, not for investment purposes. So we are looking for a house to settle down in, with a mortgage we can afford. Everyone is saying rent, don't buy, but to be honest the idea of packing up our current house and kids and getting them settled in a new school etc and then to do the same again when we go to buy is not on. Much better to find the house we want to move to, and then go for it (providing the price and mortgage are doable).

So I found the Goldilocks house. Everything about it is just right. The asking price, which has already dropped 20,000 (the house has been on the market 8 months + with one sale falling through previously), is a bit steep (especially with the market about to drop), if we can get it down another 20 or a wee bit more then for us we can do it no problem. (This is a second hand home, not a new house). The agent has said there are no other interested parties and there hasn't been for a while, but they expect after the election interest to pick up. (I am thinking if it hasn't for months it will hardly do so after the election but that may be just me).

So that's the first part of my question. What is a realistic offer to put in, will a seller want to hang onto the asking price or go for it? From what I could see the owners are ready to move, more than ready.

The second part of my question is, now I have to sell our house in order to make this happen. Luckily we are in a good place where sales aren't slowing so assuming a buyer comes along fairly quick, how long does the process usually take?

Lastly, what can we do to ensure the house doesn't get away, given the time factor involved in getting all this to happen?


Thank you all for your ideas & input.

Zambia

Your house has to go on the market fairly quick and see what bites

jimmycrackcorm

Tell the ES that your offer price is only valid up until the election. After that you are going to drop it 10%.