ochomesales.info

A couple of years back, no one had really heard of the term ‘credit crunch’ but the term is now wide spread across a number of industries. The property/real estate market has definitely been hit – estate agents all across the UK have been shutting offices, namely local offices for a more central approach with fewer offices covering a greater number of areas.

Property buyers have felt the pinch – due to rising unemployment rates many are now putting on hold their moves, or waiting for better offers on their houses before moving. Many prospective buyers have also stayed in rented accommodation but essentially I feel this is still dead money.

The main problem is that the initial deposit is often beyond first time buyers reach – unless you have a good £25K to spend upfront on a deposit many estate agents or solicitors will not even consider you for a mortgage.

Credit crunch is defined as a “severe shortage of money or credit”. So if this describes you, try not to worry too much. There are plenty of properties out there and the likelihood is you can still get one on the cheap with people looking for a quick sale. Keep saving and try to be conservative with what you spend. Or look down the route of shared ownership to begin with – getting on the property ladder in some way is better than waiting another couple of years for the economy to try and sort itself out.

To buy or not to buy? – that is the question.

My brother is currently in the process of trying to buy a house with his girlfriend. They have a realistic deposit between them but have been renting for the past year together and have decided to try and get somewhere bigger.

They are however getting the usual sales speel from the estate agents. Now I’m in sales, so I know most tricks in the book, trying to get people to up their offer, saying that someone else is interested in the property, saying that you have a slightly lower offer than someone else but the current owner prefers you etc.

In these current times of recession you have to play as hard as they play.

The house is on the market for £125,000. However it needs a minimum of £25,000 worth of upgrading; kitchen, bathroom, central heating to name a few. Their initial offer was £105,000.

It was refused straight away. They then however put in an immediate offer of £110,000 to which the response was “well, it’s better, but I think the owner is holding out for £115,000. There are a few other parties interested in the house so let us know asap”.

By putting in an immediate improved offer of £110,000, the estate agent obviously knew they were keen immediately used the ‘fear of loss’ card by saying there were other parties interested and that they should try and meet £115,000. The problem is, this would only leave them with £10,000 to do the property up, and could cause arguments when they are living in a house which is clearly old fashioned and needs a hell of a lot of work.

They were claiming that the estate agent would not lie to them and try to get more money if the house clearly wasn’t worth £115,000, but believe me – estate agents will do anything to line their pockets. They are not interested in the buyer’s needs, they are concerned about making the sale at the best possible price.

I persuaded them to not go back with an immediate offer of £115,000 and they agreed it would look a little desperate. They haven’t heard back yet but I get the impression that the house is still on the market and they could be receiving a call saying that their offer has been accepted very soon.

Other Things To Buy

Buy Ski Holidays

Mens and Ladies Leather Jackets

Natural Skincare Products