Mike Cross

Hi,

I am looking to buy a property in Brittany. I have found dozens that are suitable and I'm really pleased to have so much choice.

My budget is 160.000€ plus costs for a detached character 3 bed cottage with large land plot

I am at the stage where I can now make offers on several suitable properties, the problem is, what is a reasonable offer against the asking price and what is considered a silly offer?

Any advice would be welcome before I go ahead.

Thanks in advince,

Mike.

Ka Ora!

A house is worth what you are prepared to pay for it, Taking into account what the owner is going to part with it for. But in all honesty it's not like the English Market, you might get a little leeway but not much. Small offers will insult the vendor and you get no where. The French will wait for the right buyer at the right price it is their natural way. There are houses in this region that have been for sale since before we moved here 7 years ago. The best advice I can give is anything you have learnt about buying houses in England, Leave it there

Tweedpipe

Ka Ora has made some valid points.

However, when confronted with hesitant clients on an over-budget sale price, many agents here tend to suggest making an offer of approx 10-15,000 euros below the asking price. Some sellers will readily accept this, whilst some will be content to arrive at some close compromise.
If my memory serves me correctly, I offered 20k less, was refused, and seller then compromised at less 10k.

Andrea50

We have just completed yesterday on our small house in Brittany. The trouble is there are two or three different prices sometimes if it is with different agents. We were fortunate ours was exclusively with one agent so negotiating was easy.

You do have leeway to get people to move on the price, as agents can reduce their commision bit to clinch a sale. Also the vendor's circumstances can also help you as some really want to move or need to sell. I would be the last person to advise someone to take advantage of someone else's circumstances, but after all buying a house is business, pure and simple.

I saw the house I wanted, took 20% off the price in my head, gave the agent the total figure I was prepared to shell out including his fee and notaire and just said "if you can make that happen, I'll buy it".

That puts the onus on the agent to do the negotiating if he wants a sale and after all he's paid pretty well to do that.

Good luck.

arubus

I agree that finding the situation of the vendors is very important - ie how long on the market, how keen they are to sell, their situation - ie have they inherited the property or do they live there etc. Also it's an idea to find out what the current market is like in that area. I found that speaking to the Agent and asking what they feel is a likely acceptable offer is also a good idea.

When we put an offer in on the property we are buying we went a couple of thousand under the Agents suggestion and negotiated our way to within 300 euros of what the Agent had suggested in the first place - not sure if we wasted time or not...lol

However, in the end we saved about 35% (16k) of the asking price - but it was a very cheap property to start with so I wouldn't expect that with the higher price ranges - I would think between 8-10% is more the average saving - but not an expert.

Saying all that, I think the most important thing is knowing how much YOU are willing to pay for the property - we fell in love with ours immediately and would have payed asking price if it had come to it

PS... Congratulations on your completion Andrea50

Andrea50

Thanks Arubus, yes, agree with you.

Also remember if you are a cash buyer you are in a very strong position - cash is king at the moment, so you may clinch a deal a bit lower if you are "ready to go".

I have always lived by the mantra if one does not ask, one does not get, but I know this does not always work in France as some French owners still seem to feel their hovel is Windsor Castle and you can end up offending them, but it could be worth the risk as the worst thing you can do is have your first offer accepted really quickly leaving you feeling you MIGHT have got it for less!

Good luck.

Mike Cross

Thanks for the helpful advice everyone.

When I first bought in Spain 9 years ago, the market was booming and there was no chance of an offer as property was selling within a week or two.

Now, generally there are offers on reasonably priced properties at about 30/40% below the asking price, many are rejected but some do go through.

I suppose I might offer 20% below as a standard first offer and perhaps should feel lucky if I get away with 10%.

Andrea50 your idea about telling the agent what we have and asking them to make it fit makes good sense, I shall try that too. Congratulations on your completion by the way, how long did your sale take to go though?

Novocastrian

Ditto that, arubus. We discovered through the agent that the house we bought was part of an estate with joint beneficiaries (two siblings and a second wife i.e. a stepmother with whom the siblings aren't even on speaking terms). We offered 168KEu but the agent actually decreased that to 160 (without consulting us) because he knew exactly what the deceased had bought for 5 years previously. Well happy with that. The asking price was 190K.

Edit: All figures including notaire and agents cut.

Andrea50

Hi Mike, we made the offer on 1 March, signed compromis 2nd March, and completed by proxy 20th May, so about average I suspect, on a property with no hitches and no chain. We did have an excellent agent as well, who made it painless and sorted out a few blips very smoothly. Would recommend him wholeheartedly to organise a hassle free transaction.

Good luck.