Buying property for sale in London can be just as frightening an experience as it an exciting one. A real positive is the fact that you could possibly be living close to the most diverse and biggest city in Britain. A real negative however, is for you to be able to find that one dream property you need to avoid making the all too common mistakes that people make when looking to buy in London. If you would like some advice on how to avoid these mistakes, continue reading.
Never Offer The Asking Price
Many people make the mistake, because it seems like perfect common sense, after viewing a property and deciding they like it of making an offer for the asking price. The result of this is that the agent will almost always make more than the asking price without even having to get into a tricky bidding war. The rule of thumb is that if you want to make an offer, you should be looking to offer around 10 to 15% lower than what is being asked.
Avoid Seeming Too Keen During And After A Viewing
It is an integral part of a successful estate agents job to understand people’s sign language. They can use this information to suss out whether a buyer is really interested in a property. By showing too many obvious signs that you love the property, estate agents know they don’t have a very difficult job ahead of them and that they won’t have to negotiation much less than the market price. Try to be as aloof as possible when viewing a property or after the viewing and never switch lights off or close doors as you leave rooms as this is a big give away that you are already “moving in” in your head.
Avoid Making An Offer During Or Immediately After A Property Viewing
This will just make you look too keen. If you are sure you want to make an offer on the property, or the estate agent pushes or asks you for one, ask them what the seller would like for it. You will inevitably find that most estate agents will simply answer “the asking price”, but a good tip is to avoid interrupting them as they may continue speaking and without meaning to, talk the price down. This could be a sign that they are desperate to sell.
Avoid Giving Your Maximum Budget When You Register
It is reckoned by estate agents that around 9 out of 10 of the buyers registered through them will buy property 10% more than the maximum of their budget they stated when they registered. If you don’t want to spend your entire budget, then do not give away the amount you would stretch too for a property.
Never Buy Property More Than 10 Minutes Away From A Train Or Tube Station
This piece of advice is particularly important if you are looking to buy property as an investment. It is always possible to alter how a property is presented or looks, but you can’t alter its location. Around 90% of short hold tenants have stated that they prefer to live no more than 10 minutes away from local train or tube stations.
