Overheated housing market in Rotterdam. Should I overbid or not?

When you start looking for a home, everything is new to you. Let the “psychological game of negotiation” begin!

Of course, the housing market has been in the news a lot in recent months “Prices are rising,” “Housing madness continues,” and this is often exacerbated by selling agents who can’t resist a comment like “we already have 30 viewing requests for this property. This, of course, makes you incredibly insecure. Do not be tempted to ask for help from this selling broker, his goal is to obtain the highest possible price for his client the vèrkoper!

What would you offer? Often buyers call 10% below the asking price or €10,000 above the asking price. There are no standard rules here; every house and every asking price has its own story.

Cost

First, make sure you know what you can borrow and factor in additional costs (buyer’s fees) and/or renovations.

Value of the house

Try to find out the value of the property. The “assessed value” is determined by an appraiser when you apply for your mortgage. Your assessed value is the maximum amount you can borrow from the bank.
So it is important to know in advance if you are not paying much more than this “assessed value. How do you determine the value of a property yourself? For example, you can extract transactions from the land registry yourself. However, this may be old data. Of course, you can also leave this to your buying agent who has the latest data and knowledge.

How long do you want to live here?

That cozy apartment downtown can be very nice, but also try to assess whether this apartment is going to increase in value in the coming period. How long do you plan to live here? Is it also a good sellable house later on or are there not many people who find the house practical? If you pay a lot for a house, there is a possibility that you will end up with a residual debt.

Terms of bidding

Try to figure out what other terms (besides price) are important to a seller during your negotiation. Consider the date of completion or taking over movable property but also: How important is security to this seller? For example, has he already bought some new stuff.

Your feelings

Perhaps most importantly, how badly do you want to live in that very house. Only you can put a price tag on this. If you are just starting your search you may feel very differently about this than if you have been at it for months. You adjust your demands, become more realistic but in some ways more critical. Many people get tired of searching after a few months; a lot of time, energy and emotion goes into it. Try to get or keep the balance between your feelings (fatigue because you still haven’t found anything, for example) and your mind. Keep sounding off with your partner, neighborhood or your buying agent!

Note!

Do you want to overbid? Then remember that if your bid is above the assessed value, you will have to add your own money to buy the house.

Of course, you can also leave all of the above to us as a buying agent. Aside from all the tricks you can employ, knowledge you can gain on your own, it is just heartbreakingly exciting to enter into the negotiation for your home. An emotional journey in which it can be incredibly nice to spar with someone a little further away who also understands houses, home value and negotiating.

We would be happy to tell you what we can do for you in an informal conversation!

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