Making an offer (and negotiating it properly)

You've found a place you want. Now comes the bit where most first-time buyers, new landlords and new investors leave thousands on the table, or lose the property entirely by playing it wrong. This guide covers the England process (with a Scotland callout), what to research before you name a number, and how to negotiate without bluffing yourself out of a home.

Do the homework before you name a number

Asking prices are marketing. Sold prices are evidence. Before you offer, pull four things together:

1. Sold comparables, from HM Land Registry, not portals' asking prices. Every residential sale for value in England and Wales gets registered, and you can search sold prices free at gov.uk (the Price Paid Data service). This is the same comps discipline covered in the BMV guide, pointed at your own offer instead of a sourcer's deal sheet. Look for genuinely similar properties (same street or immediate area, similar size, type and condition) sold in the last 6 to 12 months. One catch: registration lags completion by roughly 2 weeks to 2 months, so the very latest sales may not show yet. In a fast-moving market, weight recent sales more heavily.

2. Time on market and price-reduction history. Portals show the listing date and, on some, the price history. A property listed three weeks ago at a sensible price gives you little leverage. One sitting for four months with two reductions tells you the market has already voted, and the seller knows it.

3. The chain. Ask the agent directly: is the seller in a chain? Buying onward? A seller with nothing to buy (probate, landlord selling up, already moved) can move fast, and often values speed and certainty over squeezing the last few grand.

4. Seller motivation. Also ask: why are they selling, and have any offers fallen through? Agents often tell you more than you'd expect.

Worked example: building your number from comps

Say a 2-bed terrace is listed at £215,000. Your Land Registry digging on the same street finds:

A defensible opening offer here is £195,000 to £198,000, with the reasoning stated: "No. 27 made £208k fully refurbished; this needs £10k of work; No. 14 made £198k." That's an anchor built on evidence. £170,000 "to see what happens" is an anchor built on cheek. It mostly gets you ignored.

Opening offer strategy: there is no magic percentage

Ignore anyone who says "always offer 10% under." The right opening offer depends on the comps, the condition, time on market and competition. On a fairly priced house in a hot market, an under-asking offer may lose you the property; on a stale, over-priced listing, asking price is overpaying. The rule that works: anchor low-but-credible, justify it with evidence, and leave room for one or two planned increases. Decide your absolute maximum before your first offer, in writing, to yourself, and never reveal it.

What makes an offer strong (besides the number)

Sellers don't just pick the highest number. They pick the offer most likely to actually complete, because in England nothing is binding until exchange, and every agent has watched sales collapse in between. You look strong when you have:

• Proof of funds ready: deposit savings statement, gift letter if relevant.
• A mortgage decision in principle (DIP/AIP) in hand: from any lender via a broker; it shows a lender has soft-checked you. (We're not recommending any lender or product; get advice from an FCA-authorised broker.)
• No chain, or flexible dates: first-time buyers, this is your superpower. Say it loudly.
• A solicitor already instructed: name and contact details ready to go on the memorandum of sale the day your offer is accepted (what they'll actually do next is in the conveyancing guide).

A slightly lower offer with all four of these regularly beats a higher offer from a buyer who "still needs to sort the mortgage."

Estate agent dynamics: know whose side they're on

The agent works for the seller. They're paid by the seller, usually a percentage of the sale price. Be friendly, be organised, but don't treat them as your adviser.

Two things worth knowing:

• They must pass on your offer. Under the Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, still in force as of July 2026, agents must pass every offer to the seller promptly and in writing, right up to exchange, unless the seller has told them in writing not to bother with certain offers (e.g. below a set figure). "The seller won't look at that" is not the agent's call to make. You can ask for written confirmation your offer was put forward.
• They will qualify you hard. Expect questions about your deposit, mortgage position and budget. Answer honestly, but never state your maximum. "We're comfortable at this level and it's based on sold prices on the street" is a complete answer.

Sealed bids and "best and final"

When several buyers compete, agents often call for best and final offers by a deadline. There's no trick here: offer the most the property is worth to you, an odd number (£201,350 beats £200,000), and stack your non-price strengths in a covering note. If you lose, you lose at a price you didn't want to pay anyway. And even a winning sealed bid in England is not binding.

Scotland is different

In Scotland, offers go through your solicitor. Properties are often marketed at "offers over," you formally "note interest" via your solicitor, and if several buyers note interest the seller sets a closing date, a sealed-bid deadline for written solicitor offers. The seller's solicitor responds with a qualified acceptance, the solicitors exchange letters ("missives"), and once missives conclude you have a binding contract, far earlier than in England. Check the Home Report before offering. Full process at mygov.scot.

Offer accepted: you're not done

In England and Wales, an accepted offer is legally worth nothing. Neither side is bound until exchange of contracts, which is typically weeks or months later. Until then:

• Get it off the market. Ask, as a condition of your offer, that marketing stops and the listing shows sold subject to contract. The agent issues a memorandum of sale, a simple document recording price, parties and solicitors. It's not a contract, but it starts the legal work and signals commitment.
• Gazumping is legal. The seller can accept a higher offer right up to exchange. Your defence is speed: instructed solicitor, survey booked in week one, mortgage application in immediately.
• Renegotiate only with evidence. If your survey turns up genuine, costed problems (see the surveys guide), go back with the surveyor's findings and contractor quotes, not a vague "the survey was bad, knock £10k off." Evidence-based renegotiation succeeds constantly; chip-for-the-sake-of-it usually just poisons the deal.

Mistakes people make

• Bidding against themselves. "They said think about coming up a bit" is not a counter-offer. Only raise in response to a specific rejection or a named rival bid, and ask questions before moving.
• Revealing their ceiling. Tell the agent your max budget and don't be shocked when the "final" price lands exactly there.
• Skipping comps. Offering "5% under asking" of a made-up asking price is negotiating against a fiction.
• Offering after one viewing. View twice, at different times of day. You'll spot the traffic noise, the damp smell, the neighbour's dogs: all negotiation material, or reasons to walk.
• Getting emotional in sealed bids. Auction fever in an envelope. Set the number cold, the night before.

Sources: gov.uk: Search sold property prices (HM Land Registry) · gov.uk: About Price Paid Data · legislation.gov.uk: Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, SI 1991/1032 · gov.uk: Buying or selling your home · mygov.scot: Making an offer

Education, not financial advice. For mortgage advice, speak to an FCA-authorised broker.

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