How far below asking would you start on this Lyon condo?

O

otis.elm

Buyer
Established
We are down to one evening to set a price, which makes the lack of completed-sale evidence more uncomfortable. The Lyon condo is listed at €1,219,000, has been available for 18 days and requires some updating.

Our tentative opening figure is €1,097,100, or 10% under asking. We can attach financing evidence and be flexible about completion, but I would rather justify the amount through condition and limited comparable evidence than lead with the percentage.

Would you set a short response deadline, and how would you word the rationale? I want to remain protected on inspection and financing, with a clear plan if the appraisal comes in below the agreed price, rather than making an exposed offer merely to look straightforward.
 
Make the offer about the evidence gap and the condition, not about knocking 10% off. State the price plainly, mention the updating required, attach financing proof, and offer the flexible completion date. I would keep financing and property-condition protection. “Clean” should mean organised and credible, not unprotected.
 
Do you know anything about the seller’s motivation or whether there have been other offers? Eighteen days is not enough by itself to show that the listing is stale. Also, can you separate essential work from cosmetic updating? A seller may engage with specific costs more readily than with a round 10% discount.
 
I think 10% below may be too aggressive this early if the comparable asking prices are genuinely close. Asking prices are imperfect evidence, but so is an unsupported estimate of renovation costs. If you would still want it at, say, 5% below, starting at 10% risks ending the conversation rather than creating room to negotiate.
 
We have no useful information on seller motivation, and the short decision window is part of why we are uneasy. The work is visible, but we cannot support a precise euro figure for it overnight. We would be disappointed to lose the condo, though not enough to pay asking without better completed-sale evidence. I am leaning toward submitting the lower offer with a concise explanation rather than pretending our number is more scientific than it is.
 
That sounds reasonable, but have the protective wording checked for the French transaction and your financing arrangements. In particular, clarify what happens if financing or the lender’s valuation falls short, when any deposit becomes exposed, and whether you retain a route to investigate the condo’s condition. Those points matter more than making the first offer look unusually clean.
 
One alternative is to offer somewhat closer to asking while requesting a repair credit later, but that can create a second negotiation and the seller may resist it. Given your uncertainty, I would rather put the preferred price in now, provide financing proof, specify a clear response deadline, and preserve the important conditions. Flexible completion is your non-price concession; use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top