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You’ve found a property you want. Now comes the part that many buyers find unexpectedly nerve-wracking: deciding what to offer, and how to put that offer forward. Get it right and you move a step closer to exchanging contracts. Get it wrong and you either overpay, lose the property, or spend weeks in a negotiation that could have been avoided.
This guide covers the whole process: how to work out what to offer, what to include when you submit it, and how to handle what comes next.
Before you put a number on the table, you need to know exactly what you can spend. That means having a mortgage agreement in principle in place, not just a rough idea of what a lender might offer you. An agreement in principle shows the seller and their agent that you’ve been assessed by a lender and can proceed. In a competitive market, some sellers won’t entertain an offer from a buyer who doesn’t have one.
Your agreement in principle will confirm a maximum borrowing amount. Your actual offer should sit comfortably below that ceiling. Borrowing to your absolute limit leaves no room for a surveyor’s findings, a renegotiation, or an unexpected cost before completion.
MoneyHelper has clear, impartial guidance on how agreements in principle work and what lenders look at when assessing affordability.
The asking price is a starting point, not a valuation. Before you decide what to offer, you need to understand what similar properties in the same area have actually sold for.
Your solicitor or conveyancer can access Land Registry sold price data, and your estate agent should be able to provide comparable sales as part of their service. Look for:
In Birmingham and Solihull, the range between property types and postcodes is considerable. A three-bedroom semi in Bournville and a three-bedroom semi in Shirley can sit at quite different price points, so make sure your comparables are genuinely like-for-like. HM Land Registry publishes all residential sold prices and is the most reliable source for this.
A property that needs significant work should be priced accordingly. If a survey reveals that the roof needs replacing, the electrics are outdated, or there’s damp that hasn’t been disclosed, those costs belong in your offer calculation.
Before you make an offer, look carefully at what you can see. Note anything that will need attention in the short term: the age of the boiler, the state of the windows, the condition of the kitchen and bathrooms. If you’re buying at full asking price, you’re implicitly accepting the property as it stands. If there are obvious costs ahead, your offer should reflect that.
Once you’re under offer, a full structural survey will give you a more detailed picture. If it turns up problems the seller hasn’t accounted for, you can renegotiate at that point.
There’s no universal answer, but the market conditions at the time of your offer matter more than any rule of thumb.
When properties are selling quickly and attracting multiple viewings, the asking price is often the floor rather than the ceiling. Offering at asking price is reasonable; offering slightly above may be necessary if you know other buyers are interested. Your estate agent should be able to tell you honestly whether competing interest exists.
When properties have been sitting on the market for several weeks, sellers are generally more open to negotiation. An offer of 5% to 10% below asking is not unusual in these conditions, particularly if the property needs work or the seller has already reduced the price once.
A property listed recently is unlikely to attract a below-asking offer with any success. A property that has been on the market for two or three months without selling is a different situation. The seller may be motivated, and your negotiating position is stronger. Check when the listing first appeared and whether the price has been reduced since.
When you make an offer, you’re not just putting forward a price. The full picture of your position matters to the seller. Be ready to confirm:
A buyer with no chain, a mortgage agreed in principle, and a flexible completion date is a more attractive proposition than a higher offer from someone in a complicated chain. Sellers weigh all of this, not just the number.
In England and Wales, offers are made verbally or in writing through the estate agent and are not legally binding at this stage. Nothing is committed until contracts are exchanged, which happens much later in the process.
Make your offer through the agent rather than directly to the seller. The agent is legally required to pass all offers to the seller promptly. Keep a written record of what you’ve offered and when.
If your offer is accepted, ask for the property to be taken off the market. Agents are not obliged to do this, but many sellers will agree to it, particularly if you’re in a strong position.
If the seller comes back with a counteroffer, you have three options: accept it, counter again, or walk away. Before you respond, work out your actual ceiling: the maximum you’d pay without feeling you’d overstretched. Once you know that number, negotiating is straightforward.
Price isn’t the only lever. You can also negotiate on:
Don’t feel pressured to decide quickly on a counteroffer. A reasonable seller will give you time to consider.
In England and Wales, a seller can legally accept a higher offer from another buyer after accepting yours, right up until exchange of contracts. This is called gazumping. It’s frustrating and relatively common in rising markets.
To reduce your exposure, move as quickly as you can through the conveyancing process after your offer is accepted. Instruct your solicitor promptly, respond to requests for information without delay, and keep the agent updated on your progress. The faster you reach exchange, the sooner the sale is legally binding.
Your offer price isn’t the only cost to plan for. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to residential purchases in England and is payable on completion. The thresholds and rates changed in April 2025, with the nil-rate threshold for standard purchases returning to £125,000 and the first-time buyer relief threshold returning to £300,000 (gov.uk, 2025). Make sure you’ve calculated your SDLT liability before you commit to a price, as it affects your overall budget.
Full current rates are published on gov.uk.
If you’re at the stage of making offers on properties in Birmingham or Solihull, Partridge Homes can help you move forward with confidence. Register as a buyer to be matched with suitable properties as they come to market, or contact the team directly to talk through your position and what’s available right now.
No. In England and Wales, an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. Either party can withdraw before that point, though doing so late in the process can cause costs to be lost. Exchange of contracts is the point at which the sale becomes legally committed.
It depends on the market and the property. In a competitive market where properties are selling quickly, offering at or close to asking price is often necessary. In a slower market, or where a property has been listed for some time, there is usually more room to negotiate below asking. Your estate agent should be able to advise on the realistic position for the specific property you’re interested in.
There is no legal deadline. Most sellers respond within a few days, but some take longer, particularly if they are weighing up multiple offers or waiting for another sale to progress. You can set a reasonable deadline when making your offer if you want clarity on timing.
A survey that reveals significant issues gives you grounds to renegotiate. You can go back to the seller with a revised offer that reflects the estimated cost of the work needed, or ask them to carry out repairs before completion. If the seller won’t move, you can withdraw your offer and recover any costs that are protected by a survey or legal contingency agreement.
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