Get your next home for less than the asking price
Talk to the neighbours that live around the house you are interested in making an offer on. Many can offer extremely valuable information on the property. For example, they might have an idea of how anxious the owner is to sell. Much of this information can be used to create a very good offer for a lower purchase price. It pays to be very friendly and engaging with these people as they could be your new neighbors in the months to come. They also have the opportunity to sway the owner into selling to you.
If at all possible, search for homes after the schools are in session. Many of the people that are looking for a new home tend to look during the summer months, so they don’t have to transfer their kids to a different school during school terms. This means there will be more competition amongst sellers.
Make sure you have the home inspected. Enlist the services of a reputable and professional inspector. List absolutely all the issues, and even any cosmetic issues you have, in your offer. Understand that you will probably not get these wishes granted, but it does give you the option to ‘forget’ these as a negotiation tool, as opposed to offering more money.
Make a reasonable offer and take into consideration the amount of money it will take to fix the issues you listed in the offer. For example, if the house needs a new roof that will cost £5,000, and you are offering £25,000 below asking price, if they accept your offer, you may have to fix the roof, but you are still getting the property for £15,000 less than was asked for!