How to Offer Below Asking Price: Email Template for UK Buyers

Quick answer

To offer below asking price, send the estate agent a short, polite email with a specific figure, your evidence, and your buying position. Sellers are much more likely to accept — or counter — an offer that is clearly reasoned.

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What to include

1. The property address
2. Your offer as an exact figure
3. Two or three comparable sales with addresses, dates and prices
4. Any condition issues and estimated costs
5. Your position — chain-free, mortgage agreement in principle, deposit, cash
6. Your timescales
7. Any conditions — for example, subject to survey and mortgage

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Email template

Subject: Offer for [address]

Hi [agent name],

Thank you for showing us around [address]. We'd like to make an offer of £[figure].

We've based this on recent sales of similar properties nearby:

• [Address], sold [month/year] for £[price]
• [Address], sold [month/year] for £[price]

We also noted [issue, e.g. the boiler is around 20 years old], which we estimate will cost around £[amount] to address.

We are [chain-free / first-time buyers / cash buyers] with a mortgage agreement in principle from [lender], and could aim to complete within [timescale].

Our offer is subject to survey and mortgage. We'd be grateful if you could pass this to the vendor and let us know their thoughts.

Kind regards,
[Name] · [Phone]

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How to follow up

• Give the agent a day or two to speak to the seller.
• If it's rejected, ask what figure the seller would consider.
• Raise in small steps and stay within your maximum.
• Keep each revised offer in writing.

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Getting the comparable sales

The hardest part of this email is the evidence. An Offer Smart report gives you comparable sold prices, £/sq ft and a suggested offer range you can quote directly. To decide your figure first, read how much lower than asking price you should offer.