Once you've made the decision that you'd like to buy a property, agreeing the terms and negotiating the price is the next step.

Making an offer and negotiating
Making an offer
When you decide that you want to buy a house, make an offer for it without delay. If the seller is offering the property through an estate agent, put the offer to the agent (who can then tell other potential buyers that the property is under offer). Do this even before you have had a survey done - the offer does not commit you provided it is made 'subject to contract and to survey'.

You must make it clear that your offer is subject to contract - whether it is an oral offer or in writing - so that you are covered if:

• you are unable to raise the necessary loan
• a survey decides you against continuing with the purchase
• subsequent enquiries disclose some insuperable drawback: e.g. road-widening or compulsory purchase by the local authority
• you change your mind for some other reason
• If there is any objection to the deal being on a subject-to-contract basis, do not proceed. And do not sign any kind of contract at this stage without taking legal advice.
• Agreeing the price
• Most sellers fix a price that they believe to be the maximum they dare ask, and most will be prepared to come down unless several would-be buyers are competing.

To decide whether you are willing to pay the asking price or to make an alternative offer, you must take into consideration:

• how much you can afford to pay
• the state of the property market (the more potential buyers there may be after the house, the less scope there will be for bargaining; the fewer potential buyers, the more likely the seller will be to accept a reduced price)
• how the price compares with that of similar properties in the area
• how much you want the house and are prepared to pay over the odds to get it

Having made your offer, it may be accepted straight away or you may have to sit back and wait: the seller may have other prospective buyers about to make offers, or may still want to show the house to other viewers. You can try to persuade the seller that your offer is so good that it would make sense to accept it, at least provisionally. It all depends on the personalities involved and the state of the market. A seller who has been waiting for six months for a single offer is unlikely to be difficult.