Stretching your budget & sellers ......

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welshcobmad

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I have found what I consider to be THE horse for me advertised today after weeks of looking & have emailed the seller (I'd ring but my signal is awful where I am!) asking a few questions etc. He's the first one to stand out & that I've contacted about.

Problem is, my budget. He's up for £850 more than I had planned to spend obv vetting & transport ontop which would take it to quite a bit more, but he does come with full wardrobe & tack. I could get the extra but not for another month yet.

If you were selling & they were what you considered to be the right new owner for your horse, would you be prepared to take a large deposit to hold it for a month? (As long as you weren't desperate to sell)

Or should I forget it & stick to my budget? I can't help but think I'd be letting a close to perfect horse go for the sake of 1k or so.

Help! lol
 
I would always expect to be knocked down, go and see it, if it's still everything you want, make on offer. On the other hand if I was selling I would be wary of holding a horse for a month and turning down other potential buyers, as there's always a risk you would pull out.
 
I think it would entirely depend on the owners situation whether they would be willing to do that but I would say it is a bit risky for you. Something could happen to the horse in that time and you could end up with something that wasn't the original horse you saw.

I am in a similar position with buying my loan horse as his owners have decided to sell him 9 months earlier than planned and as I won't have all the money said I could pay in instalments. I have decided to borrow the money from my Dad instead because I thought if something happened to Max who would he actually belong to?
 
I wouldn't personally hold any horse or pony for a month, the potential buyer could pull out at any point. Also this horse may sound perfect on paper but be the total opposite in the flesh, so i wouldn't think too far ahead :P
 
I would still go to see it as it might not be what you want anyway(theres a saving)!

Some horses I looked at and the last that chucked me off I really dont know where they got their prices from? But I suppose it depends if its been for sale for ages and their circumstances ie one horse someone looked at had issues was way overpriced and had the seller reduced the price they would have had a sale. However that sellers horse is still for sale and they are paying £450 livery so really they would have saved money reducing the price etc.

Most people would negotiate. The horse I bought I paid the full asking price as there was a queue of people and I would have lost him but he was £500 below my budget and a bargain. Came with no tack so I had to fork out for that(but there is plenty of second hand around).

Good luck. Just have a good look around and you soon get a feel if a horse is worth it? Most ads dont turn out to be that truthful.
 
I don't see why not, depends how much proportionally you're short, like if the horse if 1850 they might be skeptical, but if it's 3850 then they'd probably go for it, if it's a deposit for them to keep it til you get the rest then they have still got the horse and most of your money (maybe bit risky) or they might agree to let you take it anyway and give them the rest if they don't want to pay livery for another month, you can but ask!

I'm sure you can haggle a bit anyway, have you been looking at the advert for a while?

Hope you get it :-)
 
It would depend on the price, they may be prepared to take a drop if you offer the right home. Tell them its a bit over budget and
go and try, you may not like it when you ride, this often happens the horse seems perfect but you dont want it any way, if you do want to buy explain your situation and see what they say, they can only say no and call you a timewaster:eek:.

The price may also include all its tack and rugs,you can manage without some for now to get a reduction.Many people will deliver to a new home if they want to see where it goes, I often do this for just diesel money or free if local, another possible saving for you.
 
As a seller I wouldn't hold onto a horse for anybody for a month, too much can go wrong in that time, weather it be the horse getting injured, or the buyer pulling out.

As to weather or not to see the horse in the first place, that for me would depend on a few factors:

How much is the horse, and what percentage of the asking price would that £1K be?

How open to offers are the sellers? Some expect to be negotiated down, others set what they feel is a fair price and stick to it.

How long has the horse been advertised for? If longer they may be more open to offers

This of course is all academic as until you see the horse you will have no idea if the horse is what you are after (i've been to see many that have sounded perfect in the ad, just failed to live up to expectation).
 
Thank you all thats really helpful & made me think a bit.

As far as I know the ad only went up today - unless its been bumped & its actually and older one (I'm that sad I'm watching all the horse classifieds like a hawk daily so as soon as anything comes up I usually know about it! lol).

The horse is up for £3850 with all tack & rugs including a fairly new leather saddle. My budget was £3k & I could afford to put £2k down as a deposit immediately if they were willing to do it that way & then take the rest on collection. I'll just have to wait to see what they say really but if I havent heard anything I'll give them a ring when I'm out & about with a better signal tomorrow. I have 2 saddles here with adjustable gullets so I could do without the saddle for the time being but the rugs etc I would find handy, so that would be a point to haggle on but same time they may not want it as its fitted to the horse.

I've been looking for ages & he just popped up & I instantly thought - thats what I want, hes perfect! Then after reading the description I went straight on & emailed - not like me as I usually sit on it for a while lol.

I'm checking my emails every 5 mins! lol :D
 
My friend just did similar from a dealer. She only put £100 down and paid the rest when he was picked up 3 weeks and a bit later. If I was selling I'd want a bigger deposit, but 2k is a serious enough amount to get most peoples attention
 
Yeah you're right I've got to stay calm & wait for a reply first lol. Totally depends on the seller who I'd explain the situation to before hand so as not to waste their time & if I did then go to see him (3 & a half hr drive from me) & I liked him enough then we'd have to see.

I'd be taking my very level headed friend who is also an R.I who's bought & sold many a horse so I don't go "Ooooh I love him I want him" even if hes got 3 legs lol! :D
 
If you do click with the horse and they are genuine sellers they will Want the best for the horse, if they feel your the best I see no reason why they wouldn't negotiate
 
They might be willing to take an offer anyway. But if there's valuable tack how about offering for the horse & going back a month later to buy the tack? Easier for both of you than eBay
 
Thank you both! I genuinely hope if we do click & they think I'm right for him (if we get that far!) then they think that way too. They'll either want what's best for the horse or the asking price & nothing else.

Littlelegs - That's a fab idea :) If that saddles worth quite a bit (which I suspect it is seeing as its new leather) then I could at least get the horse itself straight away then technically purchase the tack the following month. You're a star! lol It's definately another idea!
 
I put down a substantial deposit on s horse 2 weeks ago and Im getting him in another 2 weeks due to that being when my livery comes available. So it does happen.
 
I can understand you getting a little excited about this horse because it sounds the ideal horse. It may be your ideal horse but there again it may not. Some people aren't as truthful as they could be when they advertise.

Go to see it & try it out fully. Take someone with you who may help you keep your feet on the ground. Let's face it at the moment from your post you would send them the money without even seeing the horse! If the horse is right for you then make them an offer, offer 80% of the asking price & see what they say. You can always 'reluctantly' offer a little more to try & seal the deal. One of my horses I offerred 80% of what they were asking & it was accepted.

Remember, the horse may not be as described. Many of us have been to see a horse & found it was nothing like the description in the advert. I've certainly had that happen.

Don't let the fact that it's coming with tack sway you too much. It would save you some money but the horse is the most important thing...OK.....Good Luck & don't let your heart rule your head.
 
Please hold your horseson the adjustable saddles. There are other dimensions to a saddle, so an adjustable width saddle will still not be suitable for all horses. However, you could see if they would accept £3k plus 2 saddles to sell on ... IF you like the horse when you have seen it!
 
Thank you all for your fab advice :-) Given me loads to think about!

Re-reading what I've written I've come across as over excited, not thinking straight & too keen I think lol. Honestly I'm not! I think its just the prospect of finding something I like at last that fits the bill :D I will withhold anymore judgement until I speak to the seller I promise! Haha

Bottom line is I didn't want another horse & wasn't intending on it until due to various goings on my current boy has had to be rested over summers now due to a nasty pollen allergy :-(

So for the first time in years I'm on the market for a new partner in crime & I'm so scared of getting it wrong I wrote a list of musts, must nots & negotiables down & I've stuck to it. That's why its taken me a good while to come across anything. So that's why I'm full of it :D
 
Perhaps you could sell your own saddles to make up some of the difference? Unless of course you already have horses you are using them on!
 
I'm using one on my current horse but the other can go really so going to try to shift that first :) Should make £200 but I've tried before & still got it. Trying to dig about & find anything I could stick on ebay as it is so this is a bit of motivation!
 
I think you should explain on the phone / by email first. See what the response is, then you wont be wasting anyones time. Nobody should expect a seller to negotiate, I do not expect to be knocked down in price UNLESS I have specifically put in my advert "ono" or the like after my price.
 
One step at a time, go and have a look, if you like him and he's everything they say he is offer what you can afford at the moment and see what they say. Be honest and say you were planning to have a bit longer to save but loved his ad and what you have is all you have right now. They might go for it, if not tell them you will need to think about how you can get the extra together.

You could pay for the vetting by credit card to help spread things out a bit. You could ask the bank for an overdraft to get you an extra few hundred. You could sell stuff.

You may find that you aren't far off if they negotiate.

You could also suggest you take him on loan for a moth and have it written into the contract that you buy at the end of the month. We did that as a trial but it would work to give you more time to pay.
 
MagicMelon said:
Nobody should expect a seller to negotiate
Click to expand...

Really? Don't ask don't get, and I've got £100s discount on various things over the years. But I don't agree with negotiating on price before you've seen the darn thing, that's weird (in my opinion).

Or do you just mean don't assume that a seller of a horse will be prepared to drop the price? Fair enough, but again, don't know until you ask.

OP, if its really meant to be, you will find a way of generating that £850 fairly quickly.
 
Kat that's exactly what's happened & I'm going to explain the situation on the phone so they know before even thinking about going down to see him.

I've not mentioned about negotiating on the actual price at all but everyone else has. I've been talking about negotiating whether I could put a large deposit down & pay the rest on collection. If he is what he is & I like him I'd pay the asking price no problem but if not as with anything it'd be a walk away or negotiate situation, I wouldn't expect it but its worth asking the question. If that makes any sense! lol
 
I don't think I'd explain in advance, it risks you looking like you aren't serious or are wasting time before you get there. You may find when you get there that you like him but he isn't everything they say and you are able to negotiate anyway, they might be quite receptive to that. The other thing is that between the time delay of arranging a viewing, and so on you are getting closer to the full amount (I know you will want to view ASAP but I've been to see horses where it isn't possible to view immediately, and then maybe you want a second viewing etc..)
 
We did. The lady who came to see Miro asked if we'd keep him another 3 weeks so the stable she wanted for him would be free. We took a non-refundable deposit of £500. If they backed out we could readvertise without being out of pocket but most people can't afford to lose that so knew we were pretty safe! Also - i think if owners are looking for the best home and think you're suited it wouldn't be a problem. Ours are at home though so we didn't have livery costs to factor in. But you could always offer costs for that. Hope he's what you're after!
 
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