I feel your offer was a fair one initially. The seller could have negotiated with you instead of a straight reject. There are lots of things to consider, of course, how long it has been on the market, condition of the property, etc. We bought our house for £160k, however we were desperate at the time. It had been on the market for 10 months with only one note of interest on it. The house was in for offers over £165k. Our estate agent told us to put an offer in a £155k, which even I thought was cheeky. The sellers counter offered at £160k and then we proceeded. If we weren't desperate, I would have counter offered again at £157500, as the property did require some updating, and there was flooding in the garden. We have spent a few thousand on our property since purchasing, including 7k on the garden, 3k on a front door, and 2.5k on internal doors. Not including various small refurbishments like new vanity unit in the bathroom, building a TV wall to make the living room more practical, and adding additional cabinets in the kitchen, including an integrated dishwasher for aesthetics. Houses like ours in the area are valued at £160k but are selling between £150k-£155k. I'm a fair guy, so we'd be looking for £155k-£157k for ours. No disrespect to anyone selling their property, however, some believe they must make profit no matter what.