We've been gazundered

[gazundered]

Everything going well, surveys done and all good, buyers bank happy with price. Buyer comes back last week offering 20K less, for no reason other than that they can.

Sigh. We can't proceed with a drop of that magnitude. They are already getting a great house for the money ( isn't everyone who is buying at the moment?) and we are stumped.

Just needed to get it out [cry]

[AurraSing]

Bastards. Hopefully, when they realise that you won't reduce the price, they will come to their senses.

When we bought our house, the venders asked for more money at the very last minute (was a very different market). We told them to stick it, they dulled for a bit then carried on as if nothing happened.

Hope it all works out ok for you.

[AurraSing]

Sulked not dulled

[Whorulestheroost]

Oh no I feel so sorry for you! Some people are such selfish idiots! Are they just calling your bluff or has it definitely fallen through? Could/would the people you are buying from renegotiate their price?

[naturalbaby]

what selfish tosspots.
what happens if you tell them to get stuffed? has your estate agent got any advice? was anybody else interested?

[gazundered]

We have had other interest which the EA is pursuing but it's just the immorality of doing this at the eleventh hour.
They paid for a full survey which we now think they did to try to hang a reduction on but couldn't.
Their first offer was 20K less which we rejected so it seems as if this was their plan from the off, get the chain going and do this when it's too late. But it's not too late and I'll be phoning the EA soon to see what other buyers are around.

[catherinetheElf]

I think you mean gazumped. A guzunder is a chamber pot. Sorry, I know that's not actually helpful just thought you should know

[Grumpla]

Bet they'd like to throw a chamber pot at them right now...

Gits. Hold your ground. If you can't afford to accept 20k less, you can't. I suspect they will probably blink first.

[catherinetheElf]

Wait no. Scrap that now I've read your post properly. You are probably right. A guzunder is still a chamber pot though. Eurgh too similar

[gazundered]

The worst bit is that they have had a mortgage approved for the full price so can obviously afford it. The survey said the house offered good value for money.

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

I know it's horrible to even consider, but can you absolutely not afford to take the hit? It's not a good market at the moment and it might be better to just take the money and move on with your lives. Can you try for a discount on the house you are buying?

[gazundered]

This is what I think we will just have to do. I may just pass it all to the solicitors to thrash out. Sigh.

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

Just want to add, I absolutely don't think what they are doing is ok, it's really shitty.

[schobe]

Nooooooo, don't take the hit. The more this practice succeeds, the more commmonplace it will become. It IS immoral imo. They're not even pretending there's something wrong with the house.

[Grumpla]

If you have to take a reduction, then you have to. But make sure you take the light bulbs, loo seat, doorhandles, carpets, curtains kitchen cabinets, doors, light fittings, lawn, shed, fence etc with you when you go

[levantine]

Oh so sorry. Bastards

[naturalbaby]

i would be inclined to leave 20k worth of work and replacements. dh took the downstairs cloakroom suite out last time we moved and sold it on ebay!

[Seagal]

I would contact your EA and tell them to put your house immediately back on the market. and to book viewings for this weekend. Then wait 48 hours before informing your sellers, because if they are bluffing, there is little point in upsetting the whole chain.

Hopefully they will realise that you are not going to blackmailed in to dropping your selling price and will proceed at the price you agreed.

I hope everything works out for you.

I am due to exchange next week and wouldn't consider pulling a stunt like this on my sellers.

[NoseyNooNoo]

I think you should not bother responding until well into next week. They must want the house if they have spent money so far. Pursue other leads the EA has. Have other viewings. Let the EA think that you are happy to decline the lower offer. They will do everything to ensure this sale proceeds because they want the commission.

[NoseyNooNoo]

Oh and ask the EA to take the Sold thing off on Rightmove today. The buyers won't like that.

[VivaLeBeaver]

And if you do end up selling it to them cut a big hole out of each of the carpets you leave behind on moving day.

[paulapantsdown]

This is a disgraceful thing for anyone to do. When is a deal not a deal? This happened to a friend of mine, and they had to take the hit as they were desperate to move. Their old house was back on the market at a higher price 3 months later - it had been bought by investors (crooks) pretending that they were a family moving in.

DO NOT give in to this blackmail.

[afussyphase]

Ok I basically agree but don't you all think maybe the problem is the system here, ie that absolutely nothing is binding to anyone until the last minute? In other places an offer is a lot more binding and the onus is on the seller to disclose major issues - basically to provide a survey. In the situation that a market's falling and a prospective buyer sees other things available for less, then I can see that it's just going to be so tempting to do this when no commitments have actually been made. I also think it's immoral. But a lot of people are going to be willing to do an immoral, but not illegal, thing to protect tens of thousands of £ for their families in such an expensive market, and in such an expensive country where lots of wages are really pretty low in real terms. If we all feel (as we seem to) that this kind of thing shouldn't happen, then we should work to change the system.

[dramatrauma]

Agree with Fussy. I'm really sorry this is happening to the OP, and it's not at all fair, and I hope she can afford to tell them to stuff it and relist the house. But house sales can fall through at any moment, after so much has been invested by both sides. It's an insane system, it takes far too long, and both sides can pull crap like this far too late in the process.

But OP, I hope it works out for you. And do get that 'sold' logo removed!!

[HerdOfTinyElephants]

Don't take the hit; tell the estate agents you are not taking a single pound under the agreed price from these buyers and instruct them to put the house back on the market immediately and then tell the buyers that that's what they've done.

[hester]

I agree that the system is rubbish, but people should still take personal responsibility for the morality of their actions. Gazundering is despicable