what do you make of this email from the estate agents?

[canella]

we accepted an offer yesterday for the full asking price (£175,000). The buyer had viewed it for the first time yesterday lunchtime then put the offer in.

Then this afternoon this email appeared from the estate agent

"Mr A has come back and his surveyour who was with him at the property has put a price of £172500 on the property. Mr A is sorry but would like to reduce his offer to £172500. I was not very happy when this happened but I have to put the reduced offer to you. I am sorry. Please would you let me know your thoughts."

Does it not sound a bit fishy? surely he wouldnt have got a valuation back so quickly? is he trying to take us for fools and whats the risk of him doing it again? is it gazumping or something?

[lechatnoir]

Who know what he's playing at but in your shoes I'd go back and say no I'm not happy, it all sounds a bit fishy but I'll go with his revised offer on the basis that the property stays on the market unless he pays full asking & make sure the buyer knows that any further attempts at price reductions will end the sale without discussion.
LCN
PS This is actually called gazundering - opposite of gazumping!

[Fizzylemonade]

It isn't gazumping that happens when you are about to exchange and they reduce their offer at the last second hoping you will take it to proceed with the sale.

It may well be a friend who is a surveyor but unless he viewed it a second time with the surveryor then it is strange that he put in an offer for the asking price and then reduced it when the EA has said he was "with him at the property"

It is entirely up to you whether you take his reduced offer or not, however, this is a buyers market so it all depends how long you have your house on the market etc

[Fizzylemonade]

Sorry I meant gazundering is reducing your offer at the last second with no reason than to get the house at a lower price.

Gazumping is when you have your offer accepted and then someone else comes along and offers more and gazumps you. This also happens when the asking price has been achieved and someone offers more than the asking price to secure the property.

[artichokes]

V odd not to explain what the surveyor saw that warrents the reduction. There is no way I would reduce unless I knew what the problem was.

[ABetaDad]

Its £2.5k reduction on a house at £175k which is 98.5% of your asking price. Do not bite off your nose to spite your face unless you have another hot offer at full asking.

[ABetaDad]

Sorry £172.5k is 98.5% of your £175k asking price.

[canella]

i think we should just accept it but the house has only been on the market 2 months and we've had loads of viewings and definite interest from people who've not sold their own but dh just thinks the buyer is a bit fishy and might try it again! i just think we should take the money - we're already overseas - therefore we've no chain and he's a cash buyer.

think i like what lechatnoir said - just want to make it firm with buyer that even if we do accept it then we're not some dumbasses waiting to be gazundered (not sure if that word can be used in that sentence!!!)

[Kbear]

I would refuse the offer, let him go back to the potential buyer and hold my breath. I bet he comes back with an asking price offer again. Gwan, take a gamble!

(easy gambling with someone else's money LOL!).

[mumonthenet]

As you've already realised, his offer of 172.500k is more valuable than a future offer of 175k from someone who has a property to sell and a mortgage to arrange.

Therefore you could, with caution, take him at face value.

I would go back to the agent and say I'll think about it. I would then go back to him the following day and accept it (and warn the agent that if there's any further malarky from this buyer, the property goes back on the market).

Good luck!

[maqrollelgaviero]

Is it worth telling the agent you'll consider what the buyer us now offering but you'd like details on why the surveyor thought it was only worth that on a quick visual inspection.

[KathyBrown]

Is he even proceedable ? What their position ?
I think he's had 2nd thoughts and realised there's no need to pay the asking price rather than had a valuation, it'll be interesting to see what the valuation does come back at, it may be reduced further yet.

[mumonthenet]

I doubt if the "surveyor friend" even exists.

My interpretation is this....he saw the house, loved it, wanted it, and jumped in with the full asking price. Someone else told him "look mate, no-one ever offers the full asking...what did you do that for...you should always offer under"

So he did.

You could even hold out for asking price and he'd probably go back up.

(Or ask the agent to share the reduction with you....i.e. the agent takes £1,250 off his commission!!!!!!!)

[canella]

thanks everyone - think i might have this thread open when i speak to the agent later!!

its just hard because we're overseas so i have no idea what this man is like - if i'd shown him round myself then i'd have had some idea of whether he was dodgy or not!

think i'm going to ask them to fax or email me a copy of the surveyors report (if it exists) then talk to dh about it later!

will post later once spoken to EA!!

[wombleprincess]

well the only option you have is not to accept the offer ..

[canella]

dont quite think so wombleprincess - that wasnt the point of the thread!! i was asking what people thought of the email - just was asking for advice about what our next plan of action should be!

in this current housing climate i think we'd be fools to reject an offer outright that is as abetadad said 98.5% of our asking price!

the EA still hasnt phoned so once i've picked ds's up then i'll be right on the phone!

[oopsagain]

if they start messing you around at the very beginning of the process it doesn't bode well for the next bits IMO.

[wombleprincess]

dont quite think so canella. my point is that your options are limited regardless of what you or anyone else thinks of the email. if you dont like it, dont accept the offer. otherwise accept the offer. its fairly straightforward.

[canella]

life isnt always that cut and dried womble!! those are our ultimate options but i started this thread for advice before we made the decision on those options

i'm still debating the situation - oopsagain - think thats my worry!! the fact that there's no chain on either side would hopefully make it more simple but if he's arsing around now then what next!

so typical the estate agent is out for the day but his assistant sent me this email -

"I have spoken to Mr A this morning and asked him to send me proof of funds for purchasing your property, when EA did the viewing he had his friend with him who they said was a surveyor and he has advised him on what to offer, a survey would have to be instucted for mortgage purposes, we can recommend that you keep the property on the market untill exchange of contracts if you accept his lower offer, as soon as I hear anything I will let you know, I have also left a message for his solictor to get back to me."

i'm pleased with that response - hopefully we'll make a decision based on more facts!

[ZamMummy]

We went thru this in July 2008. Buyer offered asking price then changed mind and came back with lower offer. We too were assured he was a cash buyer and we are also overseas. We accepted the offer and went ahead. Solicitors were instructed, and he seemed to go thru the motions but VERY slowly. We chased via the estate agents and the solicitor and then heard he was having to look at a different mortgage product (market had got even worse by this point) - so much for cash buyer. Estate agent reckoned he was angling for us to reduce the price and told him that if he didn't get a move on the property would go back on the market, which it did. Estate agent never heard from him again.....
So my advice would be to accept offer but keep the property on the market in the meantime, in case of any further d*ing around. That said if he really is a cash buyer, hurrah! We're going thru the mortgage process at the mo, and it's like my DS's getting teeth it's so slow and painful.

[wombleprincess]

how is not that cut and dry, you either accept it or dont accept it.
between accepting and exchange is a different matter, and your ability, unless you are mystic meg to predict on the basis of an email are nil.

[lalalonglegs]

FFS, that is a brilliant offer. Yes, £175k would have been (very slightly) better but if he is keen and able to move quickly, don't faff around for what is a fairly meaningless sum in the grand scheme of things. If he goes slow - although taking surveyor round suggests otherwise - then keep showing it but don't get in some huge stand-off.

[canella]

i agree lala but dh was stalling! he had ideas in his head of a higher sale price before we put our house on the market (totally head in the sky about the whole thing!!!) so he feels he's being cheated by anything less than the asking price!!!

but we've agreed to do what lechat noir suggested yesterday and accept it but explain that if there are anymore attempts to reduce his offer then the sale will be stopped.

womble - no idea why you post on a thread when you've nothing helpful to say - wasnt asking for psychic predictions - just some advice (isnt that what MN is all about!!!