Is this normal when making an offer on House?

I'm sure ours was around £15-£20 but here's more info:

hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/homebuyer-protection-insurance/

I know you're really vested in this house but try to keep yourself grounded (I know it's hard when you've fallen in love with a house and imagined the rest of your life there!).

The sellers are greedy fools to walk away from a keen cash buyer like you. If they get a higher offer, you can bet it gets reduced after survey, or even in the day of exchanging contracts. A chin can cause long delays and can even collapse. Once a house has been on the market for a few months it tends to receive less interest. Honestly, there will be other lovely houses. I’d wait. When we bought we made it clear it was a fixed price offer, take it or leave it. Any attempt to bargain or use us as leverage and we would walk away, but if they accepted we wouldn’t try to negotiate them down later. Our offer was accepted and sale complete within six weeks.

Good for you.

Good on you op, don't let them mess you around

Yes. They could pull out at any point for any reason before the point of exchange. Get the insurance so that your survey and conveyancing costs are covered if the sale does not progress- it's the best money you'll ever spend. Ours cost us £15 or something like that but when our chain collapsed, we were able to recoup £1800k+ in costs. This was after a previous failed sale when the vendors changed their mind about selling their house and we'd spent money that we couldn't get back. I wouldn't trust these sellers of yours personally.

Is that because after paying for a survey and everything they could still pull out?
Yes. Everything is "subject to contract". Nothing is certain until both parties have signed on the dotted line.

As hard as it is, you need to seriously step back now or they're going to play you like a fiddle. Even if they accept your offer, there is no stopping them from accepting a higher offer from someone later. If you do go ahead, make sure you get homebuyers insurance.

There are some good lessons here...

It is important to (as mentioned above) split emotion and reason - yes a house is very often an emotional purchase, but letting that be known puts you at a huge disadvantage.

This is most people's biggest ever spend of money - bigger amounts than most businesses spend in a transaction, it is a business transaction - not friends buying from each other, so there is absolutely no expectation that anyone else will ever be on your side - there are 4 sides:

• seller
• you the potential buyer
• any other potential buyers
• the agent

All will have their own agenda. The minute you indicate weakness (such a chasing every day etc.) then you lose power in negotiation - it is a psychological battle and you have to play the game. Play the game professionally

• the minute you show that you are desperate for the property - they have the upper hand
• the minute you show that it doesn't matter - you gain the upper hand.

So, giving them deadlines, making your offer conditional:

• property off the market or your offer is withdrawn
• acceptance of offer by xxxx or the offer is withdrawn
• exchange of contracts by xxxx or the offer is withdrawn
• completion by xxxx or the offer is withdrawn

In a house purchase, the person who sets the pace and expectations drives the bargain they want. It always amazes me how passive people are with such a big purchase (I do understand, people don't automatically have the experience) - it is worth looking at how to be more proactive - in the last house I bought I asked the lawyer for plans for Exchange dates etc. - turned out that they were waiting to see what everyone else was doing - rather like 4 cars waiting at a roundabout for one to go first - so I said fine - we will exchange on this date please inform the others - and we did!

PS: If / when they phone you, don't be rushed into anything, especially not impulsive decisions, offers, etc. Always give yourself time to think over any new information by saying you've noted what they say and you'll get back to them.

I think you’ve done the right thing, I’d speak to them though, say you’ve till close of play it comes off the market, or it’s done for good. But I’d be inclined to worry about buying from them,

Ah, they were keeping you on hold, while trying to get something going, either a higher price or a bidding competition. Well, that bold move alters the landscape and fair turns the tables. To further mix the metaphors, they may suddenly change the tune and become very interested in courting you. At which point, play your advantage and if you still have the desire to buy this house, play hard to get or offer below the asking price, with conditions that you want.

By how much precisely depends on the price bracket, price of comparable properties, the demand and momentum of the market, the seller's hard or soft stance, any other offers made etc. Is there another real offer?
Absent that information, thinking in terms of percentages to arrive at a figure, generally speaking, up to 10% below would not be an insult to the seller and it helps if you can point to reasons for the offer figure. You can then sit still or enter negotiations for what you want (quick move, taken off market, exchange solicitor details), what they want (more money) and increase your offer little by little, in two or three steps if negotiations proceed.

I'm sorry that it's gone wrong at the moment.
If/when the EA do speak to you, be a grown up and be polite because the vendors may come back to you later with their tail between their legs. You are allowed to do the "I am disappointed in them" speech, though.

I once offered a little under asking for a flat, only to be told by the EA, yes, OK, but only if I could exchange contracts within 24 hours.

Well, of course I couldn’t - I’d never heard of such a thing. He told me it was not unusual.

I was bemused, but thought no more about it until a few months later when I checked the sold price on Nethouseprices.

It had sold for well below my offer! IIRC £180k against £220k.
The penny then dropped. It had been a rental, and, as had been stated (by law) in the EA’s blurb, it had been owned by one of the EA staff.

So they were just going through the motions of having it on the open market, while it had been promised at a large discount to a friend or relative - and so the owner, who’d probably bought it when prices were considerably lower, was avoiding much of the capital gains tax, and I dare say would be receiving a nice fat brown envelope, too.

Biggest joke was, at the viewing, the very personable EA had told me his father was a vicar!
Talk about an education in the dodgy ways of some EAs.

Anyone who sells anything should be VERY focused on the ££££££s this is especially true when buying a house. When you drop £10k off your offer you are essentially saying, have a car or a luxury holiday on me to sweeten the deal

I'm going to call tomorrow and make it clear that they have until the end of the day to make up their mind... And I do want a quick sale. I need to be in a property ASAP.
People do get fixated on £££ during the offer process. Sometimes it's useful to throw something else into the mix; if they won't budge on £££ then they might budge on something else.
I suggest that you speak to the EA and tell him that you are not happy with the slow pace. It is not a case of "they have until the end of the day to accept £££". It is "I have agreed to their £££, now it's their turn to agree to my demands, namely (1) house off the market and (2) a timetable for exchange/completion. And I want a reply by dd/mm or I'll walk away". Of course you can't enforce the exchange timetable but it's helpful if all parties at least agree to try to achieve it.

Do this!

In your position, I would tell them that you want a reply by COB tomorrow, or your offer is off the table and you'll look elsewhere. Yours is the only offer - do they actually want to sell their house? I 99% guarantee that if you do this, they'll come back to you - at which point, you offer your original lower offer and not the AP. If it's meant to be, it will happen, but you might as well try and get it at the lower price if you can.

I have experience of selling probate property and it isn't as easy as you might think - six months after probate is granted, they have to pay 100% council tax and this then rises every six months that the property remains unsold. It's in their interests to sell.