To question AIBU to refuse to renegotiate house sale offer because buyers have been waiting a long time

And this is the problem with UK house buying. The process can work quickly, but when people ‘sell’ their house but have no intention of moving until they’ve found somewhere else then it drags on for ever and is stressful. It’s not the buyers fault that the OP has taken a so long to find somewhere to live, and in a falling market it’s no wonder the buyer doesn’t want to overpay. Renting for a short period is fine..an open ended commitment is not a reasonable ask IMO

Yes agree! Unless the buyers are paying well over the odds or the house was really hard to sell, nothing would make me leave a perfectly decent house to move into rented accommodation (can't imagine the faff and cost of that especially with kids) just to be nice to the buyers.

It was bizarre of them frankly to decide to move into rented themselves and I can't see the logic in doing that, it must be frustrating but just the way it is unfortunately. I'd certainly not give them a discount for doing so.

I think OP is being vilified unfairly. They havent found anything they like. Not their fault. Lots of higher priced places won’t even let you visit until your house has an offer. If your buyers want your house, they’ll have to wait or go. If they go, you’ll relist and see what happens. Hope you find someplace.

I've dealt with vendors like you in the past, they were a nightmare. It's not your buyer's fault that you cannot afford the exact sort of house you want. Either go into a rental, or take your house off the market until you are proceedable. I would be very surprised if house prices rise in the near future, in this economic climate.

I think that morally you should accept the reduction and be the ones to move into a rented accommodation. Sellers like you are infuriating.

That is awful!

My advice would be to take your house off the market until you have found something..if you had no problem selling before you won't again. Otherwise you are just dicking buyers around and expecting them to wait around indefinitely

Many years ago when I was pregnant I was buying a house, I was clear I wanted to be moved in before baby was born..yes, yes no problem the sellers said...months went by and nothing until very randomly a photocopier technician came to our office and saw the house details on my pin board...someone they knew had offered on same house 18 months earlier and nothing came of it because the sellers wanted a house in a specific village and were hanging out for the off chance something came up for sale...I ended up buying a different house and not even saying anything t until the estate agent checked in with me 6 months later I still think they were dicks 18 years later 🤣

You should sell to your buyers and then rent until you find your home with all it's tick boxes or take your home off the market until you are ready.

If your must have list is so long, why didn't you find a property to move into first.

Yes, the can walk. But so can someone in a a bad relationship. Doesn't make it right to treat them that way.

Ugh, this was us when we were trying to buy our house. It took a YEAR.
Yabu. Dont put your house on the market if youre not in a position to move out

Sell to them and you rent. It's your problem you can't find somewhere for your long list.

@madbatarse

I did it the other way round. My buyers LOVED my house and I just couldn't find anywhere, so they paid a HIGHER price and I agreed to move into a rental.

It's up to you if you accept their lower offer and for them to wait. How many other buyers were interested when you listed it for sale? If prices are going up then it might be worth just putting it back on the market if they're wanting to pay less for it.

I was in the situation your buyers are in when I bought my first place. My landlord was selling under me, and I ended up homeless living out of a hotel for months. It wasn't until I threatened to reduce my offer by the amount I'd had to spent on alternative accommodation that things started moving.

I'm not clear how long you have stalled for, but you need to be honest with them and get things moving if you are messing them around. I think a month is plenty of time to search if you're a motivated seller.

OP what if you find your dream house and finally start the selling process (which is lengthy enough already for most tastes) then complete on your house sale. But the vendors of your perfect house are saying, "Oh but hang on, we accepted your offer but we haven't found something we really want to buy yet, and we are super fussy, so I'm sure you'll be happy to wait for us for find it..."

I doubt you'll think it's so acceptable when it's you waiting and waiting and facing longer and longer in rented/someone else's dining room. Conveyancing is horrible whether you're the vendor or the buyer, and some people just make it worse. Don't be that person!

You can do what you like. But why did you agree to sell your house if you don't actually want to move? They'll probably walk away if you don't give them a discount or seriously hurry up. If I were them I'd be looking at other houses...

They're giving you a chance to keep them. Not unreasonable to suggest it rather than just walking away. You are free to say no.

If I were your buyers I'd have walked by now, You are lucky they've not pulled out, and it's your own fussiness and procrastination that's meant they're stuck in rental, so yeah, you should pay their rent.

Or sell to them, move outl, and pay your own rent.

It sounds like they have been very patient, but with no end in sight I, like them, would be re-thinking this arrangement because their costs are racking up. If there's not advantage for them (like a relatively small price reduction) I wouldn't be surprised if they drop out. You can't just rent casually - you have to commit to a contract, so you're making it very hard for them.

Having been a buyer waiting, you are being massively unreasonable!

You're the fussy one so why cant you sell and rent whilst you take so much time to find the house you want?

WTF do people start threads they haven't got the time or inclination to engage in.

im suspecting this is a reverse due to the details.

I wonder how much the initisl
loeer offer, was lower by & what the time frame was?

I think if its getting to the point where the rent has cost them equal to the lower offer amount, the seller should either find a bloody house that meets enough of their ticklish (and accept the perfect house doesn't exist. OR be grateful the buyers are still prepared to wait & pay their rent (or part of, if they've chosen somewhere extravagant) or of course, just say no & go back on the markrt

OP, it is very simple - you need to give them what they are buying. You cannot expect people to rent indefinitely so you can tick off your long check list. That's your problem, not theirs.

Op it’s impossible

you need to be under offer to get your offers taken seriously

but what if you can’t find what you want? Why move into rented if you can stay where you are?

@madbatarse

How many months are we talking as in your op you mention quite a few and several,, so it is no wonder they are asking for a drop in price as even if you do find the house that has everything you want it will still be more waiting around for the sale process to complete.

What would you do in their position?

What will you do if the seller of the house you eventually buy wants you to patiently wait while they half-heartedly look for a house, I am sure you will be asking for a price reduction.

Did you put a time limit on this, which was agreed by both parties, as your buyers have sold and are spending a lot of money on rented accommodation

If I were the buyer, I would not be happy to spend endless amounts on rent whilst the seller who agreed to accept my offer was not making any kind of movement, and I would probably by now have moved on and found a seller who was actually engaged in the process.

This. Then if your mythical house ever materialises, or you realise you have to compromise, you will be in a very strong position to offer.

I actually don’t think you’re being unreasonable… at least where we live, sellers won’t consider an offer unless your property is already under under. We found our dream house last year but couldn’t make an offer because ours wasn’t on the market! We’re now putting ours up for sale but won’t be rushing to move until we find the right thing, and it takes as long as it takes. If you found a buyer relatively easily first time then I would take your chances 🤷‍♀️