House sold months ago, buyers now want a

They are chancing their arm. Sadly part of the crap of buying houses in UK (except Scotland)

6 times!!! Why indulge that nonsense?

What an earth kind of contract do you have with your agent?! If you relist the house and sell they will get their fees anyway so what is this business about having to pay if your buyers pull out? I think you have misunderstood something along the way.

When this happened to me in the past we gave the wife the weekend to persuade her DH change his mind and pay the agreed price (it was the husband who was after a deal). He didn’t. I put it straight back on the market for 10% more and accepted a new offer within the week. The market is different now, but if you think you agreed a fair price, I would give them a day or two and then remarket.

They are trying to blackmail you into dropping your price just before exchange, and assuming you are desperate to sell and keep the chain intact at any cost.

It is a disingenuous and unprincipled practise.

If circumstances allowed, I would say no. The house would go straight back on the market. I would not let them buy my property. They would be dead to me!

But aren't contracts exchanged after surveys etc.?

In my area there are a lot more houses that are empty for sale now. The market has changed on just months.

Someone at the bottom at a chain and knowing how fragile they are could be rejudging how much they want to pay for a particular house.

I do sympathise as we had someone pull the opposite years ago. We were the buyers and months into a chain and just before exchange the seller demanded an extra 10% to proceed. We refused and eventually they sold it for around 5% more but it took a long time. The chain collapsed.

I would have a look at your local market and see if there is a similar chain free house that has come on the market or anything obvious

I had the same just over a year ago, our buyers had done all searches etc and out of the blue they wanted to reduce by £25k. They said it was due to delay. We said no and they pulled out, causing us to lose the house we were buying. A few weeks later they asked to come view our house again, we said no and they got really angry!

I just think there are a lot of cheeky people when it comes to house buying!

I know it's not the point of the thread but the fact they're younger than you and in their 30s so you think offering less on your house might be a social media trend has cracked me up 😂 Also they may be younger than you but I wonder if they know how to spell 'a lot'

So they do have clauses which allow for the survey returning genuine issues. It’s to stop the situation OP has. It’s usually an amount broadly similar to legal fees, and aims to stop all this last minute price drop BS.

This happens a lot. Check with your agent that they have ticked all the “due diligence” boxes in regards to the buyers affordability. There’s an unlikely chance that they are not able to borrow as much as they assumed they could. More likely than not that they are just being CFs. Options you have are to simply put your house back on the market, and call their bluff. They might back down, seeing the money they’ve already spent washed down the drain. The onward chain might be prepared to wait for you to find a new buyer. Or try to pass the loss on up the chain. Everyone takes a hit of £1-2k. Both are quite “normal” outcomes. Idiotic FTB are the bane of an estate agents life, along with the catchphrase “it’s a buyers market”.

I think you’d be an utter fool to do that, before the survey is done, my daughter is buying, there is potentially a structural issue revealed on survey, personally if I was asked to do this I’d pull out immediately and assume there was a major problem with the property. Of course you can do it, but agreeing to it, you’d be an idiot of the highest order and most solicitors would strongly advise against any buyer doing this prior to survey and enquiries.

The Scottish system has changed over the past couple of decades for reasons I can’t understand. It used to be that as soon as searches complete and valuation agreed with lender that missives were signed - usually about two weeks or less after offer was made and accepted. Once missives are signed that’s it. It is possible to pull out after missives are signed but it’s so financially onerous that no one in their right mind would do so.

Now, as others have said, missives aren’t concluded until you’re almost at entry date. I don’t understand why this has changed as it makes a good system much worse.

Over 40 years ago we pulled out the day before exchange. We had viewed a house with lovely curtains, carpets and fixtures such as light fittings, posh door handles etc. We offered asking price but every time we spoke to them they announced they were taking curtains then carpets then the fixtures . In the end I asked our solicitor to write and ask the just what where they leaving. I can still remember sitting on the stairs reading the letter from our solicitor with a long list of everything they were taking. We were being left with an empty shell and no reduction of price. We didn't actually ask them for a reduction. It broke my heart so I phoned the solicitor and said we wanted to pull out. He informed me he considered it the correct decision. The sellers spent days trying to get us to change our minds but by then the damage was done.

I think when those contracts are agreed the buyer pays the EA a non-refundable deposit which binds them in with cash. It’s a fairly new thing I believe.

Personally, I’d call their bluff. Let them know that you need confirmation they’ll be proceeding in line with the previously agreed price or you’re relisting the property on Wednesday.

To put it into context this was around 5% reduction (plus they’d already accepted an reduction when the offer was originally made)

I think some people just don’t have any shame whatsoever when it comes to this kind of thing!

This does not surprise me

Our neighbour sold her property and the buyers turned round shortly before exchange demanding £15k off based on…nothing really

She went ahead with the sale & the reduction they demanded as she was desperate to sell (was an inherited property)

The new owners now have their top of the range car parked on the driveway, don’t think they were strapped for cash really!

How embarrassing for people to behave like this. They have no decency obviously.

They sounds like arseholes. I’d just give them one final confirmation that the price is the price and tell them it will be re-listed in 7 days time due to their uncertainty. If it all goes ahead, make sure to unscrew the bath panel, put a few open tins of tuna under, and seal it shut 🤣

This has happened twice to a work colleague. First buyer wanted 20k off the day before exchange (300k flat), then next buyer realised they could not afford the flat without a big discount on the day of exchange. His flat is back on the market. He has lost 2 houses and a lot of sleep/money for surveys/conveyancing. In hindsight he wishes he had just got rid... as much as it would have annoyed him. His life continues to be in limbo.

It’s really not great to get emotional in a business transaction. The op has declined, they are willing to relist. The buyer now has a decision to make. It’s not personal.

I would cut off my nose to spite my face in this instance and would rather stay put than give them £10 off.