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House sold months ago, buyers now want a

439 replies

Roseyliv78 · 15/02/2026 11:50

Hi all, wondering if anyone can give me some perspective…

We sold our house a few months ago and the buyers were fine up until last week. Out of the blue, they suddenly asked for £11k off a £300k purchase. They also apparently told our estate agent that, because we’re moving to a much bigger house, we can afford to give them a discount. We have no idea how they even got our new address, the estate agent says they definitely didn’t give it out.

The mortgage valuation guy said there were no down valuations at the end of the visit, and all the surveys came back fine, so nothing has come up to justify this. Our buyers said it was due to local area but the surveyor and bank surveyor both said it’s been extremely strong.

We obviously said no. We also offered to talk to the rest of the chain to see if the £11k could somehow be sorted that way, but they didn’t respond. Then they said they were disappointed we didn’t renegotiate, even though we had already negotiated properly at the time.

Honestly, we’re just a bit confused by the whole thing. Has anyone else had buyers suddenly try this months after the sale?

is this a classic attempt to try and give us a headache?

its strange as know they’ve paid all the legal fees, surveyor fees. Surely very risky as we could tell them to do one, and they could lose all the fees if we didn’t want to sell to them now.

allot younger then us as we both in our early 40s and our buyers early 30s don’t know if it’s a social media trend etc.

OP posts:
KeepPumping · 16/02/2026 19:08

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Good point, not sure if it is worth losing a buyer on a 300k house though over 11k, what happens if future offers are even lower?

KeepPumping · 16/02/2026 19:04

poetryandwine · 16/02/2026 18:55

The mutual decision as to a fair price should be the agreed sales price, adjusted as necessary in light of the surveys.

OP’s buyers didn’t even pretend to have an excuse. If they belatedly feel they offered too much, that’s their own fault.

Yes, but the poster I responded to has decided on what the market price should be and has also decided that they are accounting for any upgrades needed already in their "discount", that isn"t how markets with buyers, sellers and lenders work.

Skinpert · 16/02/2026 19:04

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NoWordForFluffy · 16/02/2026 19:01

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Every single agent does that? Interesting.

Skinpert · 16/02/2026 19:00

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NoWordForFluffy · 16/02/2026 18:55

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Loads of agents do this. I'm surprised you're surprised.

We have one local agent who uses 'Under Offer' until exchange, but every other agent sticks a 'Sold' on the board. I'm not sure if they also have STC on there. If they do, it's tiny.

poetryandwine · 16/02/2026 18:55

KeepPumping · 16/02/2026 18:29

What you consider a fair price and what the market (buyers/lenders) consider a fair price could be very different though.

The mutual decision as to a fair price should be the agreed sales price, adjusted as necessary in light of the surveys.

OP’s buyers didn’t even pretend to have an excuse. If they belatedly feel they offered too much, that’s their own fault.

85reasons · 16/02/2026 18:53

I have no idea why you said you'd talk to the rest of the chain - you seem to think this is a threat but it simply comes across as you suggesting you will try to solve this problem for them one way or another.

My buyers tried something similar and wanted ÂŁ30k off. I said absolutely not and refused to bring the problem to my vendor as it felt wrong in every way. They said they weren't going to proceed, I relisted the house on the market, they came crawling back. It did help that the wife was 8 months pregnant and I think it was her horrendous husband thinking he was being a master negotiator. Absolute twats the pair of them.

Skinpert · 16/02/2026 18:52

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ladycarlotta · 16/02/2026 18:51

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This is totally normal. You see "Sold STC" signs every day. We had one way before we exchanged.

Lovemycat2023 · 16/02/2026 18:49

We had to ask for a price reduction as FTB but only because our mortgage valuation came in under, and even then we only asked for half of the amount. Tbf to the sellers and EA (and rest of chain I assume) it all went ok. It was a surprise to us, but looking back on it we really had no idea about values so not surprised we pad over the odds at the peak of the market! We were in negative equity when we remortgaged.

But as they aren’t in this situation they are just trying it on!

Roselily123 · 16/02/2026 18:39

Good update @Roseyliv78
Best of luck!

KeepPumping · 16/02/2026 18:37

NotnowMildrid · 15/02/2026 21:48

Glad you’re holding firm.

I’m sure they’ll go through with it because of the expenditure they’ve already incurred.

Not the same situation at all, but years ago, we were buying a house, all agreed at the very early stages, and then out of the blue the vendors wanted ÂŁ15k more. We pulled out, no discussions. It took them ages to sell it after that for what we had agreed in the first place.

If they tried that in the current market it would probably sell for less.

Skinpert · 16/02/2026 18:36

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Skinpert · 16/02/2026 18:35

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SirQuaverofSkips · 16/02/2026 18:33

Tekknonan · 16/02/2026 18:26

It's a not uncommon 'get a reduction' strategy and it's a vile thing to do. They ask for the reduction at the last minute in the hopes that the sellers can't afford the time and trouble of putting the house back on the market.

About 20 years ago, someone did this to me - tried to drop the price by ÂŁ10,000 at the last minute. I was luckily in the position of not needing to sell to move on - we had accommodation provided with the new job, so though we planned to buy, we could take a bit of time. I told them no, and that I was putting the house back on the market. It did cost me a bit, but I was so angry, I really wanted to kick them. So I did. They put their offer back up again, but I sold to someone else - and got a bit more, so I broke even. Say no. They're bluffing.

Your post made me very happy @Tekknonan ! Good for you! Taught them a lesson.

On this general topic, it is rarely a good idea to give information about yourself to an estate agent beyond what they really need to know because you can't trust them and you have no idea what their relationship is with either party. The less the know the better.

Roseyliv78 · 16/02/2026 18:33

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Correct yes

OP posts:
KeepPumping · 16/02/2026 18:29

IncessantNameChanger · 15/02/2026 11:58

I'm selling my house right now and have already told dh I'm.pulling out if we get this last minute. Our house is priced to sell 30k under its potential market max if it had everything done. So no 10k off for a new kitchen etc. It's had that taken into consideration already.

Can you say no? And mean it? Did come straight after the survey? On the back of the survey? It seems not?

What you consider a fair price and what the market (buyers/lenders) consider a fair price could be very different though.

surprisebaby12 · 16/02/2026 18:27

buyers trying to get a late discount is pretty common. Some even threaten to pull out the day before exchange. A flat no is the right thing to do!

Tekknonan · 16/02/2026 18:26

It's a not uncommon 'get a reduction' strategy and it's a vile thing to do. They ask for the reduction at the last minute in the hopes that the sellers can't afford the time and trouble of putting the house back on the market.

About 20 years ago, someone did this to me - tried to drop the price by ÂŁ10,000 at the last minute. I was luckily in the position of not needing to sell to move on - we had accommodation provided with the new job, so though we planned to buy, we could take a bit of time. I told them no, and that I was putting the house back on the market. It did cost me a bit, but I was so angry, I really wanted to kick them. So I did. They put their offer back up again, but I sold to someone else - and got a bit more, so I broke even. Say no. They're bluffing.

brightbevs · 16/02/2026 18:21

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Ours installed a sold sign within days of the offer being accepted. The house was sold subject to contracts, and was off the market.

CautiousLurker2 · 16/02/2026 18:20

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Think it can be more than that - our survey (3 bed flat, tiny) was ÂŁ2500 a month ago!! Conveyancing fees around the same again (and we were quoted around ÂŁ4000 by one well know national firm!).

YDBear · 16/02/2026 18:15

I don’t want to be pedantic but when you say you “sold” your house, obviously you didn’t sell it, you just mean a sale was agreed. My father taught me at an early age that a house isn’t actually sold until contracts are exchanged. Until then it’s still very much maybe/ maybe not. Well, in this case it’s no longer maybe not but certainly not. I would have told the prospective buyers to do one at the very suggestion of a price cut.

Snakebite61 · 16/02/2026 18:13

Roseyliv78 · 15/02/2026 11:50

Hi all, wondering if anyone can give me some perspective…

We sold our house a few months ago and the buyers were fine up until last week. Out of the blue, they suddenly asked for £11k off a £300k purchase. They also apparently told our estate agent that, because we’re moving to a much bigger house, we can afford to give them a discount. We have no idea how they even got our new address, the estate agent says they definitely didn’t give it out.

The mortgage valuation guy said there were no down valuations at the end of the visit, and all the surveys came back fine, so nothing has come up to justify this. Our buyers said it was due to local area but the surveyor and bank surveyor both said it’s been extremely strong.

We obviously said no. We also offered to talk to the rest of the chain to see if the £11k could somehow be sorted that way, but they didn’t respond. Then they said they were disappointed we didn’t renegotiate, even though we had already negotiated properly at the time.

Honestly, we’re just a bit confused by the whole thing. Has anyone else had buyers suddenly try this months after the sale?

is this a classic attempt to try and give us a headache?

its strange as know they’ve paid all the legal fees, surveyor fees. Surely very risky as we could tell them to do one, and they could lose all the fees if we didn’t want to sell to them now.

allot younger then us as we both in our early 40s and our buyers early 30s don’t know if it’s a social media trend etc.

They're just chancers. People are getting weirder these days.

Skinpert · 16/02/2026 18:07

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