AIBU to reduce our accepted house offer after selling ours cheaply?

Just go ahead and reduce the offer, the worse they can say is no. I would just say, we are now able to proceed as we have accepted an offer on our property. However, as we love your home and don’t want to lose it, we prioritised a quick sale over waiting for asking price and as a result have accepted a lower offer than we initially expected. We are therefore asking to reduce our offer by 10k to XYZ. We are keen to progress this process and look forward to hearing from you. Good luck! X

From what I understand from your post. You made an offer, they accepted that offer in principal but, as you are not proceedable, continued to market the property while waiting for you to sell. To be clear, this is what anyone would do and I am sure this is what their agent would have advised.

Now you have sold, you want to go back and amend your offer.

You can do what you want to, who knows what they will say. They may go with it, or they may tell you to shove it. You won't know until you offer. But you need to be prepared that they may well decide they don't want to sell to you and would rather wait for someone else to come along. Depends on how desperate they are to sell. But don't expect them to drop further down the line if the survey comes back with some issues. They would probably tell you to jog on and you may end up worse off.

We had a similar(ish) situation. We really wanted a house. We expected to get at worst 10k under the lowest end of what the lowest estate agent valued it at.

We just…didn’t. We would have/could have made a good faith offer based on the above and we were willing to take below what our house was ‘worth’ to get it sold, but at the higher end of the market things have been by far the worst impacted.

The house is only worth what someone is willing to pay, and the reality is more than likely that even at asking price you’re overpaying. You didn’t realise this when you viewed because generally the EAs are still pricing higher to try to keep the market buoyant, or appearing so. Reality hasn’t bitten until you’ve realised what your own house is ‘worth’ - and nothing is worth anything until it actually sells and the ‘value’ is realised.

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable or cheeky at all. They didn’t agree to take it off the market and that’s what’s left you not having an agreed purchase at the time you’ve realised they’re unlikely to achieve asking price. I would absolutely position is as you have suggested, as a result of your own house being down valued to get it sold.

I did this because ours sold for less and they accepted it. I then lowered it further based on the survey and they said yes but no more lowering. Which I didn't intend to and didn't. I'm in it right now. Good luck!

I have previously had a potential buyer lower their offer after an offer had been made and accepted for no reason other than that they thought they could make a mug of me. I responded by increasing the price by the amount they had lowered and I stuck to it. Not me who had paid out for a survey and I don’t appreciate being messed about.

I think it would be in really bad taste and you might lose it.

You're not doing anything wrong OP. You did not make a formal offer, you indicated what level of offer you would make once proceedable. The sellers did not accept an offer from you and continued to market the property. You should now go back to them and say that you are now proceedable and are now in a position to make a formal offer. Make your offer, giving your reasons why. The negotiation then follows on from this formal offer.

I would not accept an offer if the buyer was not proceedable. As they wouldn’t take it off the market they haven’t really accepted, more that you have first refusal - if you go under offer on your own house then they’d take it off the market?
But no I would be unlikely to accept a reduced offer from you .

No but you easily could have. That is why they continued to market. Why would they stop marketing it when you could easily, at any time, change your mind? They don't know you from Adam so they are hardly going to trust you are they?

And you actually are now planning to mess them around by putting a lower offer in.

She wasn't in a proceedable position when they offered because they hadn't sold their house. That's why they didn't take it off the market.

In this situation OP if you asked me to reduce the price based on what you've told me, I'd tell you to swivel.

Wouldn’t bother me. A house is only worth what someone will pay for it and it’s always a negotiation. Trouble is, and this thread demonstrates my point, people get weirdly emotional about selling their house and do it so infrequently they get themselves into intractable positions on price. You’ve no way of knowing whether they’re sensible and pragmatic or likely to tell you to do one out of pique at your supposed cheek.

Can I check I understood right?

You offered at ask, they didn’t accept. Hoping for a immediately proceedable offer.
You offered over ask so they’d take the house off the market. They didn’t.

No offer has actually been accepted.

You’re now proposing coming back with a new under ask offer but a proceedable one.

You didn’t have a buyer at the time though did you?

By all means you can reduce your offer but don’t be surprised if they tell you to fuck off.

If you’re regretting accepting a low ball offer on your own house, that’s on you. I don’t see why you feel that entitles you to £10k off your own purchase. It’s not your seller’s problem.

I think the fact they have not taken off the market suggests they are hoping for higher offers and would take a higher offer if an offer presented itself.

And people are telling you

because you come across as a messer

they had only just started so I would say no if I were them

Why should they take their house off the market for you when you were not proceedable? Nobody would. You could easily faff around for months trying to sell, not sell, then pull out. Then they would have wasted all that time not being on the market.

Withdraw your offer. Give it a week or two. Then go back with a lower offer.

before covid I was 2 week away from moving when it was halted. Then in the June my solicitor said I think we can move you. I said ok but I want to offer less. She said she had never ever had anyone go and offer less after an offer accepted. I said well we have never had a global virus. She offered less for me. They instantly said no. I said ok I’ll maybe not move then- weekend wend and Monday morning they accepted my offer.

You do sound entitled and a problematic buyer - if you messed about with your offer id drop you straight away if my house was still
on The market

You are topsy turvey in your thinking - the survey WOULD be the time to negotiate