CF home buyers

[Teenangels]

I am being unreasonable.

Bit of background put my house up for sale, just after lockdown ended.
I had 9 viewing on the first Saturday and 3 offers. All at different levels one at full price from someone with something to sell, one just under the asking price think 10k in a chain, the third offer was 10% off the asking price, chain free mortgage offer in place. The first time buyers also wanted a second viewing before they offered and wanted me to cancel all other bookings so they could get first chance of buying it, they were told to F off. They put in an offer.
We negotiated with the first time buyers and managed to get them to offer 5% of the asking price this was still 40K under the asking price. but we had found a house and for ease went with them but told them that this was a fixed price and there would be no further movement on price from either party.
This was beginning of June, they have had a mortgage offer and surveyor round, all fine house was valued at over their offer, I did not move on our price.
Fast forward to beginning of July another surveyors has come round and found some issues, like moss of the roof I kid you not!! That the electrics are not up to current 2019 regulations, the house was re wired in 2016, that they should check the drainage, and one of the struts in the roof is bending by 5 degrees (this is not a supporting part and there is no movement and if they wanted to replace it, it would cost no more than £50.

My buyer wrote a long email to the estate agent 3.5 weeks after they got the report to say that they wanted a structural engineer to come into the house, a builder and a plumber and electrician and we would have to vacate the house for the day so that they could check everything.
He wants the electrician to take off all the plugs and check the wiring in some of the walls (Channel them out) but not be responsible for any damage. I told them to f off, he wants to check that the electrics are working and safe ( we live in the house with 4 kids).
He is now saying that I have to let him have access.
I have given him access on Thursday to look at the roof, but not to do any electrical work.
I have said that if he plays anymore games the house will be back on the market, I think he wants me to reduce the price, there is no chance.

And for those slating first time buyers on this thread. We were FTB when we bought our current house. It wouldn't even have crossed our minds to be as difficult as the stories mentioned upthread. In fact it was us chasing the vendors because they had the most useless solicitor we've ever encountered, who did nothing unless someone was standing over him. So please don't be put off by FTB status, we're really not all bad.

@TeetotalKoala
We were all first time buyers at one point, but some have no understanding of the buying process, and what are acceptable requests.

they have asked that the estate agent speaks to my husband.

Good luck with that one.... I don't have one.

You could have had a bit of fun here, by sticking on a fake beard and adopting a gruff voice.

I am just waiting for the reply. Do we think a firm No will mean anything to them.

@Oliversmumsarmy

I am just waiting for the reply. Do we think a firm No will mean anything to them.

It’ll have to, won’t it?

I think there are a number of elements to this rather than it being strictly a FTB issue. There is obviously their inexperience, cultural differences, the fact that they are not originally from the UK and also, when I was a first time buyer I was led by my solicitor as to what to do and what to ask for etc. In those days in Scotland anyway, it was rare to have an estate agent involved at all and you would never communicate directly with the other party.

I think some EAs are inexperienced or not able to tame the wilder requests. There is no way on earth that my solicitor would have allowed me to make all those unreasonable demands. No idea why they have been able to.

Some ftbs’ solicitors seem to put them up to this shit. The one who tried to gazunder me the day before exchange told the agent his solicitor had suggested it. Of course he might have been lying.

Maybe I was just lucky @VinylDetective. I have bought/sold 6 times in my life but last time was 16 years ago, never had any of this shit though. Worst one was probably the mess the last people left the house in. To be fair we have always left our places immaculate but received places that have been not left in the nicest condition. the exception being my 2nd flat. She even left a lightbulb for one that had blown on the last day but after she'd packed the ladders (high ceilings). It felt so lovely that I've made sure every place since has been left clean and with a card and gift for moving in.

The house is going back on the market today, a house down the road has gone on the markwt

I suggest you drop a note through their door telling them to brief their EA that they won't be offering viewings or accepting offers from your CF couple.

@Teenangels

* pretty much the stereotypical response of a highly hormonal, highly strung inexperienced seller.*

Op I said stereotypical. Not my view.

My view was that it was ridiculous

* Thanks for your sexist comments I bet you have never called a male hormonal or inexperienced seller*

Yep, Pretty much I have.

My younger step brother. FTB. I think my exact words were “your inexperience, disorganisation and inability to control your emotive language is going to cost you this flat if you don’t start focussing on the bigger picture**

He was getting hung up about the decor rather than the fact a structural problem had been identified!

@Atadaddicted

Did not say hormonal though to him, you only say that about women.

@Atadaddicted yes but did you call your brother hormonal? Likely not.

@WaxOnFeckOff the OP never said the buyers weren’t from the UK. Someone else asked if they were Australian but that was it.

@Teenangels jinx, regarding “hormonal”!

Also regarding, 1 offer and 2 second viewings and another 7 viewing lined — good luck! I so hope you get a great and much easier set of buyers this time. :)

We were all first time buyers at one point, but some have no understanding of the buying process, and what are acceptable requests.

That's why you read up on it beforehand and ask questions. Well people with brains do at least..

We were first time buyers last year. We decided what we wanted before even looking, what we would go and view, or wouldn't even go and look at. We did find one house we really liked, viewed it and then got the report on it. It had potential structural issues that I refused to investigate further. We would have been wasting the sellers time as we had already decided not to go further on anything that had something wrong with it. I didn't want to have to look into building work on our very first house, or have to do renovations etc like new kitchen, new bathroom.

I don't get people that go, view houses with something they don't like and then ask for it to be changed before they buy or a ton of money off. To me that just suggests stupidity to be honest. Maybe ask for a little off if the price is too high, but then why are you even viewing it anyway if you don't like it? By viewing it, you've shown you like it and want it, so the ball is in the sellers court. I wouldn't be dropping the price anymore. You've already given the game away by offering to buy it. I had someone do that on something I was selling, wanted it, but not at the reasonable price I was asking for. They then started bragging about how much expensive stuff they had. I refused to budge on price, if you're going to be that thick, hell yeah I'm going to take your money. You deserve it.

I bought my first home three years ago. I wouldn’t have ever acted like this couple has. I didn’t need to google how to act like a decent human being.

[quote JingsMahBucket]@Atadaddicted yes but did you call your brother hormonal? Likely not.

@WaxOnFeckOff the OP never said the buyers weren’t from the UK. Someone else asked if they were Australian but that was it.[/quote]
Well, she said Unfortunately these buyers are naive, never have purchased a house before and not used to the way the english house buying process.

By which people deduced they weren't from the UK and asked if they were Australian.

They could of course be from another part of the UK and I might have reading between too many lines. Some cultures do expect to deal with men also.

By viewing it, you've shown you like it and want it

Not so. You view it because you’re interested in it. A viewing either makes you like and want it or walk away. I’ve never wanted a house before viewing.

Aside from those who think that the house is the one for them, there will be folk viewing a few places and therefore only potentially interested, people for whom it doesn't quite meet the criteria but they think it's worth a look, people who just like to go look at houses, folk who live in a similar property looking for ideas etc etc.

I would never tolerate this kind of crap. It only leads to the buyers offering less the day before exchange.

When I bought my last house the agent phoned me at work and said I had two weeks to complete or the house went back on the market. I hadn't got the survey results in yet and I told him to put it back on the market then if he honestly thought he could get another offer, mortgage accepted and surveys done before my solicitor could. I said dont threaten or blackmail me just go ahead with it and dont call me again. He was an aggressive man and he could he phoned my husband but I think he thought the little woman was a easy target. My dh phoned him up also and told him to never contact me under any circumstances.

So some CF will try it on. If they are aggressive like in my case it's best to stamp it out the first time. We did complete with a survey. Stupid man, he didnt put the house on the market as he knew I was right. Like he would forgo a survey on such a massive investment. I did also mention that to him. "Would you accept this in my shoes? If you would your insane. Goodbye" and fuck right off. The other 80 people in my office went silent to listen in 😂

* Did not say hormonal though to him, you only say that about women.*

So you don’t agree there’s a stereotype re women and hormones?

Not so. You view it because you’re interested in it. A viewing either makes you like and want it or walk away. I’ve never wanted a house before viewing.

My point was if you view it and then put an offer on it, you're showing you want it. I worded that sentence wrong, but thought I'd been clearer in the rest of it.

But either way, it is the case. Why should the seller then bend over backwards to please the buyer? They already want it they are just being cheeky. They can learn the word no for once.

@KeepingPlain yes but I guess depends on the market. If you've been struggling to get a buyer then sometimes they have you over a barrel if you are in a position where you need to sell and can't wait it out.

Sounds like OP is in a great position so can simply ignore cheeky buyers for now as there are plenty of other options. FTB are more likely to be cheeky as the potentially are able to sit tight where they are whilst the seller has a commitment in the chain. Sometimes it's the top of the chain that have the advantage as the house is empty due to a bereavement so they can play silly buggers with their buyer.

Why should the seller then bend over backwards to please the buyer?

They shouldn’t but ftbs are buggers for wanting them to. My first house was sold to a ftb and this is how it went:

After survey, about three visits from different trades to look at the “issues” it raised
After two viewings, “Can I bring my mum round to look?” OK - sigh
“Will you include all the curtains?” No
Day before exchange “I want £5k off before I exchange” No, fuck off

My second house was also sold to ftbs in a red hot market. Apparently they tried to take a few liberties too but the agent told them the value was going up by £1k a week so they’d already got a bargain.

I don't get people that go, view houses with something they don't like and then ask for it to be changed before they buy or a ton of money off

I have this week had FTBs come round and say they weren’t interested in my house as it only has a quarter of an acre plot (which it stated on the estate agent blurb on Rightmove) and they wanted 2.5 acres.
They also wanted 10 bedrooms. Again ours has 4. It shouldn’t have come as a shock as it does say this on the EA blurb.
The problem is they can’t afford the 10 bedrooms and 2.5 acres and no photo of the house made it look like it was hiding 6 more bedrooms and no photo of the garden made it look like it had 2.5 acres.
(Only place that has this criteria in the road also has its very own helicopter landing patch and its own helicopter garage and is probably nearer £41 million than near to £1million)