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.

They are saying their solicitors say I have to give them access No I don't they do not own the property. We all know that I don't

of course you don't, and the solicitor won't have say that.

With a normal buyer, refusal to give access rings massive alarm bells though. I'd never exchange contracts without seeing the property on the day or the day before personally.

I wouldn't pretend to demolish half the house before buying it, they are taking the piss.

Back on the market and tell your EA that you're not accepting any interest from this person, it would be a never-ending saga.

Pull out of the sale and put the house back on the market, this will carry on, and on, and on, and on, and ooonnnnnnn!

You can call their bluff, just say that you have been patient enough, the price is agreed and will not change. If they want to buy it they have to proceed without any further surveys as you have been tolerant with them so far. Tell them that you intend to put the house back on the market today and won't be selling to them at all unless they confirm they are happy to proceed.

I have explained very clearly to them that they will not be given access to test anything until they have exchanged.

They are so stupid in the actual survey it say there is no movement in the roof and look like it was there from when the house was built, I have my suspensions that they left it 3.5 weeks because they want to get near to exchange.
I have no fear to pull out and the house will be back on the market Saturday if they try anything.
I am shocked at the level of CF though that they want people out of their own house for a day that they do not even own.

We were first time buyers last year and whilst I understand the anxiety of ensuring everything is up to scratch the asking you to leave your home for their electrician to come in and do whatever with 4 kids in tow is ridiculous. It's ridiculous to ask and speaks to the selfishness of people. You are not unreasonable to be annoyed.

I started reading this and from the beginning was all ready to say that they are spending a lot of money so of course they want to check things.

But no, these people are crazy, back away and put your house back on the market

I wouldn't bother waiting for Saturday, pull out and put the house back on the market now.

If they want the house, they'll offer again, but it sounds like you'll get more offers and can choose.

It'll certainly give them a shock which may be a useful lesson for their future house buying.

If you want to carry on with them as you're so close to exchange, tell them via the estate agent that the house is going back on the market as you feel they are trying to negotiate on a price that is non-negotiable, you don't feel they will get to exchange and your time is being wasted. Any level of trust you had in them has evaporated with the unnecessary demands they are putting on you and you need committed buyers.

Say that, if they still want it they can go ahead and exchange, there will be no negotiation on price and you're not having x, y or z people round as the first survey did everything.

Absolutely no way do you have anyone doing anything to the property without you being there, and they will have to put it right any damage before they leave the house - which would include redecoration.

If they pull out, you can't sell a house with bloody electrical channelling in it! No one comes into your house without you being there - it's your home, not theirs. They do not call the shots. Bloody cheek!

Meanwhile tell them you will be opening up for viewings at the weekend and if they don't get a move on and someone else puts in an offer you will reluctantly have to consider your options.

Take no nonsense from the estate agent - they work for you, you're paying, they get the chain moving. That's their job.

I had to do the same with a FTB (always a FTB...) They got to two days before potential exchange and found fault with everything, wanted x amount off. He thought he was clever because he worked for a solicitor. But I was so P'd Off I rang the estate agent to get it back on the market - I was told by them not to be so hasty (as you would expect, they've put a lot into advertising etc so don't want the sale to fall through). I informed them that they worked for me for the duration of the contract and I expected them to sort this out - I gave them 24 hours or the house was off the market. Within hours my solicitor told me they were in a position to exchange...

There is nothing, to my knowledge, that says a house has to come off the market before exchange. Until exchange the house belongs solely to you and you can do what you want. If you're buying, you get your skates on - end of story. You're well within your rights to put the house back on and they'll have to hurry to catch up or walk away.

@Ireolu
I understand that you want everything checked which it has, but surveyors will always find something.

The part about the wiring not being up to 2019 standards is particularly crazy. For a house to always be up to current standards, it would have to have wiring updated every couple of years! Most houses are lucky if they are rewired every 30 years.

I hope they do do something else so you can sell to someone less stupid. Maybe the other people, who were willing to pay more, are still keen ?

I'd find a new buyer. They are being ridiculous and badly advised.

I am surprised a FTB is behaving like this. Maybe he really doesnt know how it works. You of course dont need to let him have access, everyone with a bit of experience knows that at any time either side can pull out.

Having said that - why dont you speak to the EA and get him to spell it out to this twit, maybe he just doesnt know how you buy a house. Our buyer messed us around somewhat but he was a good buyer and we didnt want to lose him so I got the EA to speak to him and all was OK in the end. They also have authority and he might well listen to them.

In all honesty, you need to step back and look at this in a businesslike way.

1. Based on previous behaviour, are these people likely to cause more problems for you down the line or attempt a last minute price reduction on you?
2. Is this a problem for you?

I think the first one is likely to be yes. Only you know the answer to the second one. If yes to both questions, pull out now because these muppets are more hassle than it is worth. Your house is obviously desirable otherwise you'd not have had any offers. You may only get the same sale price with a different buyer, but probably a whole load less hassle.

In January, we completed on a new house and sold our old flat to a first time buyer. Not sure if you want to hear a long ramble about the shenanigans they put us through, but if I could go back in time I would have told them to eff off at the first sign of trouble - there were red flags right from the off, over 90 mins late to both viewings without apology and refused to respond to a cheerful "hiya, how are you?". They escalated to the type of batshittery you describe above, and it went downhill from there.

I'm still kind of tempted to go round one night and stick a brick through their window (JOKE!!!!) but we have heard from the old neighbours that they have already alienated the entire street, stolen a bunch of equipment from the neighbours shed and launched a boundary dispute with the same neighbour because they clearly cannot read or understand the plans.

Don't waste more time or energy on them.
Phone your agent today and get it back on the market today.
Hopefully you will get serious buyers booked in to view this weekend!

Pull out and get the house back on the market. You had 3 offers so it's not going to be difficult to sell. If you'd been struggling for months with no offers then it would be a different story.
They are just messing around and will suddenly demand another 40K off the price (or whatever amount they think they can get away with).

@bibbitybobbitycats

The part about the wiring not being up to 2019 standards is particularly crazy. For a house to always be up to current standards, it would have to have wiring updated every couple of years! Most houses are lucky if they are rewired every 30 years.

Exactly. Regulations are not retrospective.

Well, the bank survey would have been the first one, then the full structural would have highlighted all those extra things. But they always say you should get an electrician and a plumber in. The buyers might just be being naive taking the survey as gospel...

Wouldn’t bother waiting to the weekend. You don’t want your other potential buyers to find alternative properties. You’re not tied into anything until you exchange and there will be other things that pop up (are they getting “gifts” that suddenly need ID checking..are there HTB funds that have to be sorted...do they have their deposit ready and is it the full 10%...???). I also think you’re right that they’ll wait until the last minute to try and get more money off (probably with an accompanying “It’s more than we wanted to pay and we’re already too stretched” 🙄). Even if you got the same money from another buyer, you’ll probably end up with less hassle. They don’t have to buy your house if they’re not happy with it. Wiring from 2016 is pretty good! They know what they may have to do (eat they’re planning all sorts of changes that would make all the investigations pointless) so if they’re not happy to take that on they can go and buy a new build. In fact, that might suit them better and bet they’d get a really good deal at the moment! They’d be getting a big, fat “JOG ON!” from me

I’m cringing that they probably think they are been reasonable. I’d consider pulling out. If this is what they’re up to now, what other stunts will they pull down the line.

Our surveyors found a few things wrong with our house but we were sensible with what they produced. In terms of interpretation. Surveyors we noticed tend to err on the side of caution. Anything dangerous and expensive (asbestos tank in the loft) we got our sellers to remove. We didn't try to get a price reduction or have random trades people in to do very in-depth work/checks on the house. Our sellers did it happily because we were reasonable about our wants on the basis of the surveyors report. It's dependent on the reader of the report really. Your buyers sound over the top and will be hard pushed to find a seller willing to put up with the hassle.

Yes I agree with PP, put the property back on the market, usually these sort of buyers requests get more and more extreme, they are usually looking for a reason not to proceed with the purchase.

op pull out of this with them, this will not go well, you may only have a short window to sell so pick another buyer, one who has got a sale on their own house already ....

see, on the face of it, I ftb with no chain etc seems like the best option however they have no other pressures to get on with things that someone else who needs to be out of their house as they also have a buyer to deal with, has.

They can fanny about and mess with you right up to the day you move (I think in the english system) I'm in Scotland so it's not really the same. Someone with their own buyer chomping at their heels just wants to get the deal done and get moved.

I'd bin them off to be honest and go back and assess things with the other two offers or get back on the market.