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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to feel I have sold house too cheap?

148 replies

PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 10:36

Put house on market just before lockdown. Valued by three estate agents who all gave exactly the same valuation.When market reopened, accepted a price £16500 less than asking price as thought there would be a crash due to pandemic. The reduction was 6% less than the asking price of £295000. The buyers are cash buyers with 25% deposit, so a good bet.
Now, it is a sellers' market and prices have gone up rather than down. I can't help feeling gutted we panicked into accepting too low a price. I know that there is nothing we can do now as we agreed to the price and will follow through with the sale out of respect for the buyers who have had the survey and all the legal searches done.

Has anyone else ever regretted selling too cheap?!

OP posts:
DopamineHits · 10/08/2020 11:39

I do think a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the Bush.

You sound like a very nice person. As long as losing that money (potentially more than 16500 if the prices have gone up) isn't going to disadvantage you and you feel good about the move, you may as well go ahead.

IndecentFeminist · 10/08/2020 11:39

I can't believe you're even thinking about pulling out tbh. I'd be very glad of a stress free sale, and overall profit.

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:43

Oh god, only 36% thin IANBU!

OP posts:
monkeyonthetable · 10/08/2020 11:43

Is the market so buoyant? In the area we are looking to move to, house prices keep being reduced.

fromdownwest · 10/08/2020 11:44

Having recently been involved in a 4 chain sale twice! I would have paid £16.5K each time for a FTB!

The stress of a chain is quite overwhelming.

FYI each chain fell through so I have now stayed where I am.

cologne4711 · 10/08/2020 11:45

OP for what it's worth I think a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all that. You have a committed chain free buyer.

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:45

@monkeyonthetable

Is the market so buoyant? In the area we are looking to move to, house prices keep being reduced.
It does seem to be in the area where the house is. When I called into the Estate Agent's the other day, most properties were marked as sold.
OP posts:
bibbitybobbitycats · 10/08/2020 11:48

OP, if you take into account CGT, you have lost less than £16500. No one knows what's going to happen over the next few months, I would stick with your bird in the hand.

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:48

@fromdownwest

Having recently been involved in a 4 chain sale twice! I would have paid £16.5K each time for a FTB!

The stress of a chain is quite overwhelming.

FYI each chain fell through so I have now stayed where I am.

Thank you for this. Although the majority have voted that I am being unwise, posts like this make me realise that there is sense in just completing on current reduced price. Still feel sick about it though!
OP posts:
k1233 · 10/08/2020 11:48

Converse story. I bought my place after it had been on the market A LONG time. The prior owner turned down an offer for $325k. Not only did I get the property for $279k, prior owner also had to do rectification work for $10-$15k before I would purchase. Bet they were kicking themselves about saying no to the other offer.

I say stay with the sale. If you don't, there's no way to know how long it will be before someone else comes along and when they do, what they'll pay.

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:49

@bibbitybobbitycats

OP, if you take into account CGT, you have lost less than £16500. No one knows what's going to happen over the next few months, I would stick with your bird in the hand.
Thank you! Very true
OP posts:
userd · 10/08/2020 11:50

Oh yes forgot about CGT

DelphiniumBlue · 10/08/2020 11:51

How many offers did you get before proceeding with these buyers? Did you accept the offer very soon after putting the house on the market?
Your house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, so if no higher offers were made, how do you know it is worth more?
If you are really bothered by it, explain that you want the sale to proceed quickly, and that you will remarket if exchange has happened by x date.
Presumably you have got the house you are buying comparatively cheaply too?

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:52

@k1233

Converse story. I bought my place after it had been on the market A LONG time. The prior owner turned down an offer for $325k. Not only did I get the property for $279k, prior owner also had to do rectification work for $10-$15k before I would purchase. Bet they were kicking themselves about saying no to the other offer.

I say stay with the sale. If you don't, there's no way to know how long it will be before someone else comes along and when they do, what they'll pay.

Ironically we have also had to spend £3000 replacing flat roof after putting house on sale as flat roof expired in lockdown!
OP posts:
SchadenfreudePersonified · 10/08/2020 11:53

For the sake of £16k you have committed buyers who are chain free. That is massively valuable in its own way. How sure are you that you’d secure a sale for full asking?

THIS ^

Plus house prices may have risen, but this could be short-term.

If a lot of people lose jobs or get put onto short-time, then the market could crash. You may end up with the house sitting on your hands for months/years, and then get even less eventually.

It's obviously up to you what you do, but personally I would follow your instinct to honour the sale, as long as the property you are buying isn't such a push for you that you need this extra to afford it

WanderingMilly · 10/08/2020 11:55

You've got a sale, there is no guarantee your house would have sold at the higher price.
I personally wouldn't get het up about accepting a lower offer.

A long, long time ago (during my married years) we purposely undersold a flat. It was in a village and a couple wanted it, they couldn't afford much, both were living in the family home and they wanted to get married and start off on their own. We "lost" a lot of money - much more than your amount - but I felt proud we'd done some moral good, and helped someone else. No doubt they eventually sold it and made a tidy little profit, but so what? It's time we stopped evaluating everything in terms of cash.....

GabsAlot · 10/08/2020 11:55

i thini yure a good person hono9uring this even if youd ton have to

i thikk people are jsut taking avadvantage of no stamp duty right now-it really is up to you if you havent signed anything yet

my neighbour seems to think he can gt 50k more from his house than he did from last year when he put it up and it didnt sell-not saying you couldnt get more just dont go ott

LonelyGir1 · 10/08/2020 11:55

@PampassGrass

We met the buyers for the first time a week ago. They were very sweet people with lots of plans to extend. It would pain me to renage on the sale to such nice people. I do think a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the Bush.
Absolutely better for stick with sellers that have an almost guaranteed mortgage. You could re-list, get slightly more, and then be messed around.
Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:55

@DelphiniumBlue

How many offers did you get before proceeding with these buyers? Did you accept the offer very soon after putting the house on the market? Your house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, so if no higher offers were made, how do you know it is worth more? If you are really bothered by it, explain that you want the sale to proceed quickly, and that you will remarket if exchange has happened by x date. Presumably you have got the house you are buying comparatively cheaply too?
We had 2 buyers bidding against each other as soon as market opened after lockdown. Our buyers made the higher offer so we went with it. We aren't buying another house. It is empty as was previously rented out
OP posts:
Runnerduck34 · 10/08/2020 11:56

Basically you have two choices, continue and know that you will complete very soon and overall made a decent profit.
Or relist and try and get more with the possibility it will take longer to sell and with no guarantee you will end up with more money.
Is it currently rented? If its empty then you also need to take into account loss of rental income / mortgage payments whilst trying to sell.
As pp have said a chain free sale is also worth something, my colleague is currently trying to sell and her chain has just collapsed for the third time.
House buying is always a bit of a lottery , market could rise or fall at any time.

NWnature · 10/08/2020 11:57

I would proceed, property is so fickle and you have no idea what will actually happen if you go back to square one and relist. Don't kick yourself either, its such an emotive thing selling property.
Often at this stage for sellers, its all v stressful with the possibility of the buyer pulling out/ survey problems/ failing for whatever reason. However for you, view it as a win-win. If it all goes through then fantastic, you have sold in a painless transaction in a very difficult time and at a price which is not shocking given the circumstances. If for a reason on the buyers side it all falls though, you won't have the usual heart sinking feeling and can relist at leisure.

WoolyMammoth55 · 10/08/2020 11:58

FWIW, we've always behaved reasonably in house purchases/sales but have been in chains with utter bastards who've tried every trick in the book to get last minute discounts the day of exchange, etc etc.

I'd just have a chat with your EA and ask whether they think you're losing out. Maybe they can arrange a couple more "secret" viewings for you to interested buyers and you can see if you end up with an asking price offer or not - it might put your mind at ease either way?

I also agree with PP that depending on what you're buying, you either can afford to sell cheaply or you need every penny for your onward move - only you know what makes sense in the context of your life.

It's not unreasonable to wonder if you're making a mistake but I feel like it should be possible for you to work it out and make the best decision :)

Original poster
PampassGrass · 10/08/2020 11:58

When the surveyor did the valuation, she did say that current house prices are artificially inflated by the temporary removal of stamp duty.

OP posts:
userd · 10/08/2020 11:59

This is anecdotal but one reason I think the market may be having a mini boom is people are desperate to get on before their circumstances change. I was listening to LBC around the time of the stamp duty announcement & one caller had just lost her job & was going to have to pull out of her purchase, however the stamp duty changes meant she could use her savings to live on until she got another job (bit risky but hey). Another couple of callers said they were pushing through with purchases because of stamp duty reductions & the fact they were on furlough & when they came off furlough they would be facing a salary cut or potentially no job. They needed to borrow based on the current salaries.

SeaToSki · 10/08/2020 12:04

What are your holding costs on the house? Council tax, water rates etc etc. Then dont forget the capital cost of the money, so what return on the money you would get from the house sale you could expect if it was invested in the stock market (maybe a conservative 3%). Add all that up and see when the break even on 16,500 is. That is how quickly you would have to relist, get an offer, exchange and complete to just break even on the idea.