AIBU to walk away from this house purchase?

[Quandaries]

Will try to keep this short.

Viewed a house and loved it 6 weeks ago. Ticked all the right boxes and was very good value for what it was. Offered asking price and it was accepted. Survey done, solicitor engaged etc so at the stage where it’s cost us some money.
Booking deposit has been paid but is refundable (not in Scotland).

We have a large deposit and mortgage is ready to draw down. We’re not in a chain.

Our solicitor was chasing theirs for contracts.

On Thursday I got a call from their agent to say they’ve allowed another viewing from a very insistent couple who are cash buyers and offered £8k more.

Agent now wants us to reoffer and increase on the new buyers’ offer so we’ll be paying £12k above what was agreed. He insists that the house will go for even more if it goes back on the market and says that houses are being snapped up before they go on the market as more people are working from home and this village is very popular for those with just an occasional commute.

I’ve had a look at Right Move and can’t see any evidence of anything other than price drops in the area. I accept that there may be houses selling before hitting the market and I don’t have this data.

My heart loves the house. It’s in a stunning village and really ticks all the boxes in terms of schools etc.

My head is saying we’re actually in a better position than the cash buyer as we’re 100% ready to go and can sign this week whereas they will need to have survey done etc.

Head is also telling me that if the sellers are going to screw us for £8k (for context, that’s a bit over 1% of the purchase price we had agreed), they’ll be a nightmare to deal with and it’s only a matter of time until they come back to us either with a new offer from the other bidders, or pushing to put it back on the market.

I’m also guessing that house purchases slow down a bit in winter, and it’s an area where more Covid lockdown measures are likely so putting it back on the market may mean there aren’t many viewings.

For additional context, we can afford to increase our offer. I’m just loathe to get into a bidding war due to how the vendor has sprung this on us.

But I love the house.

YABU- up my offer
YANBU- walk away

@CatAndHisKit

Most cash buyers still do surveys for a village house (rather than modern house/flat)! There could be all sorts of exoensive issues there - I definitely intend to when I get an offer accepted.

You’re not everyone. I know two cash buyers who didn’t bother with surveys.

If you want to play the game a bit and take back some control maybe casually ask the EA to send through details if they have any on any other properties that fit your criteria. You could say you just want to be prepared as it now looks like this sale might fall through and it may galvanise the vendors into getting the sale done rather than risk losing it.

We did similar but from the other way round when we were selling ours, the buyer started suggesting we should pay for their surveys etc so we instructed the EA to re-market it just in case and boom it went through 2wk later for agreed price.

Good luck, feels like a shitty move by vendor.

Def do what partner says! Sellers are awful.

If you want to play the game a bit and take back some control maybe casually ask the EA to send through details if they have any on any other properties that fit your criteria. You could say you just want to be prepared as it now looks like this sale might fall through and it may galvanise the vendors into getting the sale done rather than risk losing it.

That's an excellent idea - put the frighteners on to them and the vendor rather than yourself. They obviously still want you as buyers (even if just as a backup if the NB falls through or demands a huge price-drop at the last minute), otherwise they would have just straight told you that the deal was off.

Walk away. Many many years ago we got into a bidding war with another couple which we ended when the seller said there had to be 5K differential between our offer and the other interested party. Don't regret our decision to walk away for one moment.

I'd walk away, I've experienced this before. Agreed a sale on a house, at the asking price, vendors were very slow and finally, 7 months after the sale was agreed, they came back asking for 25k more because of house price increases. Refused and pulled out. House was eventually sold 18 months after we initially agreed a sale for 40k more than they had listed the property for. Ime people like this will mess you around, even if they agree the 8k from you, you may find yourself inadvertently in a bidding war because they will become greedy.

This is so easy for everyone reading this except you. WALK and they will come running.

This happened to my parents, they paid up the extra 5k as they loved the house then 48 hrs before exchange the vendor called and said he'd had a change of heart, was worried about the market / his job and moving at that particular time. Parents were in a chain, Dad about to start a new job, i was going to a new school, removal van booked. Parents decided to offer some more money, and of course he took it, he had them over a barrel. Parents said never again, and I'm afraid I'm with them now. If they are willing to screw you over when you've spent money on a survey i can't imagine they would hesitate to mess you about again.

The really shit thing is this has been going on for years, 30 yrs ago for my parents, and its still allowed, its mad!

They sound like A-holes but if you love the house I would just offer £10k more but that’s it. No more viewings, messing around etc. The reality is you’re unlikely to find another house which ticks all the boxes prior to stamp duty increasing. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but in my experience you always end up hating the people you buy a house from for one reason or another.

You're being gazumped. Walk away. And next time you make an offer on a house make it on the proviso that they remove the house from the market.
Gazumping is despicable. You don't know that they won't do it again just before you sign. I'd say you can't trust them at all.

Not to be trusted. What else k ght they lie about? Walk!

Cut your losses. This is gazzumping. It happened to my son who couldn't increase his offer so he lost money on the survey etc.as well as the house

Walk away. The sellers are wankers.

@Quandaries The exact same thing happened to us on a house we put an offer on a few years ago. It was also a house that had been inherited and the sellers weren’t really in any rush to sell so they totally messed us around. We had everything in place, offer accepted, had paid for surveys, solicitor etc. and the seller decided to do private viewings without us or the EA knowing & accepted a new offer.

We loved the house so went above the new bidder’s offer which they accepted again. Then they did the same thing AGAIN so we walked away. They ended up having to accept a lower offer and we found another house in a nicer area so it worked out better for us in the end.

It might not be the same for you, hopefully, but some people are arseholes. Good luck if you do end up matching the offer- hope all turns out well.

If this was a game of poker, what would you do?

I'm with those who say walk away. There will be other houses and it's highly likely you're being played.

The exact same scenario happened to us in the summer.

We walked away, but what do you know, it turned out new buyer couldn’t get the money.

Seller realised they’d made a terrible mistake and we got the house
(paid an extra 1% though). It’s a dirty business buying/selling houses.

Of course the 'right' thing to do in terms of principles and fairness is to walk away - you are being treated very badly. Very possibly even lied to. The vendor and EA should not be rewarded for such unethical behaviour.

However.....if it is your dream house, and it ticks all your boxes, sometimes in these situations you really have to weigh up what the house means to YOU. If you agree, and proceed, you may have more unethical behaviour ahead from them. But if you finally get the house, for a fair price, you can put that all behind you (aside from the school gate) and enjoy your house.

@Hoppyhops what utter fucking arseholes those vendors were, twice doing it!!! Glad you did well out of it.

A verbal agreement isn't a binding contract for the sale of property in Scotland. And our system of house selling is actually not must different to that in England nowadays. Missives (the contract) tend to be long and drawn out (and go on as much about the property as the white goods etc) so costs are incurred long before the contract is concluded, which often happens only shortly before settlement. That most sales are done by solicitors though makes gazumping less common due to professional standards. And while rarely of ever referred to, we also have chains in Scotland as most people can't buy unless they sell.

Something like this happened to a Female friend of mine who was incensed when she was told by the vendor “I’m a businessman and I need to accept the 8k extra offered”. Consequently she dropped her price by £8k ... And then (fortunately it worked in her favour) the vendor had to accept her offer as the higher bidder situation became more complex. She smiled as she said ‘I’m a businesswoman too’ ... I know this is extremely risky I know but just mentioning it as another (unusual) option

@whatsyournamenow I know- they were arseholes! The second time we were on holiday when the EA phoned to inform us what was happening (2018-well before Covid) and neither of us can recall any of the sightseeing trip that day as we were both so gutted and furious!
It genuinely all turned out so much better in the end though so now I’m grateful but, at the time, I was angry enough to walk away & I’m so glad that we did!

Your DH's plan sounds great!

The vendors sounds like hideous people.

Part of me wants to say pull out on principle, they’re being unreasonable allowing further viewing after accepting an offer.
But then the other half of me thinks it’s £8k on an £800k house, it’s nothing really.
Tough one.

If you really want it offer a bit extra but not the amount they are demanding . With potential lockdown and further restrictions and winter on its way it is unlikely it will sell anyway .