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Original poster

AIBU to walk away from this house purchase?

999 replies

Quandaries · 04/10/2020 12:21

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/10/2020 14:55

The sellers aren't trustworthy. Save yourself from wasting any more money.

Neither are the cash buyers, IF they actually exist. They deliberately looked for houses that were SSTC and then insisted on having it for a little more.

They haven't had their survey yet, so there's nothing to say they won't suddenly want to lop £15K off their offer on some spurious grounds, once you're out of the mix? Or not even bother inventing something and dropping the big price-drop bomb on the day of completion?

Alternatively, these buyers have offered £8K more and you're told that it's yours if you match that and add 50% for good measure. What if you do just that and then they come back with another £8K, £16K, £32K for you to 'match and exceed'? They could easily do that, especially if they don't exist... Surely, they'd just pull out anyway and say they'd got a better offer.

Estate Agents' fees aren't always set in stone. Sometimes, they or the buyer can negotiate any kind of deal whereby they earn, say 2% of the asking price, but then an extra 30% of any value they achieve in excess of that. Going on those theoretical figures (and they could arrange absolutelty any deal), on a £700K (asking price) house, they'd have earned £14K - but if they can push it up to £720K via some imaginary counter-bidders, they could increase what they earn by an extra £6K - nearly half as much again.

The value of the house means nothing at all to the EA - all they care about is what they get in the end.

GoldenKelpie · 04/10/2020 14:56

@Elsewyre

"I'm sorry to hear that, thought we had already come to an understanding. I accept though that times are hard and the extra eight thousand will be of help so understand you taking the higher offer"
Love it!

Seriously, there are many. many other homes that would tick all your boxes, just keep looking. Best of luck.

Burnthurst187 · 04/10/2020 14:57

Walk, don't be abused like this. I wouldn't want to deal with a seller like this, there'll be other issues along the way no doubt

Hadalifeonce · 04/10/2020 14:57

I vote with most other pp, say you are ready to exchange next week as planned, but will totally understand if they want to go with the 'other' offer, and say you are happy to withdraw.

BessMarvin · 04/10/2020 14:57

I'm torn. Normally with these I say walk away. But if it's your dream house, you're going to struggle to find something similar, you would have many years of happiness there, maybe you should agree. But it's shitty behaviour from them. And there is the possibility of it not being real.

It's not even like they need the extra for their new purchase.

Legoandloldolls · 04/10/2020 14:57

I would walk away. There would just be more silly games further down the line if you engage. Not worth the hassle.

SuitedandBooted · 04/10/2020 14:57

I think I would be doing what I could to secure this house,given you further posts. That might be a firm word from your solicitor, pointing out you are ready to go, or offering more. As they are already in another house, the time-frame is probably not that relevant to them - the cash is.It's all very well for anonymous posters to say there will be a better house, but this one is :

In the area you really want.
Vacant
In turn-key condition , so no decorating/building costs.
"Really good value".

Hard decision, OP, but don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

Whatthebloodyell · 04/10/2020 14:57

I think there a a lot of emotional posts here. I wouldn’t take this personally. I’ve never sold a house, but aren’t the sellers entitled to change their minds if contracts haven’t been signed? If you initially got it for 10k less than you were prepared to offer, then I wouldn’t walk away now. It doesn’t sound to me like the sellers are playing games, more that they are just trying to get the best price. Something that sellers are allowed to do!

Aridane · 04/10/2020 14:58

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face over a point of principle.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/10/2020 14:58

If you do up your offer by £12K, be very prepared for the EA to push for more - a lot more. Once they've established that you're able and willing to pay more to the tune of their 'suggested' increase, they will say whatever they have to say to get their hands on your absolute possible maximum.

user0909093483479307532579 · 04/10/2020 15:00

It is damn annoying, and a shitty thing of them (or the EA) to do, but if you love the house and the area... if it was me I'd probably pay the £12k.

RandomMess · 04/10/2020 15:00

Hmmm

I would offer £4K and able to exchange on x date and complete in a week.

I wouldn't increase due to potential bidding war and because it could all be a lie...

CactusForever · 04/10/2020 15:01

That is shitty and leaves a sour taste but if I really wanted the house I'd stump up the cash. It's a home first at the end of the day and an investment second.

Ratatcat · 04/10/2020 15:01

Sometimes you have to trust your gut and if the sellers are playing games now, you can’t trust them close to exchange. I was selling a property and pulled it because the initial buyers started messing around and wanting to drop the offer. We knew we had plenty of interest through and weren’t desperate to sell. It must be much harder the other way around when you want the house.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/10/2020 15:02

Can you get some friends or family members to call the EA and enquire about the property? If they say they saw it and were strongly considering it, but noticed that it had just been taken off the market - does this mean that it's final or might there still be a possibility for another offer to be considered?

It could be very enlightening to hear what they're told....

Hollywolly1 · 04/10/2020 15:02

If you really love the house as much as you say and it's in a lovely village close to school shop etc do not walk away over principal because I think you will be delighted for the sake of 1%

LuaDipa · 04/10/2020 15:05

We offered £25k less than asking price on our current house. It was accepted. We were still in the process of selling our own house when the vendor pulled out and said he wanted more money. We refused. He then took the house off the market to do some (much needed) superficial work to hopefully increase interest. We were devastated but needed to move so continued on and sold our house. By this time we had viewed so many other houses but none was as perfect as the original house. We had pretty much decided to rent while continuing our search, but then dh contacted the vendor of the original house and asked if we could have one more viewing. The house was still not back on the market but he agreed and we realised that while it needed work, it ticked every single box. Dh asked the vendor what he needed to offer to make them sell and they asked for the original asking price. Dh accepted and aside from the moving date being pushed back by a week, all was fine.

Before this, I thought the vendor was being a cf, but actually the house is worth every penny we paid, and in all honesty probably a bit more. After viewing many other houses, we are absolutely sure that this is the one for us and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend lockdown anywhere else. In the same way that we were not wrong to offer what we initially did, the vendor was not wrong to hold out for the price he wanted, as we paid it in the end. With the benefit of hindsight I am so glad that we didn’t give up on this house.

Wheytaminute · 04/10/2020 15:06

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Can you get some friends or family members to call the EA and enquire about the property? If they say they saw it and were strongly considering it, but noticed that it had just been taken off the market - does this mean that it's final or might there still be a possibility for another offer to be considered?

It could be very enlightening to hear what they're told....

Devious - but I like it.

At least then you'd know the state of play

ItIsEnola · 04/10/2020 15:07

It all depends how much you want the house and whether you'll be able to put aside animosity with them when you live in the village.

A lot of your assumptions about the property market are probably incorrect. yy the market does usually slow down in winter but Covid has changed a lot of those trends. The risk of more lockdowns is also making rural and suburban properties more desirable. In our village, the market is usually fairly static but people are taking advantage of the current bouyancy. Homes here are being sold within weeks. And as announcements are forecasting Covid will be here longer, there has been an upturn in the market that may continue through winter.

MilkOfThePuppy · 04/10/2020 15:11

I'd be angry with the sellers and I'd never be particularly friendly with them after this, but if I truly loved the house and the location, I don't know that I'd be willing to risk losing it on principle.

In your shoes, I'd try to imagine two outcomes letting the house go or offering more and getting it then go for whatever feels right for you.

JumpingJamboree · 04/10/2020 15:14

I would be saying that they are welcome to take the higher offer from the other potential buyers but that you will be pursuing the vendors for costs that you have incurred due to them not honouring the deal you had made. That might make them rethink. If it is the perfect house it might be worth a try but I certainly wouldn't be paying any more that what was agreed originally. Cheeky fuckers!

DGRossetti · 04/10/2020 15:16

@Aridane

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face over a point of principle.
In which case it's not really a point of principle to start with, is it ?
springiscoming12 · 04/10/2020 15:17

I would say walk away as it is likely that this cash buyer does not exist however be prepared to lose the house in case they do. I don’t trust estate agents at all and we recently lost a house due to their questionable practices. We thought they were bluffing but it turned out they weren’t and we lost the house. We were gutted but in the end we agreed that it wasn’t meant to be and moved on.

Aridane · 04/10/2020 15:22

It's easy to say, but yes, I would walk away. If you lose the house, so be it. Another better one may well be on the market

Or not

Original poster
Quandaries · 04/10/2020 15:23

@FirstOfficerDouglas

The seller is not greedy any more than you are greedy wanting a house "for cheap"

At no stage did I say we were getting it “for cheap”. I said the price they set which we offered represented good value.

They set the price.
They had the benefit of a local estate agent to place a value on the house.

We don’t live in the area and had limited data available (not many similar houses in the exact same village have been on the market recently) but learned that the asking price was in-line with what similar properties have gone for.

If they commit to selling it at the price sold but aren’t happy with that, they need to find themselves another estate agent.

At no stage did I behave in a way to try and blag a lower price. I offered what they asked for, they accepted.

Nothing cheap about my offer, or behaviour.

OP posts: