AIBU to not buy their house out of principle?

[ReeMee]

Help me decide what to do?!

In Jan we had an offer accepted on a house. Estate agent told us there was loads of competition and as we’d lost houses in best and final before we ended up bidding 20k over asking. We got it but only because apparently we had sold to first time buyers and the other bidders had longer chains.

House survey was shocking but I know surveys read like horror scripts and we knew from viewing that there would be work needed. When I liaised with estate agent about getting specialists in to quote for work they told me, the vendor has other cash buyers lined up, she will not be taking money off (it’s a probate sale for her parents). Thinking that was our plan. It genuinely wasn’t, we just needed to know the extent of any issues and costs, the house is 500k so not cheap!!

Then on the day of exchange our buyers pulled out. Estate agent/vendor would not wait for us to resell, they put it back on the market that afternoon and have since redone the photos so some of the issues we had been looking at (damp, some cracks) have been covered up with mirrors and pictures (in an empty house!)

2 weeks later we have now resold and the house we were buying is still on the market. I actually rang the estate agents to enquire about it (not telling them who I was) and they said the vendor had had some offers but was looking for close to asking price!! WTF? Now she will accept an offer 20k lower than what we were paying. The cash buyers were clearly a tool to get us paying more and not renegotiating.

I do still love the house (damp and cracks aside) although I think we were overpaying a bit but had come to terms with it not being ours and come to terms with the financial loss (£900ish). I am waiting for the estate agent to phone me once they see our house is SSTC again but I don’t know what to do.

I want to tell them where to go tbh but is that a mistake?

If its a house uou live, and uouve seen nothing else that ticks your boxes then go for it... but at the lower offer for now...
I paid slightly over the idea for a house that needed a lot if work, but pulled on my heart strings when nothing else did (and tbh, nothing else compares still...) the end goal is a home you love... chance those other buyers never existed (but that would be the estate agents agents anyway.. not the seller) and as it was in probate there may have been multiple people making the call hence the remarket instead if waiting out (I remember the pelarva when my grandmothers house was being sold.... )

The estate agents do not work for you. They work for the vendor.

I saw that you are going to go for a 3 bed, ReeMee but just wanted to comment on your sentence:

I presume probate is sorted. The owners died over a year ago now.

Actually there have been media reports of long delays in sorting out probate because of Covid. Between the estate agent and the vendor, I think you've had a lucky escape. Not because of the work needed - as you say, damp can be treated and most cracks are not serious - but because either the estate agent and/or vendor seem to be a bit sneaky.

House selling & buying generally is a brutal business. It sounds like you want that house. My advice is go for it at its new price. Estate agents don’t care they just want a sale. Just see it as a business transaction. At the same time I would hedge my bets just in case the sale of the property you want does not go through.

@Brambieblue

House selling & buying generally is a brutal business. It sounds like you want that house. My advice is go for it at its new price. Estate agents don’t care they just want a sale. Just see it as a business transaction. At the same time I would hedge my bets just in case the sale of the property you want does not go through.

Us that’s what happens in RL

But on mumsnet, the biggest purchase of yourself is all about being moral and not negotiating and whatever you offer in the first instance is basically like scrawling in blood.

I was in a similar position stick a low offer in and don’t be pressured. You’ve nearly lost it before so you can now do it without the fear of loss - mentally if that makes sense?
Tell the estate agent you know the issues with the house, you have now got new buyers, had your survey, finance in place you are ready to roll and move quickly. No other buyer will be in such a good position. Tell them you had to drop your price if you want so they can justify to the seller.
Then sit back and wait … it took 3 months and the seller came back to me!
Do you know you can now treat this house purchase in a more ruthless manner!
Do let us know what happens.

The ea would have wanted it back on straight away all they want is their comission on the sale i doubt it was the vendors choice not to wait

Offer £12k below the asking price, prepared to go to £10k below. If they don't accept it then walk away.

I wouldn't want to do business with the agent or the vendor.
Even if they accept a lower price there is still potential for mucking about further down the line.

That said if you still like the house you could end up with a good deal here .

Recently bought and sold myself and it's horrid I sympathise. I am pleased that I dealt with reasonable pleasant people on both sides of our chain and we had direct contact with them as the agents were useless. That helped a lot. But I appreciate others might want to deal with it entirely transactionally.

I’m not sure why you would need to be concerned about being mucked about later down the line because you had got to the point of exchange with them already. You’ve got an opportunity here to get the house you wanted for a lot less money and without the major emotional energy/stress you had invested in it previously. You are considering cutting your nose off to spite your face and I really think principles don’t come into this. Show me a person who hasn’t had a cross word to say about an estate agent or a vendor (or buyer for that matter). When the house purchase is completed the vendor and estate agent disappear from your view and mean nothing to you so why should they now?!

Selling a house is a business for many and quick sales are what is preferred. Buyers make an offer, which is then sometimes counter- offered or last bid left on the table. You pulled out - you cannot expect anyone to put their house selling on hold because of that. Don't offer more than what the going price is (which can go down if taking a long time to sell). You are lucky the price has gone down, if you love the house so much, to not go ahead at this point is just cutting your nose to spite your face and will affect you more than the seller who will, no doubt, get an offer sooner or later.

I would offer lower tbh, a considerable amount lower at that

Depends how much you like or want it and if anything better has come up. Don't always believe what agents tell you. If you are in a good position again and still really like it going in with an offer close to asking price based on the fact your legal work and survey have more or less been done. Give them a take it or leave it offer

@E17Stowmum

The estate agents do not work for you. They work for the vendor.

Lol. The estate agents work for the estate agents.

Get a list of works needed, have them costed and out in an offer with that taken off the asking price. I did that but the offer went to the vendor not the agent, and l got a better house! The only way to do it.
I had a local estate agent tell me that my offer on a probate house was too high! She wanted me to reduce mine - and then a local buddy builder gets it for a steal.

Low lifes most of them, failed used car salesman. NEVER be pressured into buying with that sort of crap. Good luck

Go with your instincts

Principles? House buying?

Every property I have brought or sold - it’s been about two things

1. Securing the absolute maximum I possibly can given demand for my property. So on one occasion accepting a £10k higher offer the day after accepting an offer.

1. Securing the best property for the best price. And that has involved negotiation, hard, post survey, to get a reduction in price.

In the world of mumsnet - the above behaviour is criminal!