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Original poster

House Offer Price Drop

67 replies

Somersetgirl1 · 02/12/2022 16:43

Hi all,

Just wanted to get some idea of costs of installing new boiler. To give the background, my mum is selling her house. She agreed a price drop of £15k (they asked for £20). They have come back to her saying that the boiler must be replaced (she has had it serviced every year and is in working order) and have tried to drop her another £5k for the cost as any new boiler would need to to be moved (it is probably true that any new installation would need to be moved as regulations change). This seems like cheeky fuckery to me - I had a brand new worcester bosch put in my house and it needed slightly moving and I had new radiators and tank/airing cupboard removed - I know that was a couple of years back but it didn't cost anywhere near thia. My gut feeling is that because she is in her late 80's they are pushing their luck. Any thoughts welcome

OP posts:
HeckyPeck · 02/12/2022 19:15

Dreamsoffreedomjoyandpeace · 02/12/2022 19:08

Personally I’d say no because I wouldn’t trust them.

Same here.

What was their reason for dropping £15k?

CantFindTheBeat · 02/12/2022 19:17

DenholmElliot11 · 02/12/2022 17:18

How much did your mum pay for the house originally and how much is she selling it for now?

Why do you ask, @DenholmElliot11 ?

Nevermind31 · 02/12/2022 19:20

Just say no, there won’t be any further reductions - so either they’ll move forward, or they pull out.

NK346f2849X127d8bca260 · 02/12/2022 19:41

Our boiler was replaced a year ago, it included new pump and programmer and some outside brickwork for flue. The total cost was £2500.

jimmyjammy001 · 02/12/2022 19:43

Markets in a downturn, if she's got other offers than go for them, if not go with what is being offered, if the house was brought many years ago then she will have likely make £100ks profit out of it anyways, no need to be greedy

Tekkentime · 02/12/2022 19:44

It depends, if your mum can afford the 5k then yes because she can move near you and to me it'd be worth 5k.
If she can't, then say no, hopefully she will get their holding deposit too.
The only thing i'd consider is that house prices will likely go down even further and if she's ready to move then i'd go ahead and get it sold.

1ittlegreen · 02/12/2022 19:54

I really want the system to change in this country, it's so stressful. I hear Scotland has a better system.

Is there anyway that your DM could rent for a year and re-market when the economy has picked up a bit? It's just that this has happened to me twice since September and both wanted money off and both proved to be unreliable buyers.

Our latest wanted to treat historic woodworm at 4k and wanted us to carry out the work. It was something we had not noticed ever on our Victorian floorboards so we said no. They wouldn't budge so we offered half. They still wouldn't budge and we wanted the sale so we told them we would ring-fence the 4k with our solicitor and they would have upto a year to use it for woodworm on the condition that they got three independent quotes for the work.

They threw their toys out the pram again and we took great pleasure in telling them we wouldn't be selling to them.

We have since decided to rent and try again in a year. We are moving out of London so I guess that makes a difference as renting elsewhere is a lot cheaper.

Don't reduce it even more, this will not be the end of their fuckery.

Tekkentime · 02/12/2022 19:58

1ittlegreen · 02/12/2022 19:54

I really want the system to change in this country, it's so stressful. I hear Scotland has a better system.

Is there anyway that your DM could rent for a year and re-market when the economy has picked up a bit? It's just that this has happened to me twice since September and both wanted money off and both proved to be unreliable buyers.

Our latest wanted to treat historic woodworm at 4k and wanted us to carry out the work. It was something we had not noticed ever on our Victorian floorboards so we said no. They wouldn't budge so we offered half. They still wouldn't budge and we wanted the sale so we told them we would ring-fence the 4k with our solicitor and they would have upto a year to use it for woodworm on the condition that they got three independent quotes for the work.

They threw their toys out the pram again and we took great pleasure in telling them we wouldn't be selling to them.

We have since decided to rent and try again in a year. We are moving out of London so I guess that makes a difference as renting elsewhere is a lot cheaper.

Don't reduce it even more, this will not be the end of their fuckery.

I like that approach, it's a good idea.
When we sold, they offered the asking price and wanted something doing for £300, we agreed to go halves and got it done whilst we still lived there so we knew the reason was legit.

pigsDOfly · 02/12/2022 19:59

jimmyjammy001 · 02/12/2022 19:43

Markets in a downturn, if she's got other offers than go for them, if not go with what is being offered, if the house was brought many years ago then she will have likely make £100ks profit out of it anyways, no need to be greedy

How the hell does 'greedy' come into it.

OP's mother needs to sell at the maximum she can get. It's not a case of being greedy, she needs the money to buy another home.

It's irrelevant when she bought it and how much she paid for it.

The house or flat she's buying in order to move nearer to OP will be priced at today's price, not the price it would have been whenever the OP's mother bought her original house.

If anything it's the buyer of her house that is being greedy, trying to push the price down and down again and wanting another £5K for a new boiler, which is highly unlikely to cost anywhere near that and which, isn't the OP's mother responsibility to pay for anyway.

L1ttledrummergirl · 02/12/2022 20:42

In the case of our buyer, they are buying a small flat that has 24 hour support so medical help can arrive quickly in the event of an emergency. It's set up to provide care as needed whilst allowing independence for as long as possible.

The buyer that's holding up this process so they can try to save a few quid are selfish greedy bastards with no thought to the damage they are causing to others.

I feel the same about anyone who makes buying/selling properties more difficult by dicking around to save (compared to the cost of the purchase) pennies.

If they want to be sure that the boiler is new either tell the estate agent that they will only consider houses with this or just buy a new build.

Original poster
Somersetgirl1 · 02/12/2022 21:12

jimmyjammy001 - its not a case of her being greedy - she needs the money to buy a new home. Secondly, at 85 years she has no way of making up income to account for this loss. My mother was widowed at 40 years old so has a shitty pension as it is, so does not have the vast savings that many people assume old people to have. The system also removes other offers - the house is off the market SSTC until a. they have the survey done, and b. review etc so other potential buyers are lost. This is particularly the case with potential buyers who are in a decent position as they have sold, and they are themselves under time pressure to move out for their own buyers - so would have got somewhere else

I agree with L1ttledrummergirl - if it was a small amount I would suggest going halves. I have bought properties with old boilers and my attitude is that if it lasts 1 year or ten years its a bonus as I can see its old!

Mum is now just thinking of taking it off the market as she is fed up with the process - that's really why I have started discussions on her behalf (at her request) as she is also fed up with dealing with EA's who often forget who exactly they do work for.

OP posts:
Murdoch1949 · 02/12/2022 23:33

Hate buyers like this. She dropped price now they're back again. I wouldn't sell to them, they're the sort who on day before contracts are being signed ask for a reduction. If they want it, pay the price. Reassure your mum she'll get another buyer. Tell her to just reject them as buyers, they're wasters. Happened to me thos year as I was selling mum's house. Buyer keen, then kept asking for more and more documentation, servicing etc, delay after delay. I ended the deal, got another buyer at a higher price 3 days later, completed with 4 weeks. Karma.

CatJumperTwat · 02/12/2022 23:43

Your mum is in a weak position. House prices are dropping quickly and unless it's a particularly desirable area, she's unlikely to get offers at the same level if she pulls out and remarkets. Whether she'll get £20k less (and whether this will be the end of the buyers' demands) needs to be considered.

Krabapple · 02/12/2022 23:51

why don’t you agree to split the cost & knock £2500 off?

Allsnotwell · 03/12/2022 00:20

Well if her house drops in price so do the ones she wants to buy.

The only losers are the banks.

That said they’ve had £15,000 reduction already. Just say the boiler works fine and take it or leave it.

They can only say no.

changeme4this · 03/12/2022 01:05

Years ago when we were selling we had an offer that was nearly 6digits below our asking figure, they based it on Re-doing the not so old bathrooms to their liking.

they were told we had no plans on funding a major cosmetic makeover and perhaps the house style wasn’t best suited to them either.

don’t feel pressured into dropping your price, just because..

Winter2020 · 03/12/2022 01:23

I would tell them if the house had a new boiler it would have been priced 5k higher. It's price reflects an older boiler. So replacing it is already priced in if that's what they want to do.

If the people buying your mum's house let their mortgage and interest rate expire the next will likely be more expensive so I would expect they would not want to lose the house.

It's a risk I would take without an urgent need to sell.

Raindancer411 · 03/12/2022 01:28

Gawd, we never asked this of our sellers, we just replaced when we moved in (turned out he had installed it himself and the thing was dangerous too, he had used a too small gas pipe!!)

I think they are using it as another way to get to the £20k reduction as your mum didn't do the full reduction. I would tell them on their bike...

Lurkerlot · 03/12/2022 01:32

18 months ago I paid £1800. That included moving it, and drilling new outlets etc.

BlessMyCottonSocks · 03/12/2022 01:45

jimmyjammy001 · 02/12/2022 19:43

Markets in a downturn, if she's got other offers than go for them, if not go with what is being offered, if the house was brought many years ago then she will have likely make £100ks profit out of it anyways, no need to be greedy

Stop with this ‘no need to be greedy’ shit. OPs mum will use the proceeds of the sale to fund her next purchase and no-one is going to give her a free ride.

BlessMyCottonSocks · 03/12/2022 01:51

And yes, if the boiler is working and has been regularly serviced, there is no need to fund a replacement that doesn’t actually need to be made at this time.

Yes, the market is slowing but if the buyers want to play hardball, then tell them to start looking for another property which will take them longer to complete on during which time the cost of mortgages will likely have risen even further than they have done already.

Yes they are trying to take advantage of an old lady. Shame on them.

Untitledsquatboulder · 03/12/2022 06:35

The house is worth what someone will pay for it. If your mum doesn't agree to what's being offered she should find another buyer.

AuntieJoyce · 03/12/2022 07:02

Can she seek to adjust on what she’s buying? The market where we are is correcting rapidly. The boiler “issue” may just be a way of adjustment to what the buyer now considers to be the market price

GrinAndVomit · 03/12/2022 07:12

I would hazard a guess, after buying our first home last month, that their mortgage lender has offered them a mortgage for £20k less than the asking price. If they were need a mortgage with £5k more they would need to reapply and, therefore, have their interest rates double.
I don’t think they’re being cheeky. Maybe they accepted the £15k discount thinking they could find that £5k from somewhere but it hasn’t happened.
Can your mum afford the £5k drop? Will it affect her being able to buy the property she wants?

yoyy · 03/12/2022 07:30

In a falling market what's she is buying should also be cheaper. It depends how badly your mum wants to sell however the market is likely to be worse next year so if she's happy to stay out for a few yrs then say no.