To tell gazunderer to do one?

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Selling a probate property, due to exchange and complete today. Agreed price was £20k less than asking/previous purchase price and included all furniture. Ours was the show home apartment, and another was put on the market which is empty, much smaller and in a less favourable, dark and dingy aspect at £20k lower than our agreed price 🙄 this flat is with an EA who persistently undervalues these properties which is why I did not use them.

Received a call from our Estate Agents yesterday. Buyer still wants our apartment but now wants to pay the same as the cheaper, crappier one or he'll withdraw and buy the other apartment. I am properly pissed, but offer £10k off to get it past the line.

Buyer is firm, £20k less or he'll walk.

I think the buyer is trying their luck, the other property was marketed in March. I've seen the buyer at the building whilst clearing out the property, I know they've been to look at the other flat long before this week and I suspected that he would try something like this at the last minute. I am also confident it's our flat he wants, just at the crap flat's price.

I've made them wait for my response, and having slept on it I am of the mind to hold firm on the £10k drop, requiring immediate exchange to stop him dicking about, or deal's off. If he walks, I will still have the property to remarket as well as all the furniture the buyer wanted included in the sale which will cover fees to date, and he'll have taken the competing property off the market.

AIBU to not reduce further and wish them luck with the other property if they withdraw, or do I suck up losing £20k?

Selling a property in England sucks.

He pays the original agreed price today or the sale doesn't go through.
Property goes back on the market with a different estate agent.

@GasPanic Seller has to disclose a home report, yes https://www.mygov.scot/buying-a-home/home-report#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20document%20that,of%20you%20asking%20for%20it.

But even before home reports were introduced, if I made an offer to buy your house (subject to survey), you accepted the offer, I would have been expected to arrange a survey within a matter of days, to speed up the process

Also, we have standard clauses for missives, which simplifies the process
https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/rules-and-guidance/rules-and-guidance/section-f/division-c/advice-and-information/scottish-standard-clauses/

But, I still think a lot of the difficulties in England arise from expectations. My impression is that in England, people consider it undesirable to exchange contracts at the last moment, but nonetheless accept it may be inevitable. In Scotland, I think people wouldn't tolerate that, and if you delayed concluding missives, then you'd lose out on the purchase, and the house would go to the next highest bidder

To clarify, I'm not criticising the OP, but I don't like what I hear about how the English system operates in practice

And if you countered with that I'd be happy to stop viewings and give you a week to instruct a solicitor and survey. But it stays on Rightmove. Buyers too often want to dawdle along once the offer is accepted and the not-fit-for-purpose English conveyancing system promotes dithering by all parties. If you make an offer you're agreeing to get your backside in gear.

Your offer is subject to survey. Why should the Seller carry all the risk of you changing your mind once you finally get around to having it carried out?

Do you have a backup plan in case they tell you to take a running jump?

This. I would pull out and wouldn't sell to him at all if it were me tbh

Total CF.

I hope you have rescinded the -£10k offer.

Let them buy that shittier flat.

😂😂😂

Or if he is lucky, he will find a few "mums", of any age and gender, who will fit into this place nicely. And pay a fat rental for the pleasure

The main difference in Scotland is there aren’t chains in the same way. This can cause headaches with gaps between selling and buying or vice versa.

If I didn't need the money immediately I'd say I'm not longer willing to sell to them, but I am very petty when people piss me off!

You can't just insist on exchanging contracts. The buyer's solicitor has to apply to the council for searches (took 4 weeks gor our house) and get all the other things like land registry checks, you need a mortgage offer (can take 6 weeks at the moment - I'm a broker), and so on.

Many do continue to market but my offers are conditional that it is listed as sold subject to contract.

I’d be so annoyed with the estate agent over this. Definitely tell them to do one

Probably stating the obvious but it all depends on the market. In my area, in 2020/21 it was totally a sellers market and sellers could demand whatever they liked. Properties were flying off rightmove with people bidding more than 200k over asking in some cases. Not anymore though. Since the interest rate increases, no one can shift anything anymore without being flexible on price etc..

I'd also be changing EA after this. Shitty tactics.

Haha take that CF! I'd be tempted to relist for a higher asking price next time. And if he puts in another offer, don't respond for a few days and then say no.

Even better! I hope Nicky Campbell and the Long Lost Family team will be there for the grand reunion!

I haven’t read whole thread, so maybe repeating, never forget that the EA works for you , you’re paying them . Look at contract and move agent asap . It will be a stone in your shoe if you let this CF have one over on you . Good luck and sorry for your loss x

Same thing happened to my friend. They said get lost and got another buyer very quickly.

You're £10k reduction is generous, let's hope he's reasonable. If he isn't he can buy the dingy one....

Even if you don’t drop another £10k he’s already got £10k off just for asking one question and being an absolute CF. If he does complete the sale I’d be tempted to leave him a parting fish gift under a floorboard 😆xx

Do you need to complete or sell now or quickly? If not i'd play them at their own game, remove the 10k drop and add on another 5k to the asking price.
Tell them if they aren't happy they can always buy the other property.
If they do move into the property below you can always choose to let yours to a noisy family 😂

Honestly - I wouldn't even drop it by another 10K. He pays the full agreed price or the house goes on the market again. At the end of the day this is a 'probate' house, so you don't need to sell so that you yourself can move. He's playing a game and stick to your guns. The full agreed price or he doesn't get the house

We had this with buyers a week before exchange/completion, they wanted 10k as their buyer had reduced their offer to them. We held firm, no 10k discount for cheeky offers/suggestions. One consideration is that you will both have to pay legal fees to start again. If you aren’t buying something (so won’t be able to see the uplift on the next property) it may be worth waiting for a more dedicated buyer? Have you check land registry to see how much flats on your development sell for? Agents generally use historical sales data to value properties and take an average of this figure to market properties. Good luck with it all, whatever you decide.

Just read your posts, OP. Well done for telling him to shove his demands. Definitely a CF!

Don't reduce at all, and certainly not by 10k. Hold firm.

I think you need to view this as a business transaction and remove the emotion from the situation.

Where are you based? Property prices are falling in the south, especially SE, but rising elsewhere. However, yesterday's interest rate increase will dampen the property market somewhat.

How easily will you find another buyer willing to pay more? That is the question you need to consider.

There is no point putting the property back on the market in order to accept an even lower offer. But if you believe that you will find another buyer willing to pay more, then go for it.

Stick to your guns! 100%. I would actually say, "if you don't complete I will withdraw the additional £10k reduction"