To tell gazunderer to do one?

[Mustnotbeleftblank]

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.

I think it is NZ that have a piece of paper where you agree the offer with homeowner then sign and deposit funds, even at the house viewing and only if major defects are found or searches reveal something that would fundamentally affect the property it is a legally binding agreement.

It would help so much because it means that you know as a seller you have sold and can start to look around at where to buy and it would save so much disappointment if you find your dream home and can sign to secure that property with the knowledge that everything should proceed smoothly.

This present system is rubbish for everyone.

I think it is NZ that have a piece of paper where you agree the offer with homeowner then sign and deposit funds, even at the house viewing and only if major defects are found or searches reveal something that would fundamentally affect the property it is a legally binding agreement.

It's like that in America too. You agree on the price, the lawyers negotiate the contract, and the buyer puts deposit money (usually 10% of the price) into escrow. If the buyer can't complete or changes their mind, the seller keeps the escrow deposit. All of this dicking around at the last minute doesn't happen. It benefits both parties.

I assume you've never experienced grief? How insensitive!

Doesnt sound right that the money wasnt ready to go

id go with what younpriginally wanted to do and put it back on the market-dont strng it out theyre clearly not ready to buy

Now the other executor who was of the opinion to take any reasonable offer to get the property sold is absolutely raging, and they want to tell him to foxtrot oscar and put the flat back on the market. I'm letting them calm down and let me know they're sure before I break that to the EA.

Just do it. This isn't a buyer in good faith. Whatever issue you try to solve he'll come up with another. Increasing his offers by £1000 at a time is just his way of trying to push you into giving in. At that rate he could keep this going for another 17 days! If there's still no money

I'm with the co-executor in the foxtrot oscar stakes. I know it means more work, but equally the CF is causing stress, and (for me anyway) it would stick in my craw for a long time after the sale if I caved and he got it on his terms after all his dicking about.

Holy crap!!

sack this buyer off and put it back on the market today. Different EA if necessary.

I’ve said YABU, because YABU to reduce by 10k! Hold completely firm.

The buyer accused you of dicking around?.

Deal off, back on the market, no further negotiations. Even if you end up with a few grand less, it's worth it for not having to deal with a dishonest gazundering dickhead. A house sale is always stressful; when it's a probate retirement property, you need to factor your sanity into the costs as well. Ditch this twat.

What a nasty buyer

That's unfair - I think it's more accurate to call him a nasty fantasist buyer.

What is it with people who don't have funds in place to buy a house but somehow think that, if they can pressure you to knock a chunk off, they'll then somehow have the remaining 90% (or whatever) of the funds in place?

And those who are clearly never going to be in a position to buy regardless, and so are just playing with people's lives and wasting everybody's time (including their own) - is it just a sick hobby for people without much to do in their lives or something?

Pretty annoyed with the EA too, I asked them to relist when they told me and that I wouldn't get into a bidding war. I think he must have asked them to take it off market when he agreed the purchase as it disappeared from Right Move and their website, but they refused saying "I don't want to lose the buyer."

I kind of got the impression @Mustnotbeleftblank that you were absolutely not going to accept the £20k drop. I am appalled that they are refusing to relist the property - you are employing them not the other way round.

I would have a suspicion the the EA know the person who offered the house and are trying to help him rather than you. I would really call this off and relist with someone else. The EA's aren't doing you any favours, as far as I can see

I'm not a knee jerk reactionist and am well aware of retirement property restrictions and the attendant problems with securing viable buyers for these kind of properties. That said, the OP has said the location is south east I think and that the fees and service charges are not particularly high for this kind of living arrangement, unlike many others that might be competition. This particular flat is also more desirable than the other that's come to the market.

The prospective purchaser had no good faith and can't be regarded as a genuine buyer. I'd question the amount of effort the EA has put into checking them and their ability to proceed.

I would be reviewing the EA's terms and potentially changing agent. I would also get other valuations and remarket the property at a sensible market price.

As for the previous poster upthread who announced that they're intending to gazunder their prospective vendor? That's not playing hardball, that's despicable. Presuming it wasn't just a WUM, I really hope that all turns out the way it should.

Yep, we just went through this with a property. Seller wanted “earnest funds”. Actually she ended up being a nightmare. Wanted to close immediately which was quite a scramble. Then needed to stay so we gave her 2 months at a very low rent-back amount, but after that it would rise to the going rate for a rental home.

She wigged out! At the closing she was in the parking lot, waving her hands around. We could see but couldn’t hear so we’re pretty worried. We found out later she had asked her agent “why do I have to pay to rent my own house?” Yep, she thought we should give her $ but let her stay there for next to nothing indefinitely.

People are weird.

The takeaway thing from your latest update @Mustnotbeleftblank, is that the money, for a cash buyer wasn't in the account on the day that they were saying and had previously agreed to as the day to complete the sale.

I'd tell the buyer that the sale is not going to them anymore and the property is going back on the market with the fixed comment "Offers OVER X amount only" or "Asking price of X, offers over will be reviewed". Do not take anything under the asking price.

Why haven’t you already relisted?! This buyer not only is mucking you about on the price but also… doesn’t have the money anyway??? Price drop or not clearly they have lied about their financial
situation. What is all this stalling about, you’re wasting time that you could be finding a new buyer. Plus it doesn’t commit you to anything either way - seeing you relist gives the buyer a kick up the bum to stop messing about and exchange at the agreed price if you’re still happy to do that. I’m getting so stressed and it isn’t even my property 😅😂

Now the other executor who was of the opinion to take any reasonable offer to get the property sold is absolutely raging, and they want to tell him to foxtrot oscar and put the flat back on the market.

I would do the same TBH. You aren't desperate to sell. You will get another buyer. Even if you get to exchange contracts with this one, they'll find other ways to mess you about.

Check carefully the estate agent's terms of business and the contract you have with them, with a view to terminating the arrangement and starting anew with a different agent. Then have words with them about their checks on the status of the buyer, the removal of the listing at his request and their competence in the conduct of the negotiation and sale process. Take nothing for granted and make sure there isn't anything you've overlooked in the small print before terminating the arrangement, as you do not want to be left inadvertently with liabilities to pay the agent even if you go to another agent.

Do a bit of research online and by talking to local agents about current market conditions and how similar flats are selling in the general area and at what level of price before setting your asking price with the new agent.

If he hadn’t transferred funds to his lawyer then I think he had every intention to pull this kind of stunt - was he the one who suggested exchanging and completing on the same day?

Could you resist with another agent?

Tell the agent to relist today for the weekend traffic.

@Mummysalwaysright that’s just nasty and bitter. Go away if you can’t offer either support or advice.

@Mustnotbeleftblank I’d change EA as lots have said and re market. Good luck.

The op never clarified how long this flat hung around on the market before accepting the offer of £20k below asking

although I suspect fact she did accept just a substantial reduction in asking price - gives us the answer ie - a long time

which explains why holding out hope this vendor will come through

When I posted earlier about being messed around, one of those WAS a retirement flat, so I do know what the OP is going through.

Ours too messed around on exchange day, "not realising" that she would have to pay a deposit. We had already told our solicitor that we would accept 5% rather than the usual 10%. Our stupid buyer was being egged on by her hardnosed son who thought he could get one over on us and it was at his instigation to demand money for new windows. We told our solicitor that we would accept as same day exchange & completion but they had to exchange by 11am or the deal was off. They did it at around 10.30 and completed just after noon.

OP, you aren't using a specialist EA with the initials RH are you? They were absolutely dreadful.

Why would you agree to accept only 5%?

Sometimes worth doing if you believe in your buyer and that they don’t have free cash of 10% of the purchase price at exchange on top of other things they need like stamp duty. We did it and were fine.

Yes absolutely

but… clearly this wasn’t the case with this one