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.

He doesn't deserve 10k off.

Id have it back on the market!

But, selling a probate property can be stressful. If getting rid of it is worth the drop in price to you, then don’t feel you have any moral compulsion to take the high road. Sometimes it’s worth ditching a property at any cost. This may not apply to you, but I felt it was worth saying.

Every word of this.

Your buyer has until 5pm to agree and proceed the sale at the full original asking price, not the £10k reduction, or it will be going back on the open market. The buyer for this flat is out there, it just isn't this bloke.

Great suggestion. Selling my house was the most stressful thing I have ever done, you have my sympathies.

I would not have dropped to a lower 10k at all. He is messing you about, clearly, having been aware of the other apartment all along.

Don't let such bad behaviour pay off for him. You hold all the cards.

Definitely don't fall for this. It will annoy you for years if you do.

^ This

I wouldn't drop the price by £10k either, let alone £20k. Stick with the original price and put it back on the market if necessary.

I totally agree.

However tempting all the revenge fantasies are, step back and take a cool look at your position on the market.

If you remarket are you likely to get the same price again? How do you feel about the stress?

You don’t need to worry about teaching this buyer a lesson. Do what will get you the best deal in the current market in your area.

This

It’s a gamble, and you need strong nerves! - but I’d go for sticking firm. Did it once with a buyer who tried it on just a few days before exchange. What really pissed me off was that the estate agent did his best to persuade me - evidently on her side. It was very fairly priced anyway, and because I’d accepted her already reduced-price offer, I’d stuck to my word and turned down a higher one a day or two later.
She eventually went ahead with the purchase.

Get one of your friends to pretend to buy the other property and take it off the market for a few weeks, they won't have any legal obligation till exchange so why not :)

Go back and say actually the 10k drop is off the table, complete today for the agreed price or you'll walk.
Cheeky fucker!

If just say no and instruct the EA to put it back on the market

Get one of your friends to pretend to buy the other property and take it off the market for a few weeks, they won't have any legal obligation till exchange so why not :)

Seriously?!

i would withdraw the 10K drop and say if they don’t want it at the price you originally agreed the sale won’t go ahead!

He's taking the piss.

Stand firm and tell him the £10k drop is off the table

He won’t be able to exchange today if you drop the price by £10k because it will change the loan to value ratio and he will need an amended mortgage offer. So I would pull back on dropping the price and give them a deadline to exchange and complete otherwise you will remarket.

We had this happen to us years ago - the buyer walked away and we ended up selling our very desirable property for £40k more than their original offer and competing within a month. As you don’t have time pressure or a purchase relying on this sale, I would hold your ground.

Let the buyer go for the other apartment. And withdraw the £10k offer. I would rather lose money and sell to somebody else.

Depends entirely if you need to sell but if it was me Id say, after consideration I'm not prepared to make any further concessions and withdraw the 10 offer, the property will be remarketed. Wish you well with your purchase ect ect.

Id call their bluff they are likely chancing it and taking the piss, So if you can afford to, push back to original agreed price.

Thanks all. I will instruct EA the £10k offer is off the table. Going to be a nervy day.

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."

He is a cash buyer, purchasing for his Mum. She said our flat was very small, the other one is far smaller!

I also certainly do not have a lot of money 😆 but I won't be shafted on this because of it!

No is a complete sentence.

There should be a register of such people publicly accessible. English property law should be replaced by the same as Scottish law unless someone can do better.

The spivs and chancers charter should end.

Yeah, why not if it gets the sale over the line. They can offer a high price like 20k over on the condition the agent takes its offer market, get an AIP which takes 5 mins online if agent asks. Once your sale goes through in a week, just change their mind.

Original price BUT he has to exchange by noon today. Otherwise the price goes up a further £10k.

We had similar with MiL's place. In both cases, our solicitor was amazing and encouraged us to hold our nerve. The 1st one was when we had bought her a flat, borrowed money from my dad whilst MiL's house sold. CF buyer thought we were so desperate for the cash that it would work. It didn't. 2nd time was after MiL had died. Estate Agent was crap so I got a massive discount off the fees. CF buyer 2 demanded £4000 for new windows as the keys were missing. Keys were £1.50 each. Our solicitor phoned me to tell me she'd received this ludicrous demand. I asked her to write back referring to the response in Ariel Vs Pressdram, a case she was not familiar with. She is now, and she did it for free. Not heard a peep out of them since.