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.

Why have you dropped it at all?
, The guy thinks you'll completely roll over and id prob think the same

Well done for standing firm, they sound like arseholes so good on you!

Your circumstances play a large part in your strategy, but if you can afford to I would be tempted to tell them to Foxtrot Oscar and knock the whole agreement on the head. I'd also be having words with the EA about why your wishes regarding marketing the property were not respected.

This is why I always advice not to stop marketing a property your selling until the point of exchange, and that includes taking viewings. There is no such thing as 'sold subject to contract'. The property market is not about being nice.

Estate agents seem to forget that they are acting on behalf of the vendor, not the purchaser imo.

They'd rather have less commission this month than more a couple of months down the line.

Utter tossers, most of them.

What a prick. I hate this shit.

I really hope you hold firm to the agreed price and don't drop at all. Let him buy the crappier property!

This - buys yours at price agreed or goes for the crappier flat.

I know it's easy for us to say it when we aren't directly involved but he's playing hardball and you can too.

I've been shafted by buyers in the past and hate the way we buy and sell houses. That said, my advice would be, tell the agent that your response is, contracts exchange by 4pm today at the originally agreed price that he offered of his own free will, or you'll expect to see the property being marketed by them, actively on their website, Rightmove, whatever else is appropriate, by 5pm tonight, and he can take his chances.

They are contracted by you to act in your interests, not his. If they don't play ball, find another agent.

Sorry for your loss and the additional stress and heartache that comes with it.

This!

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As others have said hold firm. I would even go so far as to instruct the EA to remarked at Midday today, obviously telling buyer you are doing so, so they have until then, then you will remarked and look for a more serious buyer.

Funnily enough this happened to a friend of mine......on exchange day buyer dropped price and wouldn't budge, friend relisted that day and a previous person who had viewed the property and wanted it but couldn't because theirs hadn't sold, saw it and offered full asking price that day.

Friend accepted their offer and when original buyer came back and said ok I will proceed at agreed price friend told them where to go. They lost all the legal money etc and 6 weeks later friend exchanged with new buyer.

Original buyer was pissed off and kept coming back to EA begging to buy the house and even upped their offer......friend didn't want to sell to them anymore so kept telling them to F'Off.

Your ‘ex buyer’ (hopefully) sounds like scum, he doesn’t have his mums best interests at heart either, that’s obvious if he’s willing to put her in a dingy flat to save 20k.

Bin him!

Don’t drop at all. As it’s been rejected I’d tell him the £10k is no longer an option and it’s agreed asking price or no sale. If he wanted the other flat for that price he would have offered on it. He’s just trying his luck.

As others have said you need to put a fucking leash on your EA, you instruct them not the other way around.

Incredibly unprofessional from them

It’s a shitty tactic, and I would be tempted to tell them to fuck off on principle. However, it does depend a bit in what your asking price is - if it is £200k they are being ridiculously cheeky. If it is £950k, I’d probably grit my teeth and put up with it for a sale, given the current market.

It would be a firm no from me and the 10k drop is now no longer on the table. If the other apartment is so great at the reduced price then your buyer can get that one instead.

Sorry you are going through this on top of your bereavement, OP.

I think you are definitely doing the right thing not to cave into pressure to accept a silly offer. Be prepared to move estate agent today if you don't get what you want.

There are some good estate agents out there, you have been unlucky with your current one.

An arsehole once tried this tactic with us some years ago when we were selling DH's grandmother's old flat. It is a ruse designed to bully vendors, I think.

We got to the point of just about to exchange contracts and he suddenly demanded that we drop the price by £10k or he would walk away. He thought that would intimate us into doing as he asked but we told him to bugger off.

We relisted the property and not long after that sold it to a different buyer for pretty much the asking price.

You're doing the right thing holding firm here and withdrawing the offer of dropping by £10k. So what if this twat walks!!? You'll have dodged a bullet and will be better off for it

I would say

the 10k offer is on the table until end of monday
if not willing to proceed and exchange monday then it is back to full asking or withdrawing - their choice

What a scumbag! Definitely stick to the agreed price, I wouldn’t even knock £10k off. It’s incredibly cheeky and cruel to lower an offer on the day of exchange. He doesn’t deserve the property. Hold your nerve and stick to your guns OP, it’s a pain but £20k is a huge sum of money. Fingers crossed for you! He’s the one losing out

"Fuck around and find out". He's fucking around, time he found out.

What an absolute chancer. You are right to take away the offer of 10k less. Serves him right.

This! Good luck, OP

how much are the flats.. is it 10k on 800k or 10 k on 150k,..

He is a cash buyer, purchasing for his Mum

Far more likely he's a BTL landlord with a sweet story about his dear old mum

You've done the right thing in telling the EA to retract the £10k reduction - as PPs have said you're in a strong position here since it's a "spare" property and doesn't affect a move of your own
Tell him it's his choice and just remarket itt if he refuses

Just tell him that the executors have a duty to obtain the best price. If they won't agree to pay the agreed price it will have to be remarketed and, further, no offers from current proposed buyer will be considered.

I’d go back and say the 10k reduction was now off the table and he has until 1pm to decide to proceed at asking price or you’ll sell to your reserve buyer 😉