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.

Perfection 👏

Yes, you can and people do.

See gazumping.

The point of exchange is when the deal is done. There is no "deal" before that.

Oh wow OP please come back an update us. He's royally funked this up hasn't he 😄

I think @Greenfairydust is the CF gazundering buyer.

And I suggest you tell the agent that you are their customer and if you ask them to relist you expect them to relist.
I’d not have dropped it a penny either, definitely take that £10k off the table and say if you are after the cheapest you should buy that other flat and someone else will appreciate ours and pay what it’s worth.

@Mustnotbeleftblank Surely you are the client and if you want the property relisted, the EA has to follow your instructions? I don't see how they are at liberty to refuse to do that?

Quite possibly @Iwasafool - but they’ll have to start again with surveys, solicitors will probably bill them for work already done on OPs apartment, etc and they don’t know they’ll get the smaller apartment for significantly less- and it’s smaller and less desirable location in the building. Plus they’d have to buy white goods etc, whereas they are all in at OPs flat.

unless they’ve already got an accepted offer on the other flat, they risk ending up with neither if OP relists.

Hold out OP.

Stay strong 💪

People try to gazump and try to gazunder because they are greedy and despicable. Both morally contemptible practises and should be treated as such when attempted as a tactic.

"The market didn't really drop though."

Says who. Who knows whether the market dropped in the area, whether the flat was originally marketed at a good price, and a whole host of about 1000 other issues.

I have some flats in my area that are dropping hugely in price at the moment for various technical reasons, mostly due to energy prices over the winter. It happens.

All that is important is that this buyer feels the place is worth 20K less to them, and the OP can choose to accept that reduction or not. i wouldn't pay 20K over the odds for something if I didn't think it was worth it.

Nope! What a sneaky prick. Your flat is bigger, it comes with all furniture and is in better condition. He’s trying it on! Don’t drop it by a penny. Give him one our to take it or leave it. If he leaves it (fool), relist the flat at 5k higher.

@LlynTegid the Scottish legal system isn't actually so different from English legal system. The difference seems to be in how the systems operate in practice

Exactly this. Demanding £20K to £30K more than the property(s) were worth a few months ago, is fine if you want to do that, (even upping it after you have put it on the market is fine.) It is NOT fine to up the price after someone has put an offer in.

You also do NOT drop your offer to a seller once you have given one, and the process has started.. And trying to drop the offer by £20,000, at the time of exchange makes you the worst kind of arsehole. And yes, this cheeky fucker the OP is dealing with does deserve to be told to fuck right off!

In the end it is a business transaction.

I hope this goes ahead for you OP.

An empty flat costs Insurance, Council Tax after the grace ‘free’ period, probably service charges and ground rent. A sold flat means significant interest on the money in a good savings account.

Will you find another buyer at the level of this buyers original accepted offer?

Hold firm if you can but take it all into account.

Well said. I am amazed it's even allowed to be honest.

OP please update us when you’ve heard back from this CF. I have a feeling you’ll have sold your flat at the agreed price by the end of the day.

Good luck OP, you have done the right thing. Hold your nerve!

I would tell them to fuck off out of principle if they are doing this the day before completion.
If they come crawling back they can have it for £50 above the agreed price.
As this is not your main residence I would be happy to lose the sale over it.

Totally this

Tell him to crack on

THIS ⬆

Call his bluff - or tell him he can have it for a 5K reduction, but without the furniture, if you are desperate to get the sale.

Then take the furniture out and take it to the tip if necessary.

He's an A-hole. Don't let him win.

At least in Scotland once the missives are signed it's a done deal and there's none of this last minute stressing.

Yes - and get in touch with your estate agent telling them it's back on the market so if he checks he will find it there.

What a total tosser!

"Thanks but someone's just offered 2k under the original price - you can still put in a counter-offer if you want, but good luck if not"

Good advice. I think the op needs to be a bit more hard headed than some of the angry posters on this thread suggest and make sure she gets the best outcome for her situation.

If you need to sell, you’ll have to reduce.
otherwise take the gamble and go back on the market. We are planning to do exactly this to get a reduction, not on exchange day but very close. It’s a very tough market, you have to play hard ball