To think our buyer is really out of order.

[PrincelySu]

We are selling our property, it's a detached cottage in a rural location, and was valued at £750k. We need a fairly quick sale due to our circumstances, we got an offer of £725k, we countered with £735k, and the buyer agreed. The cottage has lovely original features and is very quirky.

On the initial viewing, before they'd even made an offer, we pointed out a couple of things that may need to be looked at, one of those being the roof. Due to this, the buyer got a surveyor round, who agreed that the roof should be looked at. That is the only thing that has been flagged on the survey. The buyer organised a roofer to come and have a look, and the roofer said it's a quirky cottage and roof, but there is nothing wrong with the integrity. There are no leaks, damage, the felt is fine. There are a few tiles missing and it doesn't look great, but this is only cosmetic. The roofer said it is optional to replace the roof, and you'd probably want to at some point, but it's fine.

In between all of this, the buyer also came back to view the house twice more, to measure up for their furniture, plan where to paint and how to redesign the house, both of these visits totalling 4 hours. Which we were happy to do and accommodated.

The buyer has now decided they want the roof replacing and wants £10k off the house price! We said no, the roof doesn't need replacing, the roofer said it was optional and we've already given you a £15k discount from the listed price. The buyer has come back saying that they 'only wanted to pay £725k in the first place and they are fed up to be honest.'

AIBU to think they are being really out of order?! I feel like saying they can't have the house out of principle.

OP the first rule of negotiation is that reasons are irrelevant - it’s all about finding a deal that both parties are happy with. Ignore the roof and the survey etc. Are you happy to take the amount they are now offering or reject it, with the risk that they may walk away? Decide what your minimum price is and stick to it. Forget about everything else - it’s just noise.

As you need to sell, counteroffer 5K with the stipulation that there is to be no further negotiation and they need to exchange by whatever date or you are re-marketing.

It is normal practice to re-negotiate and important not to take it personally. We were asked once to pay an extra 25K on a 400K property the day before exchange or it would be auctioned. That was painful but we stumped up (as we really wanted it).

You’re overthinking it. Put it back on the market.

It's a dirty game. Something similar happened to somebody I know. He got fed up and instead upped the value of his property by 20K. Actually worked in his favour!

If you think you can achieve 735-750K in your timeframe then you are free to spend 1k repairing the roof, turn down the existing buyers and relist. I don’t think they are being cheeky, they have paid for a survey and got a roofer out -they are serious buyers.

OP we were selling a house in 2019 for my MIL. Survey great, house immaculate.

On the day of exchange the buyers announced that they wanted to pay £20K less than agreed. We said no. Exchange didn't happen. Three others in the chain were waiting and fretting. The next day they said they were ready to exchange but only at £20K less than agreed. We said no. Heard nothing back.

My MIL was on blood pressure medication and by the third day the stress was making her very unwell.

I think in the end we dropped the price by £5K as a goodwill gesture to get this deal done and it got done.

Later our solicitor told us that they had the money ready to go but the husband worked in finance and wasn't prepared to pay the agreed price "on principle" as he was "an expert negotiator who never paid full price for anything." In layman's terms, he was a dickhead.

You are at the mercy of these people keeping their word until the sale is completed. If they've already - literally - told you that they don't want to pay more than £725K then I fear that's what they will end up paying.

If you don't want to sell at that price and you have time then I'd re-market.

I would tell them the price is now £740k and if they don't like it they can jog-on. If they get arsey at that, it's now £745k.

I hope you kept the house on the market, this is why you don't stop marketing until exchange (although you may change it down a gear). If not, get it back on the listings and instruct your EA to get the viewings started again.

I think it is the suggestion that they may want to at some point that has got them a bit.
Maybe they are maxxing themselves out and have other high living costs and if the 'at some point' is the next 5 years they might be in financial difficulty

As everyone say - it depends how much you want to move and how much other interest you had.
All very well us agreeing with you that it is frustrating, but, in terms of % of the whole amount you are getting it isn't a huge amount.
In theory, I would be saying "No, we agreed a price and the survey you commissioned, and the roofer you engaged have said the roof does not need to be replaced, so the price is what we agreed or it is going back on the market at the start of next week." They sound very invested in the property so will probably suck it up but it depends so very much on what you position is in terms of not selling for a few months.

I wouldn’t proceed towards exchange on a house where the vendors had continued marketing it. Removal from the market is a basic condition of offer, why would anyone spend time and money on the process knowing the vendors were keeping an eye out for a better offer?!

I think you're thinking way too much about what they might be thinking (that's a lot of thinkings 😂). Don't try and interpret their motivations, what they might be thinking, what they might do next. At each juncture, like this one, simply consider your options and do what is right for you. If you don't want to sell for 10k less, don't. If on balance you'd prefer to get it sold and don't mind that reduction, go for it. Don't worry about what they'll ask next. If they ask anything else, just respond how you want to at the time. You're trying to look ahead too much, and trying to get in their heads to work out their next move. Don't; you're just adding extra stress!

You’re in a fairly strong position now if you want to relist…you spend 1K fix the tiles and you now have the results from the roof inspection.

But you mentioned a short timeframe for selling, so you need to figure out if 5-10K is worth that timeframe. As you say they could come up with something down the line, but that could happen with the next buyer as well. So it’s all about weighing the risk vs. benefits.

Who cares what they said about only wanting to pay X? All buyers only want to pay X, the only real difference is these yahoos actually said it out loud. These aren’t your best mates trying to pull one over on you, these are people in a business transaction that are looking out for their best interests.

If you don’t HAVE to get a sale asap I would pull out and tell the agent that you’ve lost trust in the buyer due to their admission that they agreed a sale price they had no intention of ever paying, and that you can’t continue to deal with someone you consider highly likely to gazump you on exchange day. But of course if you think £725 is likely to be the same or more than you could get by re-marketing it then proceed with the sale and sew prawns into the curtain lining when you move out.

Of course renegotiating is normal if the survey shows work is needed but that didn’t happen here and the buyer has let it be known they only ever wanted to pay £725k so I’d put these ones firmly in the CF category and only deal with them if I absolutely had to proceed.

It's an incentive for the Buyer to get their backside in gear and move to exchange promptly. It's a rigged game in favour of Buyers that delay and piss about as soon as the house is off the market.

Give the Buyer a grace period, of say 3 weeks, during which you won't take viewings. But on no account let the EA mark it as 'Sold Subject To Contract' (meaningless), or remove it from Rightmove, etc. Anyone else that does show an interest can be advised that it's under offer and viewings will resume if Exchange isn't promptly forthcoming.

Selling (or indeed Buying) a house isn't about being nice. You're not trying to make friends with anyone.

On a house that expensive I'd take the 10k hit and leave some dead fish under the floorboards when I moved out 😂

As you need a quick sale I wouldn't risk losing them over a further 10k - in all honesty to get 725k on a property listed at 750k is a good deal for you these days as it's a buyers market.

Personally, I would suggest splitting the difference so they pay 730. If they still insist on 725k then accept the revised offer but make it clear that you won't accept any further reductions at all further down the line.

Remember that they will have endured dozens of people telling them they paid too much for your property so this should reassure them they have got a good deal and not overpaid.

OP, we've sold two houses in the last couple of years (didn't plan to, just moved once and then needed to do it again to relocate). Anyway with both of those sales we had last-minute-silly-buggers stuff from the buyers similar to what you're describing.

Our agents said it's very common now, and they think conveyancing solicitors / friends / family often advise buyers that it's 'standard' and it's just 'negotiation'.

However, with both of our sales we'd bent over backwards like you accommodate our buyers, had already agreed a slightly reduced sale price, and then they tried it on at the last minute. Really disingenuous and nothing to do with surveys or genuine unexpected costs - just people trying to take advantage.

The second time around we were desperate and had to meet half way. However I remain bitter about it - we only did it because we had no choice. I disagree with posters saying 'it's just business'. It's not. It's your personal finances and someone essentially trying to force your hand.

The first time around we were less desperate and we called their bluff. We instructed the agent to say no, not only did we not agree to another last minute discount on the price that was agreed months ago, but that we were going straight back on the market that day. They folded instantly and apologised profusely.

If you're not absolutely desperate, and you're likely to resent giving in, then I'd say call their bluff.

If they are the sort of buyer that keeps changing their offer watch out.
They’ll string you along for a couple of months and then lower their offer again.
We ve had this.
We immediately told our agent to market the property again and got an extra £20k.
The buyers are not the only ones that can play hardball.
If they don’t want your property then re market. Tell your agents, they will obviously tell the buyers and see what happens.

Ps. Don’t let them back in to measure up for curtains spending 4hours in your house until they’re much further down the route and you have a date for exchange. Even after exchange would be better. At that point they are committed

I’ve just had a buyer reduce the sale price of my flat by 20k after the survey came back. To be honest, I’m absolutely sick of people (men) acting as if I’m a complete pushover and that I should have said no….as if I agreed to the reduction for the buyers benefit and not my own. If I hadn’t agreed and the buyer had withdrawn, my flat would be empty for six months and the market is slow so it could be longer. The prices have dipped a bit in many areas so of course the buyer is going to ask for a reduction because a) he knows if it’s re-marketed I’ll only get that amount anyway and b) he can put an offer on another property. But on no, suddenly everyone is an expert and the prices will never ever drop in my area!

You were the ones who pointed out the roof to them so I don't blame them for thinking it could have issues. The roofer said it would need to be replaced "at some point". Usually there is a time frame for that as to how much life is left in the roof. If it is only a couple years, I can see why they want it replaced. Based on your description of it as having loose and missing tiles, it also sounds like it hasn't been well taken care of. So while it doesn't need replacing this instant, it is going to be a major expense in the near future.

OP we had the same happen with our last house sale. They kept banging only being willing to pay £400k despite it being sealed bids and them winning the bid at £425k. They were very aggressive about things and eventually pulled out which totally wasted out time and lost us other genuine buyers during the sealed bids. Our feeling was their top budget had always been £400k and they thought they could find this and that to get the price down. I would say it could be the same situation with your buyers and it’s sometimes best to cut your losses and start again.

Our second buyer asked for a couple of grand off after the survey but we countered with £1k off and they accepted. Just a cheeky try on and we were so ready to move we just went with it. But they did want they house. The first buyers clearly didn’t at the price they’d offered.

Thank you for your reduced offer. As you will be aware we presently own the property and have decided not to sell it to you for £725,000. We agreed to sell at £735,000. Our acceptance of your revised offer is declined and we have instructed the agent to remarket the property immediately.

If you wish to review your offer back to what was previously agreed, we will be grateful to receive confirmation by 5pm today.

@PrincelySu to be fair 25k off 750k isn't bad in the current market which is about crash so I would venture some care in relation to the above approach.

And you can reply that £750k is what you asked for in the first place and what you are hoping to sell for, not £725, whether or not that’s what they were hoping.

It's just negotiation. If you need a quick sale and the market is slowing (if not about to collapse) and you are not confident of another buyer, I would try and meet them halfway but be clear that there will be no further reductions.

My friend was ready to complete and her buyer wanted a huge discount. Unfortunately, it happens because of the way our system is.

You stand your ground and put it back on the market if necessary. That will shut him up. Unless you really need to do a deal.