Page 7 | To think our buyer is really out of order.

PrincelySu · 2023-05-19T10:36:17+00:00

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.

Hairpinleg · 19/05/2023 15:10

Hankunamatata · 19/05/2023 13:43

Roofer said the roof will want replacing at some point. So u can kind of see their point that they want to put a new roof on

Every roof will need replacing at some point!

If it doesn't need to be done right now, it's just an excuse to get down to a lower price.

Original poster

PrincelySu · 19/05/2023 15:12

We were there whilst the roofer was up there and heard his feedback (the buyer also sent us the quote afterwards).

He complimented the cottage and the roof, acknowledging that it was quirky and in keeping with the rest of the build. It was built in the 16th century, it's a traditional stone built detached cottage, not brick. He said there was nothing wrong with the integrity, there were no leaks, he said in his own words that he 'didn't see any need to replace the felt or roof, just a few tiles that had come dislodged.' The comment about replacing it at some point was in relation to it being a quirky-style cottage, which naturally has older period features anyway, it was in no way him saying there were issues that needed to be done imminently or in the near-future.

OP posts:

alwaysmovingforwards · 19/05/2023 15:14

The reason for the reduction and emotional response is to look at this all wrong.

Buyers try and buy low, sellers try and sell high. It's a business transaction not a relationship. If the seller is 'annoyed' at them, the buyer won't give a shit. Beyond this transaction they'll never see each other again.

As a seller you either accept the offer or you decline and risk sitting on the market. It's that simple. To invest time stewing on it is utterly futile and pointless waste of energy.

bignosebignose · 19/05/2023 15:15

OP, we had a similar situation a few years ago when selling a small London flat (worth half the price of your house) in order to buy a house we really wanted in another area of the country. I knew the buyers, but not as friends, and they did more or less the same thing, work needed, £10k off. I threw my toys out of the pram for five minutes, reminded myself that we had had no other sensible offers in the two months it had been on the market, and accepted it - but on the clear understanding that there was no possibility of any future drop in price and we would simply pull out if they chanced their arm again. It all went through, and we now live in a place we love. It's not worth pulling out unless you really can't afford that £10k drop - particularly since you say that you are in a hurry to sell. I was furious at the time but am so glad I didn't cancel.

Mummyoflittledragon · 19/05/2023 15:16

neilyoungismyhero · 19/05/2023 11:54

The roof might not be dodgy but sometimes matching original tiles can be a nightmare and nothing less than a complete renewal will suffice.

Show quote history

The easiest thing to do in that case is to bung the tiles on a place, which doesn’t show so much and bring the original intact tiles to the front. We’ve done that with our house. The new tiles are very similar in colour but we wanted the front of the house to be uniform.

MissConductUS · 19/05/2023 15:26

The property is worth what someone is ready, willing, and able to pay for it. This buyer is only ready to pay 725k. If that doesn't suit you, relist it and find another buyer.

DollyParkin · 19/05/2023 15:27

A house is only worth what someone's prepared to pay for it. You say your house was "valued" at a certain price, but that is irrelevant.

Find another buyer, but this potential buyer is not out of order.

DollyParkin · 19/05/2023 15:30

I think what's really pissed me off is the fact the buyer said they 'only wanted to pay £725k in the first place.' It's as though they planned the whole time to try and claw money back to get what they wanted in the first place.

YABU, and you're investing far too much emotion. If that's what they wanted to pay, that's what they wanted to pay. If you don't want to accept that price, find another buyer. It's business.

JenWillsiam · 19/05/2023 15:30

PrincelySu · 19/05/2023 15:12

We were there whilst the roofer was up there and heard his feedback (the buyer also sent us the quote afterwards).

He complimented the cottage and the roof, acknowledging that it was quirky and in keeping with the rest of the build. It was built in the 16th century, it's a traditional stone built detached cottage, not brick. He said there was nothing wrong with the integrity, there were no leaks, he said in his own words that he 'didn't see any need to replace the felt or roof, just a few tiles that had come dislodged.' The comment about replacing it at some point was in relation to it being a quirky-style cottage, which naturally has older period features anyway, it was in no way him saying there were issues that needed to be done imminently or in the near-future.

As soon as a person says something might need doing or you may want to in the future you’re in the territory of negotiating price down. It’s really that simple.

PoppyTries · 19/05/2023 15:34

PrincelySu · 19/05/2023 12:24

I think what's really pissed me off is the fact the buyer said they 'only wanted to pay £725k in the first place.' It's as though they planned the whole time to try and claw money back to get what they wanted in the first place. Especially now they know we have invested time and money into our solicitors. I'm not even sure they genuinely want to replace the roof and that this all isn't all an attempt just to get the house for what they wanted in the first place.

That’s the comment that made me laugh. As someone who spent a large part of my career negotiating real estate, of course that’s only what they wanted to pay, that was their offer. I would be tempted to say “yes, and we wanted you to pay £750k, but here we are…”

Catspyjamas17 · 19/05/2023 15:36

I would be tempted to say “yes, and we wanted you to pay £750k, but here we are…”

Quite. Tell them to pay what you have agreed or jog on.

OhwhyOY · 19/05/2023 15:37

I'd just stick to your guns and say wr agreed £735k, there's been nothing in the survey to suggest it would be reasonable to drop, so we'd ask that you progress with the original plan or we will resist the property. Very stupid of them to say that they only wanted to pay £725k anyway - fine, but that wasn't the agreed price. If you have time (I.e. Happy to wait for another buyer to emerge) I'd just give them a couple of days to decide and if they don't come back and agree the original price then resist.

OhwhyOY · 19/05/2023 15:37

*relist

Catspyjamas17 · 19/05/2023 15:40

Even if a survey says £10k of work needs doing you don't have to knock £10k off legally. You could say that your original price takes that into account already.

LuckyStone · 19/05/2023 15:52

The market is falling, so have fun relisting. You just had this number of 750 k in your head, but the house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what you dream up. A 15k "reduction" on 750k is ridiculous tbh

Channellingsophistication · 19/05/2023 15:52

I think most buyers try it on with the price. They offered 735 and that’s what they should pay whether they want to replace the roof in future in their choice. Most old houses will need work on the roof at some point.

They clearly really want the house to invest four hours of their time measuring up etc.

Meili04 · 19/05/2023 15:53

LuckyStone · 19/05/2023 15:52

The market is falling, so have fun relisting. You just had this number of 750 k in your head, but the house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what you dream up. A 15k "reduction" on 750k is ridiculous tbh

Yup houses where I am dropping from 475 to 425 . I would snap their hands off for 725k, OP might find her next offer is 650k.

CabernetSauvignon · 19/05/2023 16:02

From the buyers' point of view, it's a property they think is worth £725K, they were persuaded to offer an extra £10K, and now they're being told that they have to spend a couple of grand on the roof which they will probably want to replace completely in the foreseeable future, so that's even more money they're having to pay out over and above the original sum.

From your point of view, you want a quick sale. How confident are you that you will find another buyer at £735K or above in the near future? That's really the only consideration you need to take into account.

gymorgin · 19/05/2023 16:06

Catspyjamas17 · 19/05/2023 15:36

I would be tempted to say “yes, and we wanted you to pay £750k, but here we are…”

Quite. Tell them to pay what you have agreed or jog on.

I'd be so tempted by this

Ladybug14 · 19/05/2023 16:14

You're getting unnecessarily emotional about this, OP

If you don't want to reduce the price by £10k, then don't.

Put the house back on the market

I'd advise replacing the missing roof tiles, this time around

It doesn't seem sensible to sell a house with an asking price of three quarters of a million pounds, with roof tiles missing 🤣🙄

EmmaEmerald · 19/05/2023 16:16

Why are people saying OP is emotional? I thought OP is concerned about being dicked around further, especially as buyer's wording is dodgy.

PhyllisFogg · 19/05/2023 16:18

PrincelySu · 19/05/2023 15:12

We were there whilst the roofer was up there and heard his feedback (the buyer also sent us the quote afterwards).

He complimented the cottage and the roof, acknowledging that it was quirky and in keeping with the rest of the build. It was built in the 16th century, it's a traditional stone built detached cottage, not brick. He said there was nothing wrong with the integrity, there were no leaks, he said in his own words that he 'didn't see any need to replace the felt or roof, just a few tiles that had come dislodged.' The comment about replacing it at some point was in relation to it being a quirky-style cottage, which naturally has older period features anyway, it was in no way him saying there were issues that needed to be done imminently or in the near-future.

Have your buyers had a full survey? They'd be mad not to, with an old property.

You're lucky that the roof is the only thing to quibble over!

If you relist it and a buyer has a full survey it might uncover more, so I'd be careful of assuming your valuation will be close to the final selling price.

I've known friends who recently had surveys done on modern houses and there was a whole list of things that needed some attention, from damp areas in bathrooms to missing roof tiles.

PhyllisFogg · 19/05/2023 16:19

What is a 'quirky roof' on an old stone cottage?

Is it something quite strange? Could they just dislike the quirkiness?

sunshinesupermum · 19/05/2023 16:20

Stick to your guns OP. £735K is the price agreed. If necessary offer to replace missing tiles only.

WeAreTheHeroes · 19/05/2023 16:20

The answer is to firmly say, "No". Just say the sale price is as agreed and leave it at that. Don't say anything more. Don't bad mouth them to your solicitor or the EA. Just say no. The more you say, the more rattled you'll sound and frankly the more likely they are to try something else.