To question AIBU to refuse to renegotiate house sale offer because buyers have been waiting a long time

[madbatarse]

So...we accepted an offer on our house several months ago & accepted a lower offer price on the basis buyers would sell & rent for an extended period while we try to find a property (we have long tick list). They love our house & seem adamant they intend to buy it. Quite a few months down the line we still haven't managed to find anywhere & buyers now want to renegotiate the price down by 10k to cover their (now unexpected) additional rental costs. If we agree they will carry on renting & give us more (unspecified) time to come up with the goods without hassling for a while. They are obviously more motivated to buy than we are to sell, ergo: we still can't find anything suitable & indicators are now showing house prices will probably be on the rise. We are therefore concerned that if we accept a reduced price & house prices then rise we will end up with a shortfall when looking to buy & will be priced out.

AIBU in saying 'go away' - you are being cheeky & we aren't paying your rent; either stay with the deal if you're that desperate or walk? Or do you think they've been exceptionally patient, we should bite their hands off & go live in a tent?!

[[If mods want to move this to property that's fine - just thought would get more visibility here lol].

If your must have list is so long, why didn't you find a property to move into first.

Yes, the can walk. But so can someone in a a bad relationship. Doesn't make it right to treat them that way.

You should sell to your buyers and then rent until you find your home with all it's tick boxes or take your home off the market until you are ready.

My advice would be to take your house off the market until you have found something..if you had no problem selling before you won't again. Otherwise you are just dicking buyers around and expecting them to wait around indefinitely

Many years ago when I was pregnant I was buying a house, I was clear I wanted to be moved in before baby was born..yes, yes no problem the sellers said...months went by and nothing until very randomly a photocopier technician came to our office and saw the house details on my pin board...someone they knew had offered on same house 18 months earlier and nothing came of it because the sellers wanted a house in a specific village and were hanging out for the off chance something came up for sale...I ended up buying a different house and not even saying anything t until the estate agent checked in with me 6 months later I still think they were dicks 18 years later 🤣

That is awful!

I think that morally you should accept the reduction and be the ones to move into a rented accommodation. Sellers like you are infuriating.

I've dealt with vendors like you in the past, they were a nightmare. It's not your buyer's fault that you cannot afford the exact sort of house you want. Either go into a rental, or take your house off the market until you are proceedable. I would be very surprised if house prices rise in the near future, in this economic climate.

I think OP is being vilified unfairly. They havent found anything they like. Not their fault. Lots of higher priced places won’t even let you visit until your house has an offer. If your buyers want your house, they’ll have to wait or go. If they go, you’ll relist and see what happens. Hope you find someplace.

Yes agree! Unless the buyers are paying well over the odds or the house was really hard to sell, nothing would make me leave a perfectly decent house to move into rented accommodation (can't imagine the faff and cost of that especially with kids) just to be nice to the buyers.

It was bizarre of them frankly to decide to move into rented themselves and I can't see the logic in doing that, it must be frustrating but just the way it is unfortunately. I'd certainly not give them a discount for doing so.

And this is the problem with UK house buying. The process can work quickly, but when people ‘sell’ their house but have no intention of moving until they’ve found somewhere else then it drags on for ever and is stressful. It’s not the buyers fault that the OP has taken a so long to find somewhere to live, and in a falling market it’s no wonder the buyer doesn’t want to overpay. Renting for a short period is fine..an open ended commitment is not a reasonable ask IMO