Aibu to write to the house seller?

[ButterMelonCauliflower]

Long story short… we have sold our house but nowhere to buy. We want to stay local and understand the local housing market.
There’s a house we like but it’s out of our price range. We think it’s over-valued (massive development planned next door to the property - probably why owners are selling). The agent it’s on with has a reputation for overvaluing and the vendors are asking way more than local average increase in the 10 years that they’ve owned it. They tried to sell 2 years ago but failed. Since then the asking price has gone up for no obvious reason.
Two weeks ago we offered 18% below asking price and were rejected.
Yesterday we offered 15% below but agent says they are not willing to negotiate.

AIBU unreasonable to contact them, explaining that we love the house, are not trying to take the piss and are hoping they might reconsider?

YES you are BU. It’s their house and they can ask what they like

NO you are not BU. A letter can’t hurt as long as it’s not too bossy/pushy

Any thoughts?

Definitely echo leaving the offer on the table. Don’t forget that the agent wants to sell the house as much as the sellers, for their commission. If it truly is overpriced then the agent should be having conversations with the seller about the activity levels on the listing, and the level of offers thus far. If it’s not getting many viewings and no offers above your level then your offer will start looking attractive and they may revisit it. Personally if someone sent me a letter through the door, after being told via the agent that I’m not willing to negotiate at this time, then I would probably ring the agent and ask them to discount you entirely from viewing again or buying.

This is why society is such a mess. You want something you can’t afford and are going to stamp your feet until you get it.

They have said no. No is a complete sentence. Find something you can afford.

I’m pretty sure that the agents are legally obliged to inform the sellers of all offers, low ball or not. I don’t think it’s worth the risk of being caught out if they don’t pass them on. If you want to be double sure, follow up a phone call with an email, telling them during the call that that’s what you’re doing.

They really don't do this, at least not very often.

The commission difference is far smaller to an agent than the price difference is to the seller. There's always far more reasons for a seller to reject a low offer than an estate agent, and the consequences of not passing on an offer can be severe.

If the agent doesn't want them to accept an offer all they usually would need to do is pass it on and say "I'd hold out, we will get more", and they achieve the same goal with zero risk.

You're just making yourself look increasingly desperate. That is no way to get a cheap deal on a house.

If I were them I would think, they obviously really want the place. So they need to hunt around a bit and find the extra cash.

Their sales history so far indicates they are not desperate to move. And the fact they are holding firm on price probably means they won't negotiate if the survey brings up any problems which means you will have to write off the cost of that if it comes up negative.

People either want to negotiate or they don't. Negotiate with the ones that do.

You have accept 4 facts when buying/selling a house

1. Some people are fucking stupid
2. Many people are greedy and see property as an easy way to make money
3. Estate agents benefit more from an expensive house than a cheap one and will encourage over valuation And
4. Some people forget this, see a house drop £10k, think they are getting a bargain not realising the house was over valued by £30k

Sorry - just to add - in your case where the agent wouldn't pass it on, it is almost certainly because the seller had expressly authorised them to reject all offers below X, which is a lot more common. I don't know why anyone does this myself as I would much sooner know about all offers, at whatever value.

I wouldn’t sell to you at any price if you did this. I would be afraid that your lack of boundaries would continue throughout the process.

Estate agents generally overvalue to get the business and then drop the price after a while; rather than to inflate their own commission.

YABVU

Begging a property owner to sell you their property puts you in the worst possible negotiating position.

don't do it! They don't want to sell to you and it's their property so don't try to force them.

You missed out the point that some people think the rest of the world is stupid, put their house on at a massively inflated price and are willing to wait pretty much indefinitely until an idiot comes along willing to pay the price.

Maybe they are right, although in the current market the chance of that happening is rapidly diminishing. There is not much stupid money in the marketplace at the moment.

Just leave your offer on the table.

If it’s massively overpriced you will easily find something similar at the correct price. So no loss to you.

If you cannot find anything comparable at the correct price then it may be that the house is not overvalued.

Remember if you are buying with a mortgage the lenders surveyor will say if the house is overvalued. This may then affect your ability to borrow against it.

Most areas have an agent who puts high valuations on houses and then negotiates hard to get that high price. The fact that the seller has chosen to instruct that particular agent tells you all you need to know. The best way to deal with it is to be polite but detached, make your best offer and leave it on the table.

Not sure I’m responsible for all of society’s ills but thanks for your response. I just find the system of communication through an agent with their own weird motives really outdated.
Our buyer and I are in constant communication and I was considering opening a similar friendly channel of communication with someone else - that’s all.

Indeed! We watch 'A place in the sun' a lot and it always cracks me up when the presenter calls the estate agent and says "Donald and Margorie REALLY love the house..." and then puts forward the offer which is 30% below the asking price.

What are you hoping the letter does? Evoke sympathy? Persuade them?

We recently sold our house and, being honest, it would just piss me off and make me inclined to go with another offer.

Sometimes likability matters. We had 2 offers of the same amount and we chose the couple we liked best. Liked as in seemed more proactive and friendly than the other couple. They were lovely to deal with.

Id be worried about sob stories coming my way if I received a letter like that.

Yes, thank you. I think they’re being greedy but others may not - and they clearly don’t. Either way I’m not going to change their minds

Will you be cash buyers since you have sold? Tell the agent that, make sure the information is passed on and leave your offer on the table. Then walk away.

And keep looking. In a few years time when you drive past to your new house and see the awful new development, and imagine the years of noise and disruption the locals have endured you will thank your lucky stars the sellers turned you down.

Yes do this.

Wow chill a little. She is not doing anything immoral or illegal, she just wants to buy a house! House buying is such an emotional experience and it’s not uncommon for someone to fall in love with a house they could see as their long term family home but to be short on funds. OP hasn’t even done anything yet and asking for opinions. I agree a letter will make them look desperate, but what you are saying is quite rude. And by the way, everybody is responsible for how society is today, including you.

They definitely didn’t pass it on for me. He scoffed at me and said very clearly they wouldn’t entertain a 20% reduction in price. It was a massively lowball offer so he clearly just thought I was a chancer so not worth even entertaining passing it on.

just so funny as I got a better, bigger, better located house for that money instead about a road away. 15 years later I’m still smug about that! 😂

I wouldn’t contact the sellers. You’ll just annoy them.

Email the EA to leave your offer on the table, say that you love the property, and highlight how proceedable you are. Then walk away. They’ll come back to you if they get fed up with the lack of viewings and offers if it really is overpriced.