Is it really worth quibbling over 500 quid?

[Pinkjenny]

We've had an offer on our house, which is 11k under the asking price, which we have reduced three times in the twelve months our house has been on the market.

We told the potential buyer our bottom line and he has come back with a final offer 500 quid below that.

I just can't shake the feeling that we are giving it away if we accept it.

They really are pushing you for every last drop aren't they!
Could you suggest that they accept your bottom line price, but that you will all see what comes out of the survey - if it picks up any faults they might want to negotiate further discounts and that way you have a little wiggle room without feeling like you've been fleeced.
In the big picture, £500 isn't worth quibbling about, but I feel your pain - plus make mental note of adding £500 to 'bottom line' if/when asked again.
You're all still able to walk away from this, but they may really want your house but know you're keen to sell, hence the hard bargain - could you afford to wait for another buyer if this one gets off the hook?

We've had three offers in twelve months. One was withdrawn, one was too low, and this one. I just feel that if we say no, we are never going to sell the damn house.

Suck air in through teeth and accept it then.
Think of it in terms of how many months mortgage it represents - i.e if its one month, then what is the likelihood of getting another better offer in that time? If not likely, then its worth taking.

OK. We have another viewing scheduled for tonight. Will see what happens with that, and if they don't offer, we'll accept. Grudgingly.

I think some buyers are desperate to feel they have 'won' in the negotiations on price. If they need that £500 to feel victorious then give it if you want to move.

We sold in April this year 19,000 below what we paid for our house in 2008. BUT we hope that the lowered prices mean at least some of that loss is reflected in the price we have paid for our new property. If you are upsizing a depressed market pulls the 'jump' to the next size house closer in most areas.

I can see why people would turn it down, but given your other offers falling through it might be better to go with a bird in the hand? Depends on your reasons for selling and what you hope to buy next.

take it - and make sure you take every little removable item , inside and out with you (as long as you haven't committed to leaving them)
even take the sodding light bulbs and bog roll - and leave the hinges on the
toilet seats unscrewed !!

Don't take all the fixtures, that's just petty. If you've been trying to sell for a year, it might be time just to draw a line under it and sell however unfair you think the price is - it must be horrible for you though.

Deep breath and start planning your move rather than being stuck where you are. (#500 drop probably worth it not to have to keep tidying up .)

It really is so stressful isn't it. I'm with the 'just take it' brigade in this instance, if it was a busy market and you were getting lots of viewings and offers it would be worth the risk but I'd just take a deep breath, accept it and get on with your life! In the grand scheme of things £500 is nothing, and the person who pointed out what the equivilant is in mortgage payments has a very good point.

If it gets further down the line and they try to get more off on the strength of points in the survey though, I would make it clear that you're already accepting less than you want, that you think that they've already got a good deal and that you will not entertain any further negotiations on the price (maybe best not to go in with this at this early stage though as you don't want to sour the deal from the beginning when they're likely to be excited about it and still highly motivated!)

I wish you lots of luck, it will all be worth it in the end (been there and come through the other side!)

We accepted a low offer and at the time of accepting it we told the EA that it was our absolute bottom line and because of that we wouldn't accept any further renegotiation (e.g. after survey). Our EA thought it was useful to set that out at the outset, rather than it cause problems further down the line. So far it seems to have worked

You'll now just have the stress of buying somewhere now!! We thought, "oh at least we'll now be in the strong position" but it feels like we're being stiffed on our purchase now too

take the offer
when you depart take every single light bulb, curtain rail, curtain, loo roll holder, piece of carpet, you name it that isn't specified in the contract
scorched earth policy,
do not clean the house between exchange & completion so it is knee deep in dog hair when you move the sofa

there are many ways of deleting that extra £500 of value they unwisely think they have screwed out of you.

molly is there before me :)

Take the offer. But as previously said remove all you can to the value. :)

I would do the opposite of what Beamur says - take the offer but say that it IS absolutely your bottom line and that whatever faults are found on the survey, you will not (cannot) renegotiate.

If you say "why don't you give us the higher price now and then renegotiate over the survey" that's practically inviting them to knock you down another few k.

I would also say in defence of the vendor that if you are finding the £500 painful to swallow, maybe they are finding it hard to swallow in the opposite direction? They probably feel they have stretched themselves as close as they can to your bottom line, and that if they pay more in this current climate, they are being screwed.

I think the assumption from other posters that they are screwing you for the fun of it is a little harsh.

sorry - in defence of the buyer

I find it hard to believe that your buyers would really pay £xxx000 but not £xxx500.
Sounds to me like they are just trying to have the last word and that they feel cocky about their position. If you do decide to accept, I think you have to brace yourself for the possibility that they will ask for more off further down the line. Just remember though, by that stage, they will be more 'bought in' - both emotionally and financially, and will have already incurred about a grand in fees, so stand your ground if this happens.

Why do you find it hard to believe Jayne? Maybe they've hit the top of their mortgageable bracket and are now reduced to raiding their savings.

You might just as well say "I find it hard to believe that someone would agree to sell their house for £xx1000 but not £xxx500".

I sympathise with the OP but I'm not sure why everyone is jumping on this buyer for being a greedy fucker and claiming the OP is being "screwed". As far as I can see, the buyer offered, the vendor counter offered, and the buyer has come within £500 of the counter offer. That's pretty normal.

Good point theyoungvisitor - I guess my thinking was that a survey always comes back with something, so if its not £500 now, it will be £500 later - but your suggestion does nail the price down with no further soul destroying negotiations.

Ooh PJ, I couldn't find your thread. Have been asking all over the place about you. Hope the viewing went well tonight and if not well, as you say is it worth quibbling over £500? Good luck

We accepted the offer. Thanks to all for the excellent advice on this thread.

Fimbo - will now resurrect the old thread about that dilapidated house we were going to buy last time, it's still available...

I think the buyer is a greedy fucker. If he can't afford your house, buy another one that he can afford.

Having bought and sold numerous times I have two golden rules. 1) Do not piss off your vendor and 2) Do not piss off your buyer.

We once pulled out the day of exchange on a house where the vendor was insisting on removing everything that wasn't nailed down including all garden plants, all carpets and even the doorbell. We were paying asking price, too!

Your buyer has pissed you off so yeah, take all bulbs etc .But then I can be petty like that

I have to agree with you. But our house has been on the market so long, and the whole thing has become so soul destroying, that it is time to cut our losses and go.

Well done PJ. Onwards and upwards now!

Well done PJ. :) Hope all goes through to plan quickly. :)