Stubborn, Greedy, Deluded "Sellers"

[sall74]

Just a rant really... a house that I'm interested in, been on the market for 3 years now with an asking price 20% higher than any other house on the street has ever sold for, its very dated and needs everything doing internally.

It's a holiday home bought by the current owners in the 1970's but they don't even use it as a holiday home now, it's just sat empty falling into disrepair with knee high grass, crumbling render and several slipped roof tiles.

I've made 2 offers on it now, my highest offer being 10% below their asking price, so that still makes it 10% higher than any other sold price on the street, each offer I've made I've had to wait over a week for their response which has always been a flat no without out any attempt to negotiate or counter offer, despite my strong position of being a cash buyer willing to forgo surveys and searches.

The vendors are not poor people by any standards, the parents and their kids all have very well paid jobs and live in large houses in expensive areas... so why are they being so greedy, stubborn and deluded about not wanting to sell this unused, unloved and uncared for property for a fair market value?

There was a plot of land at the end of our road that was left to two sisters in a will. One really needed the money, but the other one was willing to sit on it until they got the price she wanted. It was for sale for ages and I heard they had a massive falling out. Some people are like that.

A 10% reduction is a lot to swallow especially if they've been told it's worth x by an estate agent.

They are obviously not desperate to sell and that's their business there are plenty of people out there who are assets rich but cash poor

Your only other option would be to offer asking then work backwards when you get a survey if it's in as bad a state as you say but this is a risk.

Well EA will generally totally talk up the value of a property to ensure they get you on their books...whether it's a realistic price or not only time will tell.

With this property I'd say 3 years is realistic enough to deduce that it's overpriced.

An offer at 10% below asking is a reasonable starting point, IMO.

But it boils down to whether they actually want to make a sale.

I would say not, for whatever reasons, and OP needs to move on and keep looking.

I agree there is more to this than meets the eye. I had a house for sale in a lake district market town that had been my dm's. My brother who lives near London could not accept the EA's valuations and wanted the highest. Unfortunately it sat on the market for six months with not one single viewing - a three bedroomed house in good condition with private parking where parking is at a premium.

I wanted rid of the agent and moved it to another at £14,000 less. It went on on a Friday, was not even advertised, but sold by the Tuesday morning. It then completed in ten days.

I only managed to talk him round by reminding him there would now be interest on the care home fees we owed for dm, council tax would now be payable after six months and another winter meant more deterioration. He still expressed anger and disappointment. I just wanted it gone. They clearly do not.

You need to buy a house with a seller like me, but instead you got my brother. Do forget it and move on.

Could be that they are sentimentally attached to it, and just don't want to let it go, hence unrealistic price which means nobody is going to buy it.

I have known a similar situation - on the market at too high a price, not selling, vendor (a relative) admitting that in her heart she didn't really want it to go because of associations with a Dh who died far too young.
Eventually a substantial price drop meant it did sell, but then she needed the money and very likely the OP's vendors don't.

Why didn't you buy one of the other three houses in the same road that were cheaper and in better condition?