Choosing between two potential purchasers

[feelinginthedark]

Selling our home to upsize; this is week 4 on the market and we have two offers to choose between now.

One cash buyer at a price that we would have probably been happy with starting out. One lady who is offering 30k more, but whose purchase is dependent on the sale of her own home going through - she's waiting for contracts to be returned. She has viewed twice, once with her husband who is newly in a wheelchair (even though we didn't design it that way our place is accessible and would just need a bathroom redone to make it fully wheelchair friendly). When it was put on the market initially she made a similar offer, 25k lower than her current offer, on the condition that we took it off the market immediately.

I don't know why but I don't have a great feeling about her. Just not sure. We haven't met her.

There's a house that we would love to buy on the market but I feel going with her offer puts us in a really poor position to make an offer. DH feels 30k is too much money to turn down even with the risk of the sale falling through and losing this other house. I can't face the sale falling through and being back to the start again.

Has anyone been in this position? So difficult!! (Can't sleep!!)

Would depend on a few things for me.

I would want to make sure the cash buyer is definitely a cash buyer, with verified funds that are immediately available.

It would depend on the market too. Is the house you like one of many coming on the market, or is the market slow for the type of house you want to purchase?

30k is a lot of money but it might not be worth the stress of being in a long chain!

Yes cash buyer has funds verified. The market is slow and we're looking in a very specific area - there are only 6 houses in the area on the market at the moment, none suitable for various reasons, and this one is pretty much perfect.

Just another thought, the person in the chain will presumably be getting a mortgage to find her purchase of your place. Is the additional money she is paying well over asking price? Just beware that the bank might not value the house at what she is prepared to pay for it.

You could always play the field and offer on the house saying you are offering whilst in a chain and see what the vendors say re the chain? You could pay more as a result for the new place too.

I would say the lady with husband in wheelchair will be the more motivated buyer as I can imagine suitable properties are hard to find. I would also be wary of the cash buyer's strong position, as they could drop their offer further just before exchange...

When you say that "There's a house that we would love to buy on the market but I feel going with her offer puts us in a really poor position to make an offer."

I don't think it's a poor position, just a normal one. You and she have a sale that's going through, that's fine, if I'm reading it right.

I picked the cash buyer.

Turned out the cash buyer was a total cunt and had lied to the EA and he refused to sow proof of funds so had to go back to the market 2 weeks later (as had lost the other bidders).

Went with FTB in the end no chain.

I would say the lady with husband in wheelchair will be the more motivated buyer as I can imagine suitable properties are hard to find.

True

£30k is such a lot if money that I'd take the risk with the chain.

I would go for more money. If she is already waiting for contracts to go through do you mean she's almost ready to exchange? That puts her in a strong postion in terms of being able to move quickly.

Is the higher offer reasonable in terms of other recent sales in your area? That should give an idea of whether there may be valuation survey problems.

What is the house's for sale price, compared to the offers?

What else do you know about the cash buyer? Who are they and what are their reasons for wanting your house?

Try to work out how keen the cash buyer is for your particular house basically. Seems like the £30k lady is pretty keen. A keen buyer is worth a lot as they are far less likely to pull out last minute, reduce price over niggles in the survey, etc.

For example if your cash buyer is an investor they could easily decide to switch to another property. If they are a FTB they could just decide the market isn't right and wait. Someone who is selling their own home is often a more motivated buyer as they really need to buy somewhere else - albeit there is the complication of a chain.

We were greedy and went with the higher offer. The buyer had to renege on it as her mortgage lender pulled out, she scrabbled around for months trying to get her (now reduced) offer together, we had to put house back on the market while she did so, new buyers weren't as interested in a house being re-marketed... it was a deeply stressful time. Eventually higher offer woman got the house, but she was a total nightmare to deal with throughout the process. So, subject to proof of the cash, I'd go with the cash.

Thanks for all the insights. There is another viewing by a new cash buyer tomorrow.

Pending this viewing, we are considering giving her a deadline to complete on her sale. She has been waiting for her signed contracts since this process started a month ago which is why we are wary of her. It's so much money to walk away from though!!

Can she complete on her home if you haven't even accepted her offer? Where would she live in the meantime? It doesn't seem to make sense for her to exchange contracts when you haven't accepted her offer. Also, 30k is an awful lot of money. Personally, I'd consider 2k discount for a cash buyer not 30k.

I'm not sure the strength of your position to make an offer is significantly different regardless which buyer you choose - certainly not enough to justify a £30k difference. Either way you've got a property to sell before you can buy - I don't think most sellers would massively differentiate between the two situations.

In a similar situation we plumped for the buyers who I felt were more 'emotionally committed' to the property rather than the cash buyers who I felt were viewing it more as an investment - I expected they might try to use their position as leverage to negotiate the price down or pull out post survey. And we didn't have £30k at stake!

It sounds like the couple with accessibility needs are commited if they've upped their offer so much?

Our estate agent put us under s lot of pressure to go for the cash buyer - frankly I think that although their are advantages in a cash buyer it also means less work for the estate agent so I took it with a pinch of salt.

I would tell the cash buyer that there is another higher offer and see if he is able to either match or at least increase it. For example, if he were to up say £15k then the closed chain option and a bit more money would be a better option in my opinion when going forward to make offers.

I have had chains break because a buyer's buyer pulled out! Keep the chain as short as possible works for me!

She's waiting for signed contracts to be returned to her, she has signed on her end. We heard from the EA today that she's in conflict with her husband's adult children
about where to buy - they don't want her to buy our place.

To me it would depend what proportion of the total price £30k represented, or what proportion of a year's salary but then I'm not one to easily fall in love with houses. I buy with my head more than my heart, which also has its downsides.
The lady offering £30k more in any case seems in a good position, contracts are coming back so its not like her buyer is not proceedable.
Personally I would hold out for the extra cash.

I'd be worried about the adult children winning their way after you have accepted the offer

Thanks for all the feedback! The plot thickened with the lady who was offering more - there is an issue with the sale of her own home involving drains and she is talking about getting a 'water diviner' in to sort it. So we are now in a bidding war with a three straightforward cash / mortgage buyers and it is all good Fingers crossed the final sale price won't be too far off what she was offering

Hmm. Drain issues can sometimes be code for "survey has picked up subsidence issues"... your other three potential buyers sound far more promising!