Reducing our offer...

[Patienceisvirtuous]

Seeking advice.

Pre-lockdown we had an offer accepted on a house. Had mortgage approved, surveys done etc then lockdown happened.

Things are back to moving along now... And we’re wondering whether to reduce our offer slightly.

Mainly because we offered approx 6.5% above asking price (in a sealed bid situation) coupled with expected fall in house prices this year.

We were thinking of reducing our offer slightly, so we’re still above asking price, but 3% above rather than 6.5% above.

Does that seem fair or like a nasty gazunder? :/

Torn - don’t want to be a mug but don’t want to be unfair at this stage either...

I’m selling my house and if you did this to me I would try to go up the chain to ask everyone to discount the same.

And even if that didn’t work I’d probably still sell you the house as going back to market would be way too risky with what’s coming down the line

I would - things are very different now then they were when you offered!

We agreed to a rent increase from may pre lockdown - I told the landlord end of April that we weren’t accepting an increase in light of what’s happened - prices are not increasing now!

Our rent is no longer increasing!

If the seller decided to pull out and start again they can - but seems stupid when they are almost over the line now!

We were on the receiving end of this. They basically offered more than they could afford so that we rejected the other offers and then tried to reduce the offer. It struck me as very unfair to the other honest people who wanted the house but would only offer what they were prepared to pay.

We pulled out and sold it to a family for slightly less but who loved the house

By reducing your bid, you risk it being lower then the second highest bidder, which may result in you losing the house. It would be very risky.

Oh my god don't do that if you want the house. If someone did that to me I'd tell them to fuck off.

If you reduce your offer, it's possible the seller is already holding a better one among the other sealed bids. You could lose the deal.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

I wouldn’t offer in the current climate but obv we are where we are 😕

@rena8282 We can afford it but buying knowing we’ve lost money before we even move in is galling (tough though I think). We are the family that love the house...

There was only two of us bidding. I know what the next bid was - it was close to ours (3k below).

If you’ve had the mortgage approved, that could also be something that would be reduced by the time you find somewhere else (and with all this virtual viewings etc, that sounds a palaver)

I would go through with the house, you almost definitely will lose it if you try and go back on your offer, if it was sealed bids then you may have only been 6.3 above and they could’ve been 6 above so you would be very reckless to try and wriggle out of it now.

Also if you’re planning on being there 20 years then you will recoup the majority of the 3% difference, and have a lovely house to live in!

I think this thread has swung me into sticking with our current offer.

My understanding is that you will also have to go back to your mortgage people if the price is reduced to redo paperwork (even if the mortgage amount doesn’t change and it improves the LTV) don’t know how long that would take.

I think you have to weigh up the emotional costs as well as the financial costs.

There is a risk that the vendor will say No and consider you a CF and choose not to sell it to you - I am not saying you are a CF - just that you should factor in that potential outcome - and if you are happy to walk then do it - there was a thread on here last week when this is exactly what happened.

Losing the house would be worse than paying over the odds. It ticks all our boxes. So subject to discussing with DH tonight, who is usually led by me on the big desicions anyway (!) my inclination is to not rock the boat.

Then we just have to pray that our jobs are okay :-o (but that's another thread).

I'm in same position as you, also from north east. We offered before this all happened and are about to move in 10 days. We decided not to reduce offer despite people telling us we should as we really liked the house and had been looking for 6 months with not a single other that ticked our boxes, also worried me about starting the process again and us struggling to get another mortgage offer. It does make me a bit anxious but hopefully by time we sell in future we won't lose anything.

Also I really don't know why people always have to be so aggressive in their replies, getting bored of seeing it now.

We can afford it but buying knowing we’ve lost money before we even move in is galling (tough though I think). We are the family that love the house...

A few grand over the next 20 years means nothing.
If you love the house, get it.

Things have changed due to covid. I think such a small decrease is acceptable and not insulting in anyway. Homeowners get too emotionally attached to their home. The seller will probably be counting their lucky stars when the housing market starts to show the falls and 3% would a lucky escape.

@fatspanner Unless that market doesn't fall, or falls a small amount, or they don't need to sell, or they think 'fuck you', or they think what else will you try, or they think yeah have £5k off we don't mind. It went to sealed bids - a form of selling I don't like and I wonder why the sellers chose that way of doing it?
Let us know if you gamble OP. :)

If you offer lower and need a mortgage be aware that a) a new application for a mortgage may be needed b) your LTV may have changed. Often banks have a % LTV tipping point above which they wont lent or will lend but on less favourable terms.
If you have to do a new mortgage application you may find the lender is more cautious now.....

And you may also find your vendor is well cheeses off at having to wait for all that mortgage application shenanigans to be concluded...

Cheesed!

@sbplanet - Sentiment is already starting to build and when it does we will see the extent in which they will fall. The BOE have already suggested 16% falls. Will the housing bounce back who knows. I'm happy to take that gamble. There will always be another house that comes on the market that is suitable. Property can pull on the heart strings and that's dangerous. Good luck OP in whatever route you take!

@fatspanner errr this isn't about you. The OP has said they don't want to lose the property and there aren't lots similar on the market! Property is the OPs HOME of course it will pull on the heart strings. What is wrong with that!

@sbplanet - yes I agree it's not about me, but neither is about all the other posters mentioning that they'd tell OP to stick it. I just want to offer my opinion from the reverse. My point is still valid about the emotional attachment. There will be another perfect property that will be placed on the market just not in the current available stock. Maybe next week, maybe a couple of months. There is going to a lot of the 3 d's over the weekend coming months. I hope everyone stays safe and it doesn't affect us all too greatly.

@fatspanner "There will be another perfect property that will be placed on the market just not in the current available stock. Maybe next week, maybe a couple of months..."

Where we bought, oddly there where two similar houses for sale at the same time. After that there was nothing for about FIVE years, but yeah I see what you mean.

We've been looking for two years (want to stay in current area) and this is the only suitable house so far. There have been a few others but always a dealbreaking factor like east facing garden or attached to a run-down property etc...

PS wish us luck for moving - we're both working f/t (me from home) with no childcare, a rambunctious toddler and 2 cats. Goodness knows how we're going to do it without any help!