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...

[Whathewhatnow]

Two YEARS?? Honestly, is the amount youd save worth another teo years??
I sincerely doubt the coronavirus housing crash will last long in desirable areas. May be wrong of course...

[Whathewhatnow]

Good luck for moving!

[sbplanet]

@Patienceisvirtuous Good Luck! #fingerscrossed We all want to save money, no harm in thinking about it. :)

[Gutterton]

Will you be able to exchange and complete on the same day?

[Patienceisvirtuous]

@gutterton I think so? We’ll have to. Nowhere to go otherwise 😄

[DeadHouseBounce]

"Working remotely" puts you out of the politics/gossip loop at the office, easier then for them to plot against and get rid of you. Subconsciously IMO most people like to be creeping around in the vicinity of the Lions Den, watching their competition and brown nosing the right higher links in the chain, "working remotely" is at a deep level like being left behind by the tribe, it won`t catch on in a big way IMO.

[isitfridayyet1]

We were in the same situation as you OP and we gazundered today. With a bit of haggling we did get a reduction on our original offer. I'd go for it as long as you don't mind potentially losing the house.

[DeadHouseBounce]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8338405/First-time-buyers-face-mortgage-crisis-firms-withdraw-lower-offers-fearing-house-price-crash.html

[mumsy27]

the other issue is seller maybe willing to reduce the price, however when in chain and they offered their maximum on their purchase unable to reduce unless the whole chain agrees to do the same, it is hard to achieve that without the collapse of the chain.

[Patienceisvirtuous]

I should have added it’s a short chain - our buyers, their ftb, us and our seller.

[Gutterton]

Are you expecting a similar request from your buyer?

[LemonadeFromLemons]

Thought I’d add my experience. I’ve also lowered my offer and had it accepted 🙂. Before I get flamed, I’m not days away from exchange and the market has changed since I offered pre-lockdown.

[Patienceisvirtuous]

We accepted an offer under the asking price so we could secure the house we want to buy.

I don’t think our buyers are going to gazunder as they’re pushing to move ASAP but if they did we’d consider a small drop given the circs.

I certainly wouldn’t be telling them to fuck off and pulling out of the sale as per the many posters above 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Jennyie1]

I’m constantly surprised about the personal attachment references such as it being ‘shitty’ ‘do what helps you sleep at night’

I am in the exact same position. It’s simply about being able to afford the house I wanted, emerging from covid. Call it gazundering if you want.

Of course the vendor might withdraw, if you are considering a re offer you surely will have considered that the seller might withdraw too!

[Whathewhatnow]

The trouble with lowering your offer in a chain is that it's likely everyone in the chain will have to do similar.

You will also need to have your mortgage offer reissued unless buying cash: delays. Also, if your LTV changes then that might be an issue, or your lender might decide they are a bit more risk averse and start asking questions about your job security.

Finally if it's a reduction of under about 3k then surely this is about what your solicitors, searches and survey comes in at.

Lastly if you

[Whathewhatnow]

Ignore last bit!

[Fizzydrinks123]

I think it would be foolish not to have the conversation in present circumstances. It certainly isn't shitty and I'd expect anyone selling currently is expecting the conversation.

When Bank of England are talking about falls in housing market and economy at large, it would be unwise to not explore all options.

It may mean losing out on this house, however the seller will no doubt be aware that any potential new buyer will also base their offer on current economic predictions.

[Jennyie1]

It’s the business of buying and selling houses. It’s brutal.

No one is ‘gazundering’ to piss people off or just for the fun of it.

[Gutterton]

We are in this situation right now as a seller. Currently it’s a blinking competition. We accepted an offer of £400 on a £425 property in early Jan. Due to exchange late last week and as expected buyer came back and asked for a v small discount (£9k) - we said No and we exchanged today.

[Gutterton]

Also patienceisavirtue you haven’t paid over the odds. You may have paid 6% over “asking” - but you have only paid £3K more than the other sealed bid. The real value is what someone pays for it. I hope that you have your exchange and completion date soon and get to have a glorious summer on the beach with your toddler in your new home.

[ramarama]

I'm in the opposite position - we have had our sale put on hold during COVID (half way there but nothing yet in writing so technically no legal commitment) We were entirely expecting the buyer to ask for a small reduction, and wouldn't have thought that badly of him if he had (he hasn't in the end, but there are conditions).

We aren't the only ones - many of our EA's London deals are facing reductions on retracted deals.
Both the applicants who were initially outbid in trying to buy our house have also now come back in the hope the purchase had fallen through - as so many others have.

[mumsy27]

I wonder the buyers comfortable with gazundering feel about gazumping.

[notdaddycool]

If it’s an elderly couple downsizing they have little opportunity to earn anything more than they already have lined up, chances are pensions will suffer in the short term. If you want it and can pay it then do.

[orangeDutch]

Hi @mumsy27, reasonable question that I can answer because we have just been through this whole circus. Both situations suck. We offered a (reasonable but definitely not egregious) reduction to our offer last week based on current market. The vendor chose not to accept it or make a counter offer (based on the EA's recommendation). 100% her choice.
we walked away. Disappointing but the offer we made no longer made sense. She felt she could re-list and get a better offer. I sincerely hope she does - but it wont be from us. We went to a showing last weekend and had an offer accepted on another property. (we are super motivated for a long list of reasons that I wont bore you with!) We offered just slightly below the asking based completely on the recommendation of the EA. We would have offered the asking or a tiny bit over .... so long answer to your question ... it would suck to have them come back in a month before exchange and say they want more money but if it is within the range that we feel is reasonable for the house and they have a valid reason, we will accept it.

[Zenithbear]

Pay the agreed price. I would also be putting the house back on the market immediately. I have done this in the past. Someone trying to knock us down at the last minute. We put it back on and it sold two days later, cash buyers in rented and they had everything lined up and a handy solicitor/conveyancer relative so we didn't lose our house that we were buying. Our original buyer tried to back track and we heard that they were gutted. Your sellers already have a house to move to so they are in a good position to put it back on.