Lower offer after survey

[cloudchaos]

We have an old house (late 1800s) which has been empty for a while. We were selling it last year but our chain collapsed at a rather late stage and we had already planned our lives in the new town so we moved into a rental and decided to sell later.

It’s a quite unique house and is the only one like it in the street, so difficult to value. Anyway we finally got our acts together and put it back up for sale a month ago. Immediately had two offers but both very low - 55k under asking price on a house asking 425k. We asked for final offers and accepted a FTB for simplicity who offered £395k. It was less than we wanted but to be honest it’s becoming quite a burden and they promised a quick sale so we thought we would go with them even if we could get more if we held out. When we were selling before it was being sold for 415k but that didn’t complete - although not due to our house.

Anyway they have had the survey back and now want it for £365k. They seem to have some astronomical quote for £30k to fix damp and do other things like paint windows (we only had the windows painted last year!) a number of items on this are not essential items but the main issue is damp was mentioned and there probably is some damp. It’s an old house and it’s been empty. But some of the stuff they mentioned was needing a new lock on a door and glass not being safety glass just seems to me ridiculous. It’s not a new build and I wasn’t expecting such trivial things to be used to request even more money off.

We removed some items from the estimate for non essential work which still left about £17k for damp treatment and said we would split he cost with them and suggested new sale price of 386k just to get it done.

They have now come back asking for £385k as they say they can’t afford anymore.

I’m a bit annoyed to be honest as I think the quote was too expensive and we could repair for £5K and put it back on at £425k. I guess there’s still the chance any new buyers would pick out small items on the survey like doors being upside down etc

I feel like we’ve already dropped the price enough and asking for another £1k off is taking the mick somewhat and can’t understand why they are quibbling over £1k. But then am I guilty of the same if I say no over £1k? It’s just starting to add up now and although it’s less hassle, it would be nice to get closer to the asking price.

We’ve just started to incur legal fees too.

What would you do? Should I accept the £385 just to get the deal done? Or say no, 386 is the final discount and if they say no just do the work ourselves, albeit with a bit of hassle?

I’d probably go with 385k. Did you have many viewings when you got the 2 offers? Given they were both considerably lower, I’m not sure if you’d be likely to get the asking price for it.

We are in a similar boat. Buyers have had their full structural survey done on our 200 year old cottage. I’m expecting a drop in the offer despite us acknowledging the fact that work needs doing and it was priced accordingly. Some buyers just want a reduction no matter what. You can either stick to your guns and risk re advertising ( maybe be a good move if you don’t need to move too quickly).

There are not enough houses in my area as there are not enough sellers.
We need to move ASAP however so I may reluctantly accept lower offer.

Yes we had a few viewings but then offers came after it only being on for one weekend and we accepted it. So it's not been that long. I just feel like £40k off is a lot but perhaps you're right. We just aren't in a rush to sell other than it would be nice to have one less thing to worry about.

How long would it take to incur costs of £1000 on the property? How long would it take to fix the damp and is 425 a realistic asking price or could you spend 6 months fixing it and still not sell it? Will selling it now mean that you can buy another property before March and avoid stamp duty?

If you had quite a few viewings and 2 low offers than you might wait for a very long time for a higher offer.

I wouldn’t quibble over £1k because it doesn’t sound like it’s worth the hassle. Furthermore the market will change. It’s impossible that the property market will be untouched by the expected economic downturn. So there is a potential risk to you.

Thanks all. Perhaps you're right. I just felt we were very generous discounting it as much as we did when they asked so felt a bit annoyed they then asked for more off. Wondering where it will stop.

The market is good in the area and I think we would get other offers. We have in the past - this is the lowest we've ever had.

But perhaps we will accept then and just be done with it all!

There's no pressing need for us to sell really other than the cost of upkeep of the garden... and the fact we've been a bit lazy and finally got our acts together so probably should go with the momentum. We aren't looking to buy for a while so probably won't benefit from stamp duty ... that's also what has annoyed me as they are also now about £12k better off for that!

Doesn’t sound like the market is good in your area if you had to discount so heavily except perhaps your asking price was way too high?

I understand your frustration though. After a big discount having to reduce further is hard.

Cloudchaos is that an additional property that you’re selling?

No not additional, we were selling but the chain fell apart so we moved into a rental. Only just finally got our act in gear to try again.

The problem is the house is quite unique and probably the biggest on the street. It's only a 2 bed and looks expensive next to the neighbours but it is much bigger when people view. Therefore we always get loads of people interested but a full range of offers. We had a bidding war last time so I guess at the back of my mind I'm wondering if we are accepting this offer too soon just because we are tired of the process. Zoopla reckons it's worth between £405-465k but no idea how accurate that would be!

However I think you're probably right that I shouldn't quibble over 1-2k and we should just accept this and move on with our lives!!

No way, if it was priced fairy just no way. Total CFs.

I would be tempted to walk away but the more sensible move would be accept it, split the difference or get a couple of quotes done yourselves to challenge theirs.

It's one of my pet hates when buyers turn round and demand money off for things that were in plain sight at the viewing stage. And frankly I might have picked the more experienced buyers over FTBs with a house likely to spook them. But, especially if you are paying council tax on it, there is value in not throwing away the progress you've made towards the sale.

You could call their bluff - they might agree because the alternative is starting again which takes time, and their next purchase may not be completed in time to qualify for the stamp duty cancellation.

If you've only had two offers I don't think it's worth losing the sale for £1k so I think I'd take their offer But if they try it on again tell them no.

I feel as though I've seen your survey results discussed somewhere, perhaps moneysavingexpert?

I had a chancer who offered £355K for my £400K house, which was priced to reflect its condition. After the survey he came back with £305K and quoted ridiculous prices for the roof/damp/floorboards etc. It all got so ridiculous I pulled out of the sale because I truly believed he couldn't afford it. I went to auction and unfortunately he put in the highest bid and by then I'd had enough. I have moved into a rental nearby and now know he was always 'crunching his numbers' because he was buying two houses. And driving between the two in his new top of the range BMW .

I wouldn't give your buyers any further discounts, I feel they may try and pull a fast one on completion day.

I wouldn’t want to hold on to an old, empty house over autumn / winter. Better to shift it now before it feels more damp / unloved (not commenting on the house, it’s just the way empty houses feel).

Thanks all

@MeanMrMustardSeed we dressed the house and put some furniture in it, so it doesn't exactly look unloved or not lived in, but I take your point.

We've owned period houses at various times in our lives and they do suffer when left empty. The period house we lived in sold well and even after the survey our buyers did not ask for any reduction, despite there obviously being things shown on the full structural survey - they were pragmatic and said there wasn't anything they wouldn't have expected in a 17th century property. That said, it was on at a pretty realistic price. The other period property ended up being a rental, not ideal, but it was the circumstances I was in at the time. When selling, I ended up heavily discounting it just to get rid. You win some, you lose some. I would go with the £385k so you can just get on with your lives. Not worth the hassle to remarket, especially if it drags on over the winter.