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Original poster

Gazundered day before exchange

823 replies

BenjiCat · 26/08/2021 20:48

We were all on track to be exchanging this week with completion on for the end of next week. We were waiting on our buyer's searches etc for some time and they finally came through earlier this week.

Call this morning from the estate agent. Buyer has dropped their offer by £15k due to 'immediate issues flagged in the survey' with no details about what these are, no copy of the report and no estimations on how that figure has been calculated. We've said we'd need to see the report to understand the basis for their drop (and to potentially renegotiate... No promises). But they've been reluctant to do this and says they'd be happy to proceed with exchange tomorrow still should we agree to the £15k Hmm

Fuming does not cover feelings right now Angry!!

OP posts:
Melliferous · 26/08/2021 21:45

I would definitely hold firm, OP. Grasping little tossers, that's what they are.

Mummyoflittledragon · 26/08/2021 21:46

People in a house round the corner had this happen to them. They refused to entertain the gazundering and the property is now back on the market. The house isn’t an easy sell at all though. Needs a 300k plus spend, it’s a building site at over 1m.

If your house is an easy sell in a hot market, I would refuse. First thing to do, I think is too look at on the market and rightmove in your area and see how long current properties in a similar price range / spec have been on the market and if they’ve needed to be reduced. You can also look both at stc and available properties albeit they may be taking several months to complete. This will give you some indication of how buoyant the market is.

Armed with this information, I would have a candid chat with the EA. Don’t take flannel. There are always other agents, other buyers and other properties to move to. And I agree you need to see the report.

amatsip · 26/08/2021 21:47

Say you are carrying on with the agreed price if they pull out they will be liable for their estate agent fees solicitor fees, as they will be the ones pulling out not you.

mummabubs · 26/08/2021 21:47

Urgh. Our buyers did this to us by £10k and we met them in the middle as we'd found our dream home and didn't want to lose it. Having said that the homebuyer's report revealed loads of serious issues with our house that needed rectifying immediately (think electrics and boiler etc). The survey also valued the property at £37k less than we'd offered and explicitly said we'd be overpaying and should seek to renegotiate. We decided to reduce our offer by only £7k and we provided the full report to the vendor so that they could see we weren't trying to be arseholes.
Definitely stand firm OP, if they're serious and not trying to pull a fast one then they'll share the report with you.

KateTheEighth · 26/08/2021 21:52

I would tell the agent to put the house back on the market tomorrow and tell your CF buyers they have until Tuesday to exchange at the original price

PamDenick · 26/08/2021 21:52

The estate agent won’t be wanting this sale to fail. Tell them that the house is going back on the market with an additional £5k (say?) asking price unless your hear from them by 10am ready for a 12 noon exchange...

CaveMum · 26/08/2021 21:53

You instruct your agent to tell them that if contracts are not exchange by 3pm tomorrow then you will be remarketing the property for sale first thing on Saturday morning.

Don’t let them take advantage of you, they are chancers.

SpeedRunParent · 26/08/2021 21:53

Did the buyers only just get the report in? Or only just get quotes in? The timing makes it seem more like they are being CF's. I've had this done to me, pulling out on the Eve of exchange just so they can get £6k off the price. There's a special place in hell for c*nts like that!

DelphiniumBlue · 26/08/2021 21:56

Just be aware that if there is even a tiny price reduction, the buyers mortgage company will need to be informed about it and confirm they agree the price change- it could affect the LTV ratio. This can take days and might affect the exchange and completion dates.

JudgeJ · 26/08/2021 21:59

@littlejalapeno

They’re going in hard hoping you’ll begin a negotiation as they think you’re in a weak position. Don’t do it. Give them 12 hours to proceed with original offer or it’s going back on the market. Cheeky fuckers of the highest order!
It happened to us many years ago, we instructed the estate agent and the solicitor to have no further contact with them, we put it back on the market and the first they knew was when they saw it in the newspaper, a long time ago, before t'internet. We refused to deal with them and sold it very quickly.
Original poster
BenjiCat · 26/08/2021 22:02

@DelphiniumBlue

Just be aware that if there is even a tiny price reduction, the buyers mortgage company will need to be informed about it and confirm they agree the price change- it could affect the LTV ratio. This can take days and might affect the exchange and completion dates.
That's exactly what we thought too. We probably couldn't even meet their demand (even if we wanted to - unlikely!) because it'll mess up our and their mortgage offer/LTV. We don't just have £15k sitting around to make up the shortfallConfused
OP posts:
PegasusReturns · 26/08/2021 22:04

Having been through this you need to be crystal clear with your estate agent that you are absolutely prepared to walk away from this.

Although the estate agent works for you it makes virtually no difference to them if you sell for asking price or £15k below and they’ll be counting on your sale and associated commission.

You need to make sure that they are trying to persuade the buyers that risking the sale would be a mistake because you’re prepared to re- market/ the market is hit etc etc.

Surewhynot · 26/08/2021 22:04

I really feel for you. It’s happened to us twice. The first time I was trying to sell my flat in 2008 to move in with DP and an FTB couple offered on it. They were a nightmare from the start with a lot of unreasonable demands and delays. Eventually we got to the day before exchange and they said they were dropping their offer by 5k for no reason. I was furious and told the EA to tell them to fuck off. I lost my legal fees but so did they, plus they lost their 100% mortgage offer so tough shit for them.

That’s how I became an accidental landlord which according to MN doesn’t exist, but that’s another story. 😀

The second time was selling the same flat last year. The buyer had already had 5k off asking plus all (newish) white goods, vacant possession yet still tried to ask for 2k off just before exchange. Again, I said no and she backed down.

It’s a shitty thing to pull on a vendor and I think gazumping and gazundering should be illegal.

NWnature · 26/08/2021 22:05

Hideous behaviour! Really rooting for you OP- fingers crossed they back down and you manage to get things across the line.

NumberTheory · 26/08/2021 22:06

Finding another buyer and potentially another house sounds really stressful (it is) but that 15k is money you lose, it's basically a direct drain from your savings.

What percentage of your income and the house price is it?

Unless it's fairly insignificant I would tell the estate agent to put your house back on the market and open it up for viewings to qualified cash buyers immediately. And tell your buyers you will not consider a drop in price without a look at the report and a fresh valuation on the house (since it's been nearly 6 month since the offer and the market is hot) and that until such time as they are prepared to actually go ahead you will continue to consider other offers.

Hunkydory99 · 26/08/2021 22:06

This happens to friends of mine, who were due to emigrate a few weeks later and the buyer knew this. He refused to produce the survey as he argued he’d paid for it he didn’t want the owners to know for free what was wrong with their house?? It went back on the market and sold for more than asking. Turns out the estate agent found out (not sure how) he couldn’t afford the price he’d offered. Stick to your guns op, I know it’s not an easy time but we moved with a small baby just spent a bit extra money paying the movers to pack instead of me. Totally worth it!!

NumberTheory · 26/08/2021 22:09

@PegasusReturns

Having been through this you need to be crystal clear with your estate agent that you are absolutely prepared to walk away from this.

Although the estate agent works for you it makes virtually no difference to them if you sell for asking price or £15k below and they’ll be counting on your sale and associated commission.

You need to make sure that they are trying to persuade the buyers that risking the sale would be a mistake because you’re prepared to re- market/ the market is hit etc etc.

^^ This. 15k is 15k to you, to them it's a few hundred less in commission. They have no financial motivation to get you the best price. A faster, surer one is much more in their interests (but not yours).
InaccurateDream · 26/08/2021 22:09

You wouldn’t be able to exchange tomorrow if you lowered anyway as you’d both have to get your mortgage deals amended

ToffeeForEveryone · 26/08/2021 22:09

@amatsip

Say you are carrying on with the agreed price if they pull out they will be liable for their estate agent fees solicitor fees, as they will be the ones pulling out not you.
Definitely this.
Hungry675tf · 26/08/2021 22:11

Are your buyers our buyers OP? If not they are certainly in cahoots. We told them to get to fuck and they acquiesced, but we're still not over the line so having a discussion with EA about removing our house from the market.

If that doesn't put a rocket up everyone's arses and get things moving then I'm out.

Sarahlou63 · 26/08/2021 22:11

Be pragmatic. How much will it cost you to break the chain? Is there space for negotiation - i.e. split the difference at £7.5k?

The UK property market is very overheated and there will be a correction. So take a long term view.

Houserenoqueen · 26/08/2021 22:11

Call their bluff and say no. Please don’t give in to this.

We had buyers pull out last minute and sold again for the full asking price within a couple of days. I was also heavily pregnant so understand where you’re coming from.

Unsure33 · 26/08/2021 22:12

Surely if there was that much wrong they would not have got the mortgage ?

Plus yes if you changed the price it would affect loads of paperwork .

I would be fuming .

SeaToSki · 26/08/2021 22:13

You could tell them that you had an offer from another couple that wanted the place originally and that they still want it. You will give the CFs until noon tomorrow to exchange at the original price or you will sell it to the other couple as they had subsequently offered 10k more than the cf couple, but you hadn't gazumped them as you are honourable people

Chloemol · 26/08/2021 22:13

Just go back, say no and ask the EA to put the house back on the market immediately