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Original poster

I need to give up on this house, don’t I?

18 replies

Highwind · 14/01/2022 21:34

FTB here, currently in rental. Being very picky as I want to buy a forever home.

Put an offer on a house in July. Was rejected, they went with a different buyer and the sale fell through due to the seller not having found an onward purchase.

House came back on in around October, we put a higher offer on.... rejected, they went with someone else.... and the sale fell through.

House came back on the market this week. Re-iterated our previous offer on Tuesday... Chased on Wednesday, nothing. Yesterday estate agent rang us to let us know that the seller was thinking about our offer and would let us know today.... waited all day, didn’t hear anything.

Rang estate agents at 17:30 (they close at 18:00) who said they hadn’t heard back from vendor and would call them now and let us know.... surprise, we didn’t hear anything back.

House is on for £400k... our offer is £391k.... we can’t go higher.

I just feel so deflated.

We have everything lined up, we have no chain, we both clearly want the house as we have put an offer on every time it’s come back to market.... we are only 2%(ish) off the asking price. We are willing to go as quickly or slowly as the sellers wants....

Time to give up on this one? :(

OP posts:
Asdf12345 · 14/01/2022 21:35

Worth waiting. You might get lucky.

Original poster
Highwind · 14/01/2022 21:42

I guess I just want to be put out the misery of waiting to hear back.

OP posts:
Annabelle69 · 14/01/2022 21:47

I put an offer in on a house December 2019. OK, it was accepted, but it took A YEAR AND A HALF to complete. Sellers too fussy to find anything to buy, then Covid and lockdowns, then in Nov 2020 when we were ready to exchange, the poor old lady they were buying from died. Then came SEVEN months of probate. I loved the house, I stuck in there when so many times I thought it was a lost cause, and my friends and family told me so, and now I'm typing from that house now. If you love the house don't give up.

minipie · 14/01/2022 21:53

See it from the seller’s point of view. The seller knows you are keen and knows you will keep waiting for their house (you have for 6+ months). Basically they can keep your offer in mind as a back up and see if anyone else goes higher.

If they get to the point it’s clear nobody else will go higher (or if they accept a higher offer but it doesn’t work out) they will probably come back to you but in the meantime they have the luxury of waiting. They are clearly not in a hurry. Perhaps they haven’t found something they want to move to yet.

They only put their place back on the market this week so I’m guessing they will want to take a bit longer and see if anyone else comes forward before going for you.

Sorry, I can imagine it’s frustrating. In your shoes I would try viewing a few other properties (ideally with the same agent) so that these vendors don’t necessarily think they can take you for granted as a buyer.

MindTheGapMoveAlong · 14/01/2022 21:55

We were in more of less this position a decade ago. There was fierce competition for the house and it went to sealed bufs more than once. The vendors were divorcing and at war with each other - each of them vetoed anything that the other agreed, on principle. So when an acquaintance suggested that we put silver money on the land we were desperate enough to try it and surreptitiously poked a 50p piece through the hedge into the flower bed. 3 months later after it went to sealed bids again. 3 months after that we moved in. The funny thing was our offer wasn’t the highest; it was the same ad the one we made the day after the 50p ‘deposit’. If it's meant to be

Original poster
Highwind · 14/01/2022 22:08

Apparently they do have an onward purchase this time round... argh I suppose I will give it until the end of tomorrow and decide whether to just retract our offer and continue the hunt.

I wanted the house so badly but I don’t want to play silly games with these people.

I do love hearing tales of how others secured their dream homes. I really hope mine will be round the corner!

OP posts:
minipie · 14/01/2022 22:25

Don’t retract your offer, that’s just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

View other places and if you want to ramp it up, say your offer has a time limit.

If they have found an onward purchase that’s great and you putting a time limit on your offer might nudge them to stop hanging out for more and grab the sure thing.

Good luck!

Annabelle69 · 15/01/2022 09:02

@minipie

Don’t retract your offer, that’s just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

View other places and if you want to ramp it up, say your offer has a time limit.

If they have found an onward purchase that’s great and you putting a time limit on your offer might nudge them to stop hanging out for more and grab the sure thing.

Good luck!

Agree don't retract your offer. Believe me, many times during my year and a half offer to completion saga, did I feel like telling my Sellers to stuff it. They dragged their heels, we're totally inflexible, and generally infuriating... but I kept my eye on the prize.
Ikeameatballs · 15/01/2022 09:08

You’ve got nothing to gain by retracting your offer but definitely put a time limit on it and view other properties.

Also, when was the last time you viewed this property? Perhaps view again now because maybe you’ve built it up on your head to be more amazing than it really is?

TolkiensFallow · 15/01/2022 09:09

Your offer is reasonable- I would think they would accept as you are in a strong buying position. The estate agent has to make the offer and to respond to you in writing.

However…they are faffers and even if they are proceeding with a purchase, it it’s likely to be slow going. So you will need patience.

For me, the biggest risk you have is that house prices are going up rapidly and your budget goes less far year on year. I once had a friend in this position who bought her dream house but the buyers faffed for so long they ended up pricing themselves out of the market and my friend ended up pulling out and spending £80k more on the next place she found!

NoSquirrels · 15/01/2022 09:11

They sound like very annoying sellers. You should factor that in.

Have you asked the estate agent why the previous sales fell through?

I’d do as suggested and keep viewing other places, and put a time limit on your offer if you hear nothing back.

RedToothBrush · 15/01/2022 09:14

Sit tight.

If they have a house they want they will have one of two issues.

Either they need the extra because otherwise they cannot afford the house and/or they will need a buyer soon otherwise they risk losing the house.

Remember you are a first time buyer so this means you are a good option because you have no chain.

Keep in mind that the sale of their house has fallen through twice now. Why? Because they didn't have a house? Because they are difficult? Because there is a problem with the house?

If you can afford to wait and see and think this house is worth it, sit tight. They are now the ones where having a buyer matters to them in a way it didn't previously. You might not be the buyer they want because of the money, but you may be the buyer they need.

Don't offer more. State thats all you can afford and just leave it up to them.

Meanwhile keep looking but keep offer on the table. You don't have any thing to lose at this point by doing so. Until you see something else just wait.

Thirtytimesround · 15/01/2022 09:16

I don’t think retracting the offer makes any sense, especially over such a small wait when you’ve been looking so long.

Call the agent again on Monday and say look we are ready to go and we love the house but we only have the finance available that we do, when will the seller make a decision? (The agent may try to talk the price up eg can’t ypu borrow from parents. It’s literally the agent’s job to do that.)

But basically you are asking them to give you £9000 because you can’t afford the full price, so you can’t put too much pressure on.

Bluesheep8 · 15/01/2022 09:36

Ring the estate agent and put a time limit on your offer. Tell them you're viewing other properties.

Bluesheep8 · 15/01/2022 09:39

Estate agent should also be pushing the fact that you're FTB with everything in place and are willing and able to go at the vendors pace once the offer is accepted and house off the market.

StrifeOfBath · 15/01/2022 10:00

What’s the point if retracting your offer? You can look elsewhere until an offer is accepted.

It has only just gone back on the market. They will have weekend viewings lined up. They will wait for Monday for any offers, probably mull them over on Tuesday…decide Wednesday…

Londongent · 15/01/2022 10:26

Agree with a PP that they know your offer is a fall back offer if no better offer is made. I would put pressure on them by giving them a timeliness to say yes or no to your offer or you withdraw it. Knowing there is a chance their back up offer is being removed may help your cause, especially if they have a place lined up

Adeleskirts · 15/01/2022 10:28

Just leave th offer till you hear. They want full asking or closer to it, which is fair, it seems others were willing to pay that.

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