Unrealistic seller expectations

[BookwormButNoTime]

Feeling slightly confused by the methodology being applied by the seller of a house we would like to buy.

House needs a LOT of work. You couldn’t move into it in the current condition. Great location, huge amounts of potential etc etc. It has been on the market two months. We were the first people to see it and made an offer there and then. It was a cheeky offer but not an unjustifiable one based on other properties in the area. It was rejected as we expected.

After six weeks on the market we are the ONLY people to have offered. We really want it so raised our offer to 96% of the asking price. We are a full cash buyer from inheritance. The house is on for way more than it’s worth compared to other properties on the market in the same area so we would definitely paying more than it’s worth at that price.

Again, they have turned it down. Their rationale being that until viewings dry up then they’re not going to accept anything. Apparently the market is so buoyant they don’t need to. The house has had 74 viewings. And one offer (from us). So they just want to keep having viewings until there aren’t any more before even considering an offer.

It’s obviously totally down to them as to what they want to sell it for but I feel like they have totally wasted my time with their unrealistic expectations. I mean, it goes both ways? Why list your property if you will only sell for an unrealistic (and probably unachievable) price?

We are going to keep the offer on the table and hope in another few weeks they see sense but it’s so frustrating. FYI the agents are totally on our side and don’t understand why the vendors are going with a chain free cash offer at almost asking price after two months on the market.

Anyone else feel like they are dealing with bonkers sellers???

Given it’s the sellers are the offspring of the owners it’s more likely they just want the highest offer to get the most from their inheritance.

@TatianaBis

Given it’s the sellers are the offspring of the owners it’s more likely they just want the highest offer to get the most from their inheritance.

Not always the case, in my experience.

@TunaPlastic I assure you I am an “actual person” too. I think people sometimes forget that to rent a place someone needs to first own it. Ditto with that holiday cottage.

This is not a “quick buck” thing. We use the cash from my inheritance to buy it then once it’s completed and the work done get a mortgage on it. The house then pays for itself over the next 20 years, not really making us a big income after tax, but then once it’s paid off then it’s my pension. I’m sure locally you don’t object to people having pensions???

Anyway, I suspect the fact we are an investment buyer is probably the reason they are keeping it on the market. The agents may well not be telling me the whole truth as they want me onside for anything else that comes on the market. But yes, the 74 viewings to date is true. It’s their most viewed property in the last 12 months.

Think of finances in thirds

• a third in property that you actually live in, hard to liquidate but you have to live somewhere
• a third in cash, always good to have something at your fingertips, your pension could be part of this sum
• a third in shares, companies, etc again your pension is part of this. You can liquidate in a moderately quick fashion, choose your risk level

The whole investing in second homes and rental properties for investment and income has totally skewed the market, pushing the gap between the have multiple house and the have nones. I'd stretch this to say, It encourages a more intolerant, angry society. Perhaps this needs to be addressed, perhaps we need to look at our investment choices critically for the returns but also the harm they do on a global and community scale.

And look back and at current events, in times of stress, those poor people are getting out with their lives , not their homes.
The oligarchs in London have got people publishing their addresses, it's not necessarily 'as safe as houses'.

I also think that with a probate property you can't underestimate the family attachment. My MIL has just died and I already know that my usually sensible and analytical DH will have a really hard time parting with the home he grew up in.

Additionally, if it is in a holiday area, the sellers may be waiting for better weather bringing more visitors to the town believing that may generate more interest. Or, it may simply be that they want a family who is going to live there (and maybe extend?) to buy it.

Probate sales have a lot of baggage attached to them by the various interested parties. There may also be dissent between siblings over the house.

They have been clear on what the price was. I really don’t understand your feeling of entitlement that they should accept offers. It’s not like you offered asking.

If it was a loved family home, perhaps they’re not keen on selling to someone who wants it for a holiday rental?

Do they know you want to buy it and rent it out? We had a great offer from an investor but we wanted our house to go to a family so we declined the investor offer and accepted an offer from a family. Both offered similar - investor a few k more but not significant. Maybe they are holding out for similar. It is difficult though, we viewed a few that were clearly overpriced, I wonder if the agents are also holding out for ££ commission?

Seaside locations are a seething hotbed of resentment against ‘second-homers’.

I've dealt with plenty of bonkers vendors in my job

When you said it was probate it made sense, they are just greedy in all likelihood

Hi OP, tbh if I were you I'd mentally detach from this and move on.

Whether they are greedy or grieving, they are already showing you that they are unreasonable, not willing to follow EA advice, and stubborn.

In any property transaction there is a level of trust required on both sides, and the potential for the other side's bad behaviour to cost you money is considerable. We had an example of this when administering the sale or my MIL's home so that she could downsize - buyers waiting until the day of exchange to threaten us with a big (I think £30K? But can't totally remember!) drop in price "or they'd walk away". Whole chain in peril, significant costs to everyone, etc.

What you want with any property transaction is not be dealing with people who are going to behave in unreasonable ways.

Since these vendors already are, that'd be reason enough for me to move on, I think.

[quote BookwormButNoTime]@TunaPlastic I assure you I am an “actual person” too. I think people sometimes forget that to rent a place someone needs to first own it. Ditto with that holiday cottage.

This is not a “quick buck” thing. We use the cash from my inheritance to buy it then once it’s completed and the work done get a mortgage on it. The house then pays for itself over the next 20 years, not really making us a big income after tax, but then once it’s paid off then it’s my pension. I’m sure locally you don’t object to people having pensions???

Anyway, I suspect the fact we are an investment buyer is probably the reason they are keeping it on the market. The agents may well not be telling me the whole truth as they want me onside for anything else that comes on the market. But yes, the 74 viewings to date is true. It’s their most viewed property in the last 12 months.[/quote]
The “quick buck” of an investment buyer didn’t come into it for us. We felt a real responsibility towards neighbours we’d known all our lives and didn’t want to inflict a stream of tenants on them, which would have changed the dynamic of the area, it’s an area where people buy a house and stay for Literally a lifetime