Sorry this is long, I'm just so angry. We accepted an offer of 4k over asking price on our house back in March. Our buyer had already sold theirs to a FTB.
We found a house and agreed our purchase within a week, but our vendors couldn't find an onwards purchase. We gave them a couple of months, then we started looking again. Throughout this time we regularly kept in touch with our buyers via Estate agent and asked if they were OK to wait - they assured us there was no particular rush and that their buyer was fine.
End of June, our buyers contact EA saying their buyer is now impatient and they need things to move. A week after this call we had found another house. Our new vendors found a house within 3 days - chain was completed at this point. This was beginning of July. We all go ahead with our conveyancing processes. But as everyone knows this generally takes a few months!
So today EA calls me and drops the bomb shell. Our buyer has agreed to a reduction in their sale price and is moving in with a relative due to their FTB threatening to pull out if they didn't reduce the price and break the chain. So our buyer wants us to also drop our price accordingly. First they asked for a 10k reduction (which is what they reduced by, allegedly), I said absolutely not! We did not make a counter offer as we wanted what was agreed.
A few further phone calls and our buyer tells estate agent, if we don't drop by £4k (so down to original listed guide price) they can no longer afford our property and would pull out.
So WWYD? I'm furious they spring this on us at this stage and also baffled why they'd accept both a 10k drop in price (without checking with us first), AND also agreed to break the chain just so they don't lose their FTB. Seems madness to me!? Also thinking whether they really even want our house?
I'd really like to tell them to stick it! We're already going to have a much more expensive mortgage than originally thought due to the interest rate rises since March.
On the other hand, the market has slowed down and the thought of preparing the house for viewings again is giving me major anxiety, plus if we lose our buyer we may well lose our onward purchase which we love!
Would you accept the 4k price reduction? Go in with another counter offer (which still may not be enough to keep them)? Find a new buyer?
P.s. While a £4k loss will hurt us, we could manage it.