Make a lower offer?

Dontmakemymistake · 2023-08-08T13:01:43+00:00

Had an offer accepted on a semi, it was up for 200k, dropped to 190k, i offered 170k and we agreed on 178k, so far so good. But that was 4 months ago, i'm a cash buyer and i'm getting the property for a close relative to rent from me and give him a bit of stability (it'll all be done above board and with proper legal safeguards in for both parties) he is currently still renting but has been told he needs to find somewhere else. Property needs about 3k spent on it but otherwise sound. Thing is prices are dropping in this area and generally not selling as they were and i'm thinking of offering 170k, what do MNetters think?

Move22 · 08/08/2023 14:07

Four months ago? Why is it not progressing? You should be nearing exchange and completion surely.
if you agreed on a price, I am not sure why you’d change it along the way? Would you have offered more in a rising market?

Kay286 · 08/08/2023 14:08

If you had your offer accepted 4 months ago surely you’re close to completion espec if you are a cash buyer ?
however no I wouldn’t do it it’s a crappy thing to do at this stage.

Original poster

Dontmakemymistake · 08/08/2023 14:14

Been waiting for the seller to find somewhere, they did but in a chain.

Well, in a rising market and if i'd taken 4 months, i suspect the seller would be asking more!

The seller hasn't been totally honest with me either (far from it) so thats (one reason) why i'm considering a lower offer, plus they lied about some work that needs doing, said they'd done it, then we found out they bodged it.

OP posts:

Kay286 · 08/08/2023 14:19

I suppose it depends how much you want the house and risk losing it ?
Its immortal imo and it wouldn’t sit right with me to do something like that.
However I can understand where you are coming from if the market has dropped and they have caused a delay as you were waiting on them. It’s likely they would maybe accept it still as they probs wouldn’t want to lose you as a buyer knowing they’d probably get even less in this current market.

Elephantscantjump · 08/08/2023 14:20

You need to bear in mind that they may need a certain amount to be able to make an onward purchase. If you drop your offer they may have to take the house off the market.

SkipHopJumpSplatWallop · 08/08/2023 14:21

A lot of people are taking their house off the market in these sorts of situations where they are being forced to take much lower offers.
You can do it but it’s a shitty thing to do this late on. If you have spent any money on a survey, solicitors etc and are happy to risk losing that money and the house by them completely pulling out then go for it.

TheCountessofLocksley · 08/08/2023 14:26

Dontmakemymistake · 08/08/2023 14:14

Been waiting for the seller to find somewhere, they did but in a chain.

Well, in a rising market and if i'd taken 4 months, i suspect the seller would be asking more!

The seller hasn't been totally honest with me either (far from it) so thats (one reason) why i'm considering a lower offer, plus they lied about some work that needs doing, said they'd done it, then we found out they bodged it.

Just arbitrarily lowering your offer because "house prices are falling" is not really on. You were happy 4 months ago that £178k was a fair offer.

However, I appreciate offers can change in light of survey findings. If your survey says work needs doing that either hadn't been done or has been done but needs further remedial work, then you could negotiate a lower price to account for this.

If you believe the vendor had lied to you, then you need to be raising this with your solicitor/conveyancer and looking at what can be fine to protect you eg indemnity insurance may be required.

Sounds a bit like you are getting cold feet/buyers remorse.....that is not a good reason for dropping your offer and may mean you lose the house if the vendor needs to achieve a certain amount for their forward purchase.

Permanentlyfrazzled · 08/08/2023 17:46

This is an awful thing to do.

BiscuitsandPuffin · 08/08/2023 17:49

A second home owner wants to profit even more from taking that home away from potential first time buyers, and potentially break the chain if the current owners are relying on that money to buy their onwards home.
Nothing to see here.

Twiglets1 · 08/08/2023 23:07

I don’t think it’s really justifiable unless the survey has thrown up something expensive. Otherwise, you will piss your Sellers off majorly to the extent that they may decide not to sell to you but to put their property back on the market. It’s a big risk.

Original poster

Dontmakemymistake · 09/08/2023 09:29

BiscuitsandPuffin · 08/08/2023 17:49

A second home owner wants to profit even more from taking that home away from potential first time buyers, and potentially break the chain if the current owners are relying on that money to buy their onwards home.
Nothing to see here.

I never wanted to be a 2nd home owner, i m purely doing it to provide security for a relative who will never be able to buy & at a below market rent - is that a bad thing to do? i don't think so.

BUT i ve read through the replies and i ve taken on board the comments and will NOT be making a lower offer, i think on reflection i was wrong to even consider it.

thankyou all.

OP posts:

Pemba · 09/08/2023 10:02

What you are doing is to help your relative, it's a good thing. You are not a profiteer like your typical landlord. It's very kind of you and will provide your relative with a secure home.

However you can tell the sellers to hurry up! In today's market they should be glad they have a willing and able buyer, and try not to annoy them, and they might consider breaking the chain. When do you need the house by? Communication is key.

However you can't say you are 'considering offering £170k' you've made your offer of £178k that WAS your agreed offer! The convention is that both parties stick to their agreement, unless something changes substantially. Eg bad stuff comes up in the survey, circumstances change. You might want to set a deadline for exchanging maybe, depending how inconvenient you're finding the wait.

Of course looking for a new house will push you back to square one though, and you've already incurred costs on this one.

wishIwasonholiday10 · 10/08/2023 11:02

Seems to be a consensus against offering lower in under these circumstances. Just wondering if the process had been underway for much longer and the sellers were taking forever to find a property whether it would be more justified to lower the offer or still a dick move? We are in a sale that been ongoing for 10 months and will probably be a year by the time we complete. Would anyone consider offering less to account for the market going down? We were ready to complete as soon as possible after the offer so not us mucking around and we have paid an extra 6 months at least of rent than what we had hoped.

caringcarer · 10/08/2023 11:25

Dontmakemymistake · 08/08/2023 14:14

Been waiting for the seller to find somewhere, they did but in a chain.

Well, in a rising market and if i'd taken 4 months, i suspect the seller would be asking more!

The seller hasn't been totally honest with me either (far from it) so thats (one reason) why i'm considering a lower offer, plus they lied about some work that needs doing, said they'd done it, then we found out they bodged it.

My DS was a first time buyer. He bought it about 2 1/2 years ago. His friends were buying in the same area at the same time. DS made an offer for the full asking price and the offer was accepted. It was in a rising market. The sellers could have pulled out and put it back on at a higher price which is what his friends buyers did. His vender's stuck to their word and DS was hugely grateful. His friends couldn't afford the higher price and actually only bought a house last year once prices stabilized. You made the offer now stick to it. If I was selling my house and a purchaser tried to offer me £7k less unless there were structural problems or damp issues found in a survey I'd refuse to sell to them at any price after that.

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BlueMongoose · 12/08/2023 10:11

I wouldn't offer less, but I would be unhappy about the delay, especially if you have relative needing to move out of other accommodation. It sounds like time for an ultimatum.

LindaDawn · 18/11/2023 18:41

caringcarer · 10/08/2023 11:25

My DS was a first time buyer. He bought it about 2 1/2 years ago. His friends were buying in the same area at the same time. DS made an offer for the full asking price and the offer was accepted. It was in a rising market. The sellers could have pulled out and put it back on at a higher price which is what his friends buyers did. His vender's stuck to their word and DS was hugely grateful. His friends couldn't afford the higher price and actually only bought a house last year once prices stabilized. You made the offer now stick to it. If I was selling my house and a purchaser tried to offer me £7k less unless there were structural problems or damp issues found in a survey I'd refuse to sell to them at any price after that.

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Sellers dont ask for more money in a rising market cos it would mean they may risk losing their buyer but also if they then lose their purchase then they risk having to pay more.
market

KievLoverTwo · 18/11/2023 19:13

If it drags on for another three months through no fault of your own, yes. If you are likely to complete within a month, no.

Usually the process takes five months, but it is currently around four.