Buyers doesn't understand that they can't just demand everything they want

[WanderingThree]

As the title says.

My property is older and not perfect and priced accordingly. Sizable discount 5% was still given during initial negotiations. All OK.

They had survey done which they say showed problems as of course it would in an old house. Main ones were the electrics don't meet current regs (not ancient/ ugly/unsafe); roof requires further investigation (no leak, granted looks old)

Buyers have immediately asked for a further reduction of £25k to cover cost of a new roof and a full rewire!

EA is being no help at all and suggesting I may have to agree if I want the sale to go ahead. No, just no.

How do I deal with this? Is the original discount just forgotten and they can expect more? The electrics may need an upgrade and roof may not be perfect but surely there demands are totally unreasonable. Arent they? Losing the plot & need your guidance
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Exactly this.

If you're buying a doer-upper you don't expect a brand new roof!

That's already been factored in to the price.

If you want new-build quality - buy a new-build.

ibelieveinmirrorballs Thank you for your supportive words and for sharing your experience.

I think it’s worth remembering too, your vendors liked (probably loved?!) the house enough to put in an offer for hundreds of thousands of pounds. It isn’t a great market for sellers at the moment but the flip side for buyers is that there is not much coming on and certainly I have found it has taken us a long time to find what we wanted. So your buyers might be more reluctant to walk away than you think…

I guess it depends on your area but nationally there are plenty of properties on the market and there has definitely been a significant increase since the start of the year.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM9p1g0WEAASmXE?format=png&name=900x900

I my area specifically, there has been a v large increase in the last 2-3 months. So many houses with boards outside them.

@rainingsnoring it depends - yes, there are lots of properties available, but most of them are unattractive and languishing at too high a price for months online. I checked out of interest in a couple of areas near me recently and only something like 35% of available properties were under offer.

But good properties are being snapped up quickly. By good I mean well laid out, well maintained, well priced, in good locations. And of course they are the unicorns we're all looking for.... (most of us, anyway).

@ibelieveinmirrorballs I agree with most of that. There seem to be a v large percentage of properties languishing on the market because they are simply priced too high. I don't see the general standard as being any worse than in 2020-22 though, when nearly all properties had at least one offer within days.

As you say, the well priced, well located, well presented properties are still selling, although even these seem to fall through quite frequently.

Definitely agree with this. The spring bounce totally failed to happen in my area. If anything, I'd say there are fewer properties than ever coming on to the market. My area is a weird mix of good properties that get snapped up as soon as they get on the market, plus a bunch of properties with issues that have been hanging around for ages. Any buyer that drops out or loses a property here won't find a ready supply of alternatives. I know this from hard experience!

Slight disclaimer: I'm talking about the middle of the market here - very high value properties are different.

@WanderingThree if you want to show willing, I wouldn't invite them to get quotes for the work, as what they may well do is ask for quotes for a new roof and a full rewire.

I'd personally get your own assessment from an electrician and roofer, ask for a written report on the current condition and what works if any, are required for the property to be in good working order. Then you've got your own evidence to go back to the buyers and say you've had it properly assessed and the professional view is that the works they've asked for a reduction based on aren't actually needed, but maybe there will be some things flagged up and so you'll offer a reduction of 2k or 5k or whatever to account for that.

You certainly don't have to do that, but it reduces the likelihood that they'll pull out, and if they do, it might prove useful to have anyway if you have to put the house back on the market.

25K seems a lot, unless it needs a new roof and not just the usual retiling.