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Original poster

Vendor asking for more money on exchange day

147 replies

cathyburke · 10/12/2024 19:34

After a long few months we were finally ready to exchange, this was supposed to happen last week but keeps being delayed and we are due to complete on Friday.

Backstory the property we are buying had been on the market for a while, we offered on it and then reduced our offer by 2K after a survey which the vendor agreed to.

Our sale then fell through as our buyer pulled out, the vendor offered to keep the property off the market for a month if we paid them £1000. We said no, thankfully we got another buyer a few weeks later and they had no interest on the property so we were able to proceed again.

Fast forward to today, at the moment of exchange and our vendor is now demanding an extra £2000, reverting to the original offer price.

All contracts have been signed with the renegotiated price ready to exchange, assuming the vendor also signed at the reduced price.

I think it's worth mentioning that a couple of weeks ago we had the boiler serviced and it has been condemned and needs replacing of which the vendor will not reduce the price for or contribute and was pushing for completion despite us not being able to get the boiler replaced before completion. They are quite happy for us with young children to move into a property with no heating or hot water just before Christmas.

We are standing firm with our original offer as we are having to fork out an extra £3000 for the boiler but the seller is adamant that they will not accept anything less than the original offer.

Interested to see what others would do in this situation?

OP posts:
Winter2020 · 10/12/2024 20:07

If the sale completes OP get a second opinion on the boiler. Just in the last week someone I know got their boiler condemned by British Gas and it was put straight back into service by a second opinion. Nothing wrong with it. BG engineer just wanted to get the job of fitting a new boiler.

Hoppinggreen · 10/12/2024 20:08

Tell them you are now reducing your offer by £1000 and every time they ask for more money you will reduce your offer by £1000

xyz111 · 10/12/2024 20:09

What cheeky feckers!!!! I wish there was a law against stuff like this. I would call their bluff also. They would be mad to lose a sale.

user2848502016 · 10/12/2024 20:09

This happened to a friend, she called their bluff and said fine they will pull out of the sale then , their sellers backed down and all progressed

Cheeseandcrackers40 · 10/12/2024 20:10

Stand firm and give them an expiry date for exchange or you pull out. CFs of the highest order.

Wibblywobblybobbly · 10/12/2024 20:10

They're being ridiculous. Even if you were prepared to agree to it you'd have to get your mortgage reissued. I'm generally all for swallowing things then buying and selling to get the deal done, but here I would absolutely say no. They can take it or leave it.

TheCompactPussycat · 10/12/2024 20:13

Call their bluff.

You're doing them a favour. They are going to find it harder to sell a house at this time of year which will now be cold, damp, and have a condemned boiler.

Anothernamechane · 10/12/2024 20:16

Don't give them an extra penny. No one is going to buy their house with no boiler at this time of year. Certainly not for more than you've offered. It's basically blackmail

Doris86 · 10/12/2024 20:21

In this situation I’d definitely be calling their bluff.

In fact I’d be tempted to say two can play at that game, and reduce my offer by a further £2000.

Jessiejessiecat · 10/12/2024 20:23

If your kids are under 5 you may qualify for help towards a new boiler if yours is condemned. You could get in touch with Cadent (the national gas emergency team) and explain your situation. They may be able to refer you to a charity who can help towards a replacement boiler.
We just used this service when we had a gas leak and our boiler was condemned.
I’m not sure if the service is only for people who have had a gas leak or other issues that have meant the boiler is broken, but worth a try!

Hedgerow2 · 10/12/2024 20:27

What's their reason for wanting the extra money? Other than greed of course?

I'd say you weren't going to ask them to cover the cost of a new boiler as a gesture of goodwill - even though it really is their responsibility. However, as they're reneging on the agreed price at such a late stage they've lost your goodwill so you're taking £3k off the purchase price.

Don't give into bullies. There will be other houses.

LookItsMeAgain · 10/12/2024 20:34

There was offer and acceptance. You offered, they accepted at a certain price. I'd be getting the solicitor to act on your behalf and threaten to pull out of the exchange (if you haven't already taken steps) because they may be in a chain and they wouldn't want to be the reason why the chain doesn't complete.

Anyway - back to the thread to see if you did take steps

LlamaDrama20 · 10/12/2024 20:42

This is where the estate agents should be earning their money! These sort of demands just get everyone's backs up and people start making knee-jerk decisions because they are so pissed off.

I'd have a supposedly 'off the record' conversation with the estate agent telling them that you simply can't find the extra £2000 and ask them to try to get the seller to see reason.

My buyer tried to ask for an extra £5k off at the last minute and I had a similar conversation with the EA saying I couldn't, even if I wanted to reduce the price. Strangely they then backed down. I know the EA basically told them they'd be stupid to walk away...

JustMyView13 · 10/12/2024 20:47

Our seller threatened to relist our property if we wouldn’t complete on our first home whilst out of the country on a pre-booked holiday. We said no, and wanted to go 1 business day later when we were back. They said no & they’ll relist the property. They didn’t want to because THEY’D be on holiday. We said ok, we’ll complete when you’re back. They didn’t want that either.
Told the EA, tell them to relist it & wish them all the best finding someone to complete faster than we can.
He called us back and they saw sense. I don’t think people realise how much time & effort it takes to get to exchange. I would call their bluff, and if the whole thing were to fall through (I don’t think it will), then know you’ve dodged a bullet and this wasn’t meant to be.

RandomMess · 10/12/2024 20:56

Perhaps just say "only if the boiler is replaced as otherwise we don't have the money"

Flowers

What utter shits.

I would be calling their EA and giving them merry hell for wasting your time and supporting such shitty behaviour. Their EA will want their commission and be keen for it go through.

Ask their EA to reduce their commission. Ask your EA too and go lower down the chain to tentatively ask them to share the hit IF you decide to renegotiate the price.

No way would I give the full £2k though.

Oramorph · 10/12/2024 21:04

Thieving knobs. Why is this allowable? Hope they back down OP

BilboBlaggin · 10/12/2024 21:07

I too would call their bluff and inform them you have no additional funds. I'd also be saying that if the sale doesn't go through then you'll be seeking reimbursement of the cost of servicing the boiler through the small claims court, as that was done on the basis you'd be purchasing the property.

Scarfitwere · 10/12/2024 21:07

Absolutely stand firm and call their bluff. Chancers! If the property has been on a while they won't want to lose the sale, they are trying it on.

ForkHandlesNotFourCandles · 10/12/2024 21:09

I suppose it depends how desperate they are to sell.
If it’s a second home, I’m guessing not that desperate really.

Its also worth noting that it doesn’t cost them anything in terms of legal fees unless the sale goes through
How much will you lose if you have to do searches and another survey on another property. If it’s around £2000 or more then it’s a risk you take.

ForkHandlesNotFourCandles · 10/12/2024 21:11

BilboBlaggin · 10/12/2024 21:07

I too would call their bluff and inform them you have no additional funds. I'd also be saying that if the sale doesn't go through then you'll be seeking reimbursement of the cost of servicing the boiler through the small claims court, as that was done on the basis you'd be purchasing the property.

That was done at the buyers risk.

carly2803 · 10/12/2024 21:12

"yes... if you replace the boiler"

Other than that, I would counter offer at 3k less just to piss them off

prepare to pull out. how utterly annoying!!!

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 10/12/2024 21:14

The vendors may still have to pay estate agent fees if they're the ones to pull out of the sale. It's a while since I lived in the UK but most of them used to have a clause that if they had a buyer who was ready, willing and able to purchase but the vendor withdrew then their fee would still be due. So they might stand to loose money by not selling if you call their bluff.

SerenityNowInsanityLater · 10/12/2024 21:17

Believe me, OP, they NEED you! They will absolutely not let this sale collapse over 2k. Stand your ground and don’t you flinch or even blink. 💪
God damn, the brass neck of some people. Unbelievable! Stay strong!

ForkHandlesNotFourCandles · 10/12/2024 21:19

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 10/12/2024 21:14

The vendors may still have to pay estate agent fees if they're the ones to pull out of the sale. It's a while since I lived in the UK but most of them used to have a clause that if they had a buyer who was ready, willing and able to purchase but the vendor withdrew then their fee would still be due. So they might stand to loose money by not selling if you call their bluff.

I’ve sold quite a lot although all in London and SouthEast. I’ve never had an agent that gets his % despite no sale
An estate agent works for the seller declaring he”ll charge you if you don’t sell at a price you are not happy with, just doesn’t happen.

Unless it’s someone like Purple Bricks with a fixed fee.

Anon22224 · 10/12/2024 21:19

This happened to us, we were a day before exchange date and our buyers suddenly said they were short £10,000!!! If we had lost the chain we’d have been really screwed as we were about to lose our mortgage rate (which would have cost us an huge amount more in the long run) and we’d been looking for a house for ages. We took a £5k hit and the sellers of our new house took £5k off in the end and we did exchange the next day. We felt awful about that but the buyers solicitors said they apparently just couldn’t get that money for some reason and we couldn’t afford to take the whole hit. It was so awful and stressful at the time. It’s such a terrible process that leaves you so open to being exploited when you’ve put so much money and time into buying a property.

I think it just depends how sure you are they won’t pull out, it’s very easy to say don’t do it but often you end up losing more money by not going through with everything. Good luck I hope they’re just calling your bluff

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