Being gazundered- HELP

[movingstressed]

Never even came across this term until now 😢 we are maybe 4 weeks away from exchange and our buyer now asking for a significant reduction on offer accepted. Not for anything from survey or the house itself, just that time has passed and their searches etc are going to expire. This is through no fault of ours...the chain above broke down about 3 months in and completed again in 2 months (happened on the lead up to Xmas).

Do we stay firm and risk losing our buyers? Not sure if above us will wait out for us to find new buyers. The sheer cheek of it is making me want to tell them to get lost! I'm so cross that we have just signed contracts ready for exchange and now this!! With the break in the chain catching up we should still be on track to complete mid April but they are saying they will have additional costs post 31st March. I just want to bloody move!

Don’t bite off your nose to spite your face. Depending on what sort of reduction they are asking for, it may be better to offer to give them a reduction rather than potentially end up at square one again. Maybe you could offer to meet them in the middle of what they are asking for & the previous price agreed?

How much are they seeking to reduce by? If it is a modest amount and they have provided itemised costs that they have/will definitely incur then it’s reasonable for them to ask and if I were you I would meet them part way.

If they’re asking for tens of thousands off for no clear reason then you need to approach it as a starting point to calmly negotiate. Ask open questions about how they have arrived at that figure and what it covers. Don’t outright call them unreasonable or unrealistic, just let that surface through their responses then counter propose something that you can live with and that saves them a bit of face.

Do not let your emotions control you in this. Going back to square one will be much more expensive and irritating.

I wouldn't if you think the original price is fair and the market hasn't dropped where you are. If they are thinking of pulling out they'll find an excuse regardless. Let them know that you now view them as an unreliable purchaser and are considering your options. Have a chat with your EA about the state of the market in your local area and the likelihood of finding another buyer quickly.
You could also consider agreeing to complete in your sale asap and go into an Airbnb or short term rental while you wait for your purchase to complete. To avoid those extra costs.
I'd be cross too.

Thanks! It sure is hard not to feel the emotions of this! They are asking for £11k reduction, agreed sale price was £350k. They state that they will incur increase in stamp duty (so will we), their searches will expire and they will need to again (likely we will too), mortgage offer is expiring (I thought extensions were common?) also they are incurring costs on the money they released to use as a deposit for the purchase.

This kind of reduction would affect our affordability for our purchase, so I don't think we could even meet half way. If we did accept the reduction then we are back at starting pint of looking for a new buy and we will also have lost the sols fees/survey costs

We of course want to work with all of the chain to keep it going but I just don't know how!

I think you need to say:

1. we are sorry that you are incurring these additional costs associated with the delay
2. we are also incurring the following costs (then list) and don’t expect to be able to pass these up the chain
3. we cannot cover these costs for you because it would affect our affordability and jeopardise our ability to purchase, however in the interests of maintaining the chain we could reduce by X
4. we hope this helps you to complete the sale so that we can get this over the line, as we have costs sunk into this process and it would be in everyone’s financial interests to see it though

I know you want to scream and shout. It has happened to me. But don’t do it - but smart now and scream later.

Thank you for this composed response, composing one myself would be difficult when emotions are this high. Whilst I begrudge lowering the price at all I agree that it is in everyone best interests..: im just not sure our buyers will entertain it as it would literally be a fraction of what they are asking, but we can't do anything else!

This situation happened to two people I know; my sister and my husband’s friend. My sister’s buyer was pushing their luck and asked for a £30 k reduction for no particular reason before contracts were exchanged. The sale had taken a long time. My sister said no, and she told the estate agent to tell them she will consider upping the price if they try to offer a reduction again! Needless to say they soon kept quiet. My husband’s friend had a similar situation too, he said no. We sold our house last year. So because of the stress my sister and husband’s friend had, I told the estate agent from day one that I will not accept any last minute negotiations.The price agreed on is what it is. A colleague at work had this happen to her and her husband two weeks ago, 3 months into the house sale and buyers offered 10k less such a cheek! She said no too, house sale is still going through. I think some buyers are trying their luck because they think sellers will agree to anything due to vulnerability towards the end of the sale. I wouldn’t let your buyers take advantage if I were you! House prices have risen the past couple of months remind them of that. What does your estate agent think about this situation?

It’s always tense. Realistically yes they will be having to pay extra stamp duty but if they pull out and start again they’ll have to pay it anyway.

I would stand your ground and see what happens.

Out of curiosity - why would they be incurring fees on the money they would withdraw for their deposit?

It’s coming into spring. The market seems to be picking up slightly. People I know are starting to get offers. I’d say no.

They no doubt really mean they’re losing the interest that they could have been given.

It was always inevitable that there were going to be lots of renegotiations and chains failing because of the SDLT increase, especially in this sort of situation where things were delayed and people haven't accounted for extra £££.
You can play things one of two ways. Either you stand strong but take the risk that the chain falls apart and you lose your sale and purchase. Or, you see if everyone in the chain will agree to reduce by 3 or 4000. Shared out, it's a very small percentage of the purchase price. The market does usually pick up a bit in the Spring but the higher SDLT is going to tend to put some downward pressure on prices. I've also noticed a lot of for sales popping up locally so it's not certain that there will be a typical Spring bounce. Longer term, the outlook looks negative for the housing market.

If the chain was complete at Christmas, why can’t it legally complete by 31 March? I’d have thought it’s worth offering the sellers an incentive.
Personally I’d contact both agents and ask them to start applying pressure up the chain. If you and the buyers will be saving so much stamp duty, you have nothing to lose by offering a sweetener that is less than the increase to have this proceed quickly. However you’d need to think about how to do this so that it doesn’t affect your mortgage offer.
Or You tell the sellers that if it doesn’t complete in time, the chain is in danger of collapse and get them to put pressure on their solicitors. No reason they shouldn’t pull their fingers out and with 4 weeks notice get to complete in time.
Of course it’s a busy time for solicitors ( I worked as a solicitor during similar times in the past, so I do know about the work pressure) but they do have a duty to their clients and should be aiming to help them.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom. Let's see how today pans out!

If you have signed contracts ready for exchange why is the actual exchange 4 weeks in the future ?

I think your buyers are messing you around.

I also think gazundering is when you try to drop the price within a few days or directly on the day of exchange. Not four weeks. Although it probably doesn't have a technical definition and time limits.

Realistically they aren't going to immediately drop out if you just say "no". Their next step would be trying to negotiate. I think it's safe to go back to them with a no, put the ball back in their court.

Do not engage in flowery responses saying you will incur costs etc, a simple 'NO' from your solicitor to theirs.

The increase in Stamp Duty is going to affect most people. If they drop out of buying your property they will still have to pay the increased amount on another one, together with cost of searches, etc. There is no real reason for you to meet any of their losses, especially as the delay is not your fault.

We said no! They have come back asking for reduction of £3.5k. To save the chain I think we will have to accept....

The pragmatic solution.

Mmm.. no disrespect to you at all however that’s why they’re pushing for a reduction because of your mindset of thinking it’s you that’s got to save the chain. If you believe that you have to accept a reduction (which you don’t) I would suggest you Counter with a reduction of no more than £2K you’re the seller and have the right to negotiate too. Don’t let them have the upper hand! A reduction would be only appropriate if the survey result suggested it. They are really pushing their luck and you can say NO. Tell them they need to stop your wasting time trying to negotiate a reduction and to get on with exchange for Wednesday 13th March and completion by Wednesday 26th March.xx

I will be honest, I don't believe they are gazundering. They are simply pissed off it's taking too long and costing them extra money. I too would ask in that position.
It's like 6 months now, isn't it?

Honestly, buying and selling in UK, especially England is just ridiculous to a point of it being traumatising for everyone. Like why does it take 6 months to buy a house. It could be much faster