Should we accept the offer??

[LavenderLxx]

I’d like to pick your brains and see what you all think…

My brother and I are selling my late fathers house. It’s been on the market for 4 weeks at £800,000.

We’ve had 6 viewings and had the first offer a few days ago. The first offer was for £750,000 which we rejected. They have just come back with a second offer of £760,000.

They have sold their house and their buyer is in a rented place. My brother and I are in no mad rush to sell but the estate agent has said how slow the market currently is and how they’ve had some houses that have sat there for ages and then the price has had to be lowered to less than the original offers.

Just wondered if anyone had any words of wisdom? Should we push for a bit more? Hold out at £800,000? Accept their offer?!

What can I say. I blame Apple!

Sorry , it just fried my brain a bit.

Selling with siblings is hard. If the potential buyers can’t go higher, you would be foolish to not agree to their offer. That’s an incredible offer in the current market.

I would do some research into local current market conditions and write a case to your brother as to why this is a good offer. Email it to him if necessary. You have just as much say as he does. There is a big risk that the house won’t sell again at £760k and you end up with selling it at a much lower price after having paid maintenance costs in the meantime.

In today’s market I’d take it. I’ve got a couple of friends who have had houses on for a certain price, turned down reasonable offers for a little less and then they’ve sat there. Then they’ve had to reduce below the offer they got last year anyway and still no bites. It’s a weird market. Also these people sound very proceedable. Having to care for an empty house longterm is not great, plus it’ll cost money. You can suggest 6 weeks completion but that’s quite a tight timescale and at the end of the day it all depends on how quickly the searches paperwork come back. If your DB wants top dollar, he may be better renting it until the market changes but who knows when that will be.

That’s a really good offer. If you’re splitting the proceeds you’re not taking much of a hit.

I'm really sorry for butting in @Evenstar but I would be inclined to reduce the price significantly and just get it sold. Presumably, you have been poorly advised by the agents previously. I could be wrong but I strongly suspect that the market will worsen in the next year in general, obviously depending on what and where you are selling. As I have been saying on here for some time, the economy is not in a good state and is worsening, with unemployment rising. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I don't think (your brother's) greed is likely to pay off in this situation. They sound like serious, keen buyers, who have made an excellent offer considering the general state of the market. It's very possible, as someone else says, that this could be the best offer you receive. I would try to persuade him.

And this is why I avoid probate houses or ones being sold because of a divorce! So frustrating when more than one person is involved and they disagree. I hope you can convince him.

you will be paying council tax on it while its waiting to be sold

@LavenderLxx , accept it. Prices might go up, they might go down, but 760K in your hand is better than it sitting on the market costing you money in bills until the spring and then having to drop the price

The longer the 760000 is tied up in the property the heavier your loss in a stale market. You are losing around 2.5k in interest every month, plus possibly liability for council tax, energy, water, insurance so you would do better to sell at the offered price.

It’s only £20k each, which doesn’t seem a lot in an £800k transaction.

Going into autumn and winter having a house sitting empty could end up costing you a lot more, in burst pipes etc. Never mind the risk of squatters etc.

I’d accept £760k personally, but you know the area better than us.

Perhaps you could ask him to pay the bills going forwards if you can't persuade him to take the offer @LavenderLxx!

@rainingsnoring certainly something to think about, I must say that I am concerned that the figures on the economy we are seeing are not reflecting the true state of things currently.

I meet lots of young families through my voluntary work and hear from all of them about COL, housing costs, nursery fees, insecure jobs and low pay. Our estate is clogged with cars with huge numbers of young adults still living at home unable to afford to move out. I think it is a huge problem for the housing market as there isn’t the concept of getting on the ladder or moving up it for most now. I think people are having to manage with much smaller houses and raise a family in them, and often only having one child for that reason.

Try and convince your brother. If you can’t, I’d be tempted to accept the offer of £760k and pay him the £7.5k from your share, as though you’d sold it for £775k.

With the risk of having it empty, the costs associated, and the potential interest that you’re losing, it’s not worth hanging around

My brother and I had to sell my uncle’s house just outside London when he died. We didn’t accept the highest offer, we accepted the best buyer. We had an offer £10k higher from people in a chain or a cash offer at the asking price. As it was costing us in insurance, keep having to pop in, council tax, heating, etc, we got it sold before we might have had more issues with the property and travelling there to maintain it in the winter.

I would accept it. If your brother needs convincing work out exactly how much his proportion of the difference between the offer and what he’ll hold out for is. Include estate agents fees, any other deductions, IHT if there is any etc. Then work out council tax, insurance costs, on going maintenance/garden/cleaning/any other costs for every month it sits unsold. When you see the small difference it’s going to make vs the hassle he could well change his mind. The offer may not be around for long.

Many Empty property policies have a stipulation to either fully drain system or heat 24/7 to a set temperature from October to April so there could be significant heating costs to include too.

I completely agree with you. I think the figures are being adjusted to make them look good. You may want to look up Sasha Yanshin on Youtube. He analyses the CPI figures regularly and breaks it all down clearly. There are lots of other good analysts online, just not those produced the headlines in the MSM.

I also work with the general public and have seen people looking progressively more down trodden for many years, but it worsened after the pandemic. Things are not good overall and I can't foresee an improvement, despite the government's attempts to throw additional credit at anyone foolish enough to take it (they's pressurised the FCA to loosen lending rules).

As you say, something to think about.

Yes I think it’s a good offer and the buyers are in a great position too. I’m close by to my fathers house so have been responsible for all of the estate agents, maintenance, insurance etc; whereas my brother is at the other end of the country oblivious to the upkeep!

Say that to him and ask that if he doesn't accept this offer he starts taking some of the responsibility. He needs to know the reality of holding out for more, which he is unlikely to get in the end anyway.

Take it. The market is terrible and if Rachel Reeves puts CGT on main residences it's only going to get worse

Your brother is being unrealistic if I'm being charitable, and greedy if I'm not.

When we sold my mum's house the EA overpriced it which led to us turning down a really good immediate offer, as it turned out. I'm still annoyed about that 7 years on! Then we had 2 different buyers pull out, one at exchange costing us solicitors' fees, and then the final buyer wouldn't budge on price and we just wanted it sold. Council tax, insurance, fuel standing charge etc was just money down the drain.

Accept the offer!!

One thing your brother needs to reflect on is that 6 viewings in a month represents that interest in the property isn't very high. It could be worse, and is likely representative of an awful market, but it's a big indicator that people aren't desperate for your property, and you probably won't get your asking price buyer.

Your brother sounds exactly like my brother. We will be in this position at some point in the not too distant future, and I know he will press for more even in the face of a good offer. It's kind of ridiculous. Haven't read the full thread, but assuming you stand to inherit (?) then £760k will see you pocket £380k each and £780k will give you £390k.

If you don't accept their offer, and they don't budge, it will likely be ages before you get another offer in the current market. Several weeks/months could go by, and you may well end up reducing to £775k. Then you might end up getting an offer of say £730k-£750k tops. So you'll end up with less than if you'd just accepted at £760k. Hopefully you can talk him round!