Sellers won’t reduce price despite two years on the market

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My dream home is in the market. It was put up for sale for £800k at the start of 2024, it’s now on for £750k but the reduction was a year ago.

The price is due to the location which is stunning. But the location comes with pitfalls as its on a private estate which is renouned for being badly managed and is being neglected so badly. Therefore the Trustees of the estate are the sellers and they are not acknowledging that it’s the fact they own the surrounding estate that means the house won’t sell. Its freehold but with covenants.

the house itself is in a state of disrepair and needs a complete overhaul but again they won’t acknowledge the rising cost of building works in their price.

we offered £625k and they said no. It was more than fair for what the house is. I know I have to give up on it but it’s empty and unloved and falling into further disrepair each month which breaks my heart. I just want to check whether anyone has any ideas for securing the sale beyond raising our offer which we can’t do if we are to have money to save the house. We are cash buyers not in a chain so as attractive as can be from that point of view.

Yes, there are a lot of houses like this on the market where it has to be up for sale for various reasons but the person in it or selling it doesnt want it to sell

Give it up OP, its not your dream house because you cant afford it. Move on and buy something else.

Oh Ive just seen the rightmove link, horrible house, what on earth are you thinking OP

It's a mess, you'd have to spend thousands renovating. Shared water and oil heating? Just no, the cost of oil is high and the house is EPC D. And I doubt the trustees will let you do sympathetic restoring or upgrading to eco heating methods like heat pumps or solar panels.. what a shame as they could be investing in it and renting it out as part of the estate, national trust style.

The railway line at the Staverton house is the South Devon Railway. Having steam trains passing the bottom of the garden is actually a huge selling point, which is why they've included two pictures, clearly showing the, er, steam trains!

Sorry, OP, you can't afford to live on Dartington Estate. Few of us can.

You wouldnt be able to do it anyway, you dont just rock up to an EA and say I want to view a house, they want all your details of how you are selling and buying or just buying and your income details and your proceedability and what other houses you're interested in, signing up as a buyer etc etc

Honestly some of the things people say on this site are just bonkers.

A charitable trust? They won’t accept any offers. Charities and the like are the worst for being reasonable about selling houses, they want all the money they can (they can come across as very aggressive in negotiations).
I really would move on. It looks like a money pit anyway.

I've tried to buy from sellers who (I realised later) fell out with each other, one wanted to sell and the other didn't. I put in an offer 10k below the listed price - they came back with an offer 50k above it! The estate agent heavily implied they were taking the piss. It was on the market in 2018, 2020 and eventually sold in 2025.
Remember that difficult sellers will be even more difficult during the actually process of buying.

People are often completely unaware when it comes to selling. I’ve always said a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay - no matter what an estate agent tells them! If they haven’t sold before, or not in a long time, they might not realise that. I’d be inclined to sit tight, they may reduce the price again one day. That said, there’s a house round the corner from me that’s been on the market for two years and they’ve never dropped the price, just swapped out the photos! Madness.

If they’re not getting sensible advice from their estate agent (like admitting the price might be too high!), they’ll probably just leave it as it is. I do agree with the previous poster though - you really need to think carefully about renovation costs. I’ve just finished a renovation myself and it ended up costing 20% more than I’d budgeted. For what it’s worth though, I think the place has the potential to be absolutely gorgeous!

The trustee of a charitable trust are under a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the charity. They have to get the best price they can.

That property is in a stunning location and is worth what they’re asking, it’s just a matter of a buyer being found.

If you want to persuade them to accept your lower offer, you have to put a case forward that they can consider. They need to be able to evidence their decision to accept your offer in case questions are asked of them as administrators of the Trust.

Off the top of my head, that might include estimates of the work needed to bring it up to a standard in keeping with the rest of the estate, evidence of your financial position, comparable properties that have sold for the price you’re offering.

There’s no point in trying emotional blackmail on them, they won’t care about your sentimental attachment. It’s the bottom line that counts.