Buyer wants £8k off parents' London flat just before exchange

[LondonSeller]

Parents flat for sale as they passed away in london - Took 18 months to get probate sorted out but finally got it - Property listed with agents and it is in dated ocndition and needs work - Also has a 70 year lease. EA told us not an easy market

After five weeks advertising price agreed at 500K which was a bit lower then we had hope for but EA told us buyer is known to them and this would be very quick sale

Was meant to exchange on Friday and EA has come back and said buyer is ready to exchange, has sent deposit monies to his solicitors but wants a reduction of 8K. EA has said this is less than a 2% drop so not massive and believes we wont get better if we reject the offer

Buyer is cash purchaser investor so quite rare and I worry that if I dont accept property will be stuck for months for anothr cash buyer who might offer lower.

I live in Scotland and the flat is in London so I am miles away - Paid to have the place emptied and solicitor fees so am already down. By contrast buyer has not paid anything other than a few hundred for solicitor fees - No mortgage, no survey fees nothing

Whats the best angle here - Call buyers bluff and risk losing the sale or take the money and run. Feel quite cross as this money was going to be used for real stuff and to clear debts

We are looking to buy in London atm; prices have fallen and I beleive are continuing to fall. The cost of borrowing/mortgages have gone up, the economy is looking shaky and buyers ard like hens teeth. Personally, I think you would be mad to pass up this sale even swallowing the cheeky £8k reduction, on the off chance you might get more. You might end up getting less and a lot more hassle.

Yes, a very dirty trick and nrmally I would say don't give in to it. However, in your circumstances, I would cut my losses and accept the offer.

Yes, @kirinm, if the freeholder really does live upstairs and wants to offload the whole place it would be very tempting to put a spoke in their wheel in response to any dirty dealing

Of course I appreciate OP's main aim is to sell the place and remover her liability for it, but in the above circumstances it would be even more in the freeholder's interest to cough up rather than risk her selling elsewhere ... and I can't imagine they have every estate agent in their pocket

They are trying it on OP

If they are short £8k then they are short money to start this process with another property. They’ve already spent money to get this far and won’t back down over £8k

You both agreed a sale price
They haven’t come up with a decent reason to reduce it by £8k
They just think you’ll give in at this late stage hence why Theyve only just brought this up and why it’s interestingly under the double figures ( which always sounds worse )

I’d refuse
( At best I’d drop by £3k as a goodwill gesture )
I’ve had this before on at least two occasions. They’re chancers !

Unfortunately a code of conduct means little, LadyLapsang, and the Ombudsman is mainly funded by subs from EAs themselves so no prizes for guessing where their true loyalties will lie

These people have their deeply dubious reputation for a reason, and while their resistance to proper regulation's to be expected it really doesn't help

I would cut and run OP; the market is only going to get worse. The asking price the agents gave you was never realistic IMO.

"In the last year alone, the average price of an inner London flat has fallen by 6.2 per cent, according to Land Registry data, wiping around £35,000 off the typical selling price."

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-15848715/Why-half-Londons-small-flats-sell-loss-crash-spreads.html

Link to listing for whole house
https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/upland-road-east-dulwich-london-se22/DUL180133
That's so weird marketing the whole house while in the process of completing the sale on one of the flats.

In this market i would take it

With flats are listed as under offer as well as the house, all with the same agent

Less your expenses , you still stand to gain £360k

I have a theory, and OP, if I'm wrong I'm apologise. Hopefully you'll come back and update.

Initially the OP said the flat was on at £575k with a 70 year lease.

The flat she linked to is shown as on at £600k with share of the freehold. Stating it has a share of the freehold would be a pretty big error by the estate agents.

My theory is that OP didn't want to link to her actual flat, and instead found one which she considered similar. But, hadn't realised that this also came with an option to buy the whole house, which is now making things look really odd to everyone.

Another vote for take it and move on. As ithers have said the money you do get invested for just a year will be £20k. Go to Antigua with that and send the buyers a postcode of your beach. Good luck.

I would take it. I am in London and sold my maisonette flat last year, it was lovely and renovated and it was still a nightmare to sell.

You are selling a £500k flat that needs work and has a very short lease, your pool of potential buyers is already very limited as a) people would have to spend money renovate; b) money and time renewing the lease; c) under 80 years lease can raise issues if the buyer needs a mortgage.

I would prefer have the £492k in my bank asap. If you say no and they walk away you don’t know when you will find another buyer and how much they would offer. The uncertainty is not worthy. You are still making a lot of money out of this deal.

live in Scotland and the flat is in London so I am miles away - Paid to have the place emptied and solicitor fees so am already down. By contrast buyer has not paid anything other than a few hundred for solicitor fees - No mortgage, no survey fees nothing

You are down no more than the buyer, whatever the buyer the property would need to be emptied. Of course it would.

Id try and negotiate £4k or £6k but ultimately it’ll be sold even if it’s &8k.

This is an excellent theory Holmes! It fits all the facts.

Every month that the sale is delayed is costing more money because of the service charge mounting up. The short lease makes the flat much more difficult to sell so I don’t think you have much choice. Sell the flat for £492k, receive your inheritance (which will still be hundreds of thousands of pounds) and move on with your life.

edited for typo

I'd talk to the EA - they have recommended this buyer, so I would want to know whether they had pulled this stunt before. Perhaps the EA might have some clout - if they have a "relationship". I would also consider reporting the EA to whoever the ombudsman is for recommending someone who has done this.

Why is there no mention of any lease in the sales particulars

You'll feel you don't want to reward awful behaviour, and morally, it would be satisfying to say no.
But think honestly-long term could this cost you more than 8K in this market? Emotional cost as well?
The cutting off your nose comes to mind.

Honestly in this market just agree, also try and workout price by square foot for the area
and compare to your valuation and to more prime areas, you might be surprised that the difference is relatively small as prime London prices really have fallen. So this developer might not be getting the bargain you think they are down the line. The trends in what is popular for buyers are against you.

Our buyers tried that we us so we said we would put it back on the market. They soon paid up

We sold for £75k less than we bought for in London. Shame but the bubble truly popped.

If they have got this far along they probably really want the purchase. Tell them to fuck off. When they invariably change their tune tell them that the price has increased by £1k.

Or accept the reduction and leave some fish under the floorboards.

OP, I know the area and the market and it was NEVER worth £675k. The flats that go for that are in perfect condition, better location, and share of freehold. In one year’s time the flat will have a 69 (!) year lease and you will be in an even worse position. Take the money! We struggled to sell our 100 year lease flat and our pool of buyers included people who had mortgages.

@GlobalTravellerbutespeciallyBognorstanding ovation for that older gentleman! 👏 serve them right.