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

The short lease will have already been priced in and is why they have to settle with cash buyers...who will probably be professional investors.

OP there is a strong likelihood if you put it to auction the same developer will buy it but for even less! They obviously want to buy it either to convert the house back or for other reasons. Agree to an exchange deadline for Monday so there’s no more funny business.

But she risks it taking ANOTHER 18 mths to find a buyer....! As stated it needs a lot of work done to it AND it has a short lease!
Personally I'd accept it and hope the new buyer's crotch gets infested with the fleas of 1000 camels...! Karma is wonderful 😆

In my experience EA act for you until the buyer comes along, then all they want to do is keep the chain together to get their commission. The difference in commission for the agent in a vendor dropping 8k is negligible.

We had a similar situation when we last sold, 2021, more expensive property than OP’s, our buyers wanted us to drop our price after survey, we said no, the buyers really, really wanted our house and went ahead at the price we agreed. But the agent seemed very annoyed with us, left us waiting for our buyers decision etc.

I think the OP has made the right decision in this market, as soon I as read, flat in London, I thought take their money.

Loving the huffing about estate agents. Anyone who has bought or sold in London knows London estate agents are absolutely feral. You price that in, watch them like hawks and don't trust the fuckers as far as you can throw them.

I know nothing about house prices in Dulwich. I do know that whatever price you think you can get for a house, you can't ever get more than £0 unless you find a real buyer who thinks your house is worth more than that to them. Ultimately house prices in the area/of the street/of the house next door are irrelevant unless you have a buyer willing to pay.

I think it depends who you deal with.

Exactly. In policy terms, this is not difficult to fix and the shitshow it is ATM has a huge negative effect on many citizens’ lives during the most expensive transaction of their lives.

But the UK Government hasn’t had time to focus on such important domestic policy issues, in part because so much legislative time was sucked up dealing with the Brexit fallout.

That sounds good, but what happens if something bad is discovered in the survey? Does the buyer lose their 10% deposit?

Presumably you have the survey before you pay the deposit.

I would accept it. It’s likely to be on the market for months or years otherwise.

Take your solicitor's/ agent's advice. But as you're asking for opinions.. I'd demand 8k more and tell them each day they don't accept, it's going up by another 1k. If we want this behaviour to stop, we have to act and that might mean making sacrifices.

Don't buy from ticket scalpers and don't sell to gazunders.

She’s taking the £8k reduction because she wants shot of the flat. Your suggestion wouldn’t work in a sellers’ market, let alone the current buyers’ market.

To say my friend tried to sell his flat in the Barbican for two years and didn’t sell and renting now… (had to pay to extend lease etc). That was his ‘pension’. Really not worth holding onto it.

Again, the Ombudsman is largely funded by subs from EAs themselves, which creates an obvious conflict of interests

Since this all involves the largest purchase most will ever make you'd think proper legislation would be a priority, but sadly not

The buyer will make a lot more than 50k. If the freeholder owns the flat above they probably owned the house for a long time.

And the freeholder’s buyer will turn a good profit too. Buy for 1.2ish, renovate and sell for 1.6-1.9.

But you actually got a good price for it in the current market. And cash massively reduces the stress.

Definitely take. That lease is terrible. Where is it? Mayfair?

So you’re saying that Winkworths accept bribes? That’s a big accusation and personally I would want specific evidence of wrongdoing before making such comments. What are your grounds for making this claim?

Mayfair for £500k ?

An EA in our area was found to be doing this very thing. If I were OP I would want to know on what basis the buyer was asking for £8k reduction, given that the asking price had already been reduced by £75k.

You have to have a survey done prior to offering or prior to the auction. Things move very quickly here. When I bought a place, it was listed for 4 weeks prior to auction. I inspected a few times and had a survey done (no major concerns flagged). I bought at auction and then settled 6 weeks later (a standard timeframe) and moved in the next day.

I wouldn't get hung up on how much money your buyer could be making down the line.

Your goal is is get rid of your parent's flat, pay off the debts their estate owes and inherit what is left. Focus on that.

But that doesn’t mean Winkworths are doing this. I’m unconnected with them but it is illegal!

I didn’t say that, you did.

I explained how part of the generic property purchase cycle works in London for developers who regularly buy.

I know because I was one of many who participated in it three decades ago.

The freeholder needs your flat to progress with his plans. The agent needs their commission from your flat and the house. This puts you in quite a strong position OP, far more than if you were selling to a random. I wouldn't roll over immediately without an attempt at a pushback.