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

I’ve no idea why this poster thinks it’s a normal part of the negotiating process. It’s not, it’s a dirty trick pulled by selfish and entitled people. By exchange all participants in the chain have negotiated their sale prices and offered on their next properties based on those prices. A sudden and substantial reduction at the eleventh hour can collapse a whole chain if the seller is unable to proceed with their own purchase because they have been left short of funds.

I did exactly the same. It was an inexperienced first time buyer who was advised to do it by his solicitor, he tried it on the day before exchange. He had an expiring mortgage offer and had paid for a whole plethora of additional surveys so was in a weak position. He was told a firm no and that was the end of it.

That situation is completely different from selling a London flat in a depressed market with no onward purchase dependent on the sale.

You sound like the worst nightmare of both buyer and seller to be honest.

There is a middle way. No one owes their buyer or seller anything IMO, except honesty and courtesy.

Sellers have a price they want to achieve but buyers are not duty bound to offer it and vice versa. But there is plenty of emotional blackmail on all sides with property - the trick is to keep a clear head.

I remember when we were flat hunting in London we offered £8K below the asking price on one as we thought there would need to be around that in works that needed to be carried out in the immediate future. The estate agent came back with some outraged story from the vendor about how they needed the full asking price to complete their onward purchase and our offer was insulting - I mean why should I give a fuck about that - all they needed to say was they did not accept our offer.

What I would not do it lead someone right up to exchange and suddenly drop the offer - UNLESS - something significant and expensive came to light that the vendor had withheld.

@abbynabby23 I’m no stranger to selling and buying. All your ‘things happen’ stories involve you being a flake and withdrawing from sales or buying, or gazundering, not these things happening to you. And that’s because most people tend not to be so selfish as to lose other people time and money because of their whims and greed.

Exactly this - the one buyer to whom the lease length is irrelevant is the freeholder.

I'd confront the agent before making any decisions if the reduction is due to a lease

Any mistakes OP made were in negotiating the price down from 600 to 500 in repeatedly huge chucks - the final £8k is irrelevant given the giveaway early doors.

i think it’s a bit spineless to advise you to fold like a house of cards and take the hit.
Advice like this is exactly why people try this on at the last minute.
Tell the cheeky cunt to fuck right off.
Of course the estate agent would try the “it’s only 2% so you should accept it etc” line. Assuming 1% commission then 2% of that is only £100 to them. They just want their £4900

Someone else who doesn’t understand the state of the housing market. 🙄

But in total it’s not 2% - it’s 18% erosion from the asking price - in at least 3 chunks.

The asking price was wildly optimistic.

I took the 8k cut and contracts exchanged!!!!! - completion in one month so its all done - The market is apparently really really bad in london with nothing selling and lots of sales falling through. I did call a few agents and they all said very slow market and if you want to sell it has to be priced really well so that did it for me

For anyone else selling I wish you luck in london - It was difficult - Now I can enjoy how to spend it and live a more normal life

Huge congratulations, OP.
Delighted for you!

Good decision!!

I hope it all goes smoothly for you.🌷

Very sensible. Sometimes pragmatism trumps principle and this is one of those times.

I’m glad it’s sorted OP.

I’d accept the £8k off and then leave some little “surprises” for them in the property. Things that will
make it more difficult for them to rent it out, or which will make it less appealing to tenants ;)