Accept a loss?

[Housesellinghell]

Our London flat was on the market on and off for about 8 months until we found a buyer. Spent many months in conveyancing and were close to exchange when the buyer claimed they were unaware of an important detail and wanted to lower their offer. We’re furious as we are sure they were aware, the estate agent has assured us it was mentioned and on the viewing file and we answered their solicitor’s enquiries about it months ago. Their lower offer would mean we sell at a loss. We are still in a position to upsize so think we will take it and be done, but are we being stupid? We know the London flat market is awful anyway and it took so long to find a buyer we just can’t bear to do it all again.

Apparently the current push for chipping at prices has already got a name! The Burnham Discount.

Buyers demand ‘Burnham discount’ on house prices

It's a buyers market, especially for flats. They've got you where they want you, so I think you need to accept that and move on. There probably won't be anyone coming along soon who will want to buy your leasehold flat at your preferred price. The boom time for flats has long gone.

What a bitch. Especially writing that lying letter in the beginning.

I would accept the loss and move on with your life. You could say no and then wait another 8 months , probably much longer, for a new buyer only for flat prices to fall further and the same 11th hour reduction again.

That's awful but I can relate - the buyers of our last-but-two house had their buyer do similarly to them...and she too worked for a charity!

When selling our last house - that we'd completely and sympathetically renovated - in 2024, our buyers had a full structural survey. It was a rural, 400 year old house with septic tank and borehole water supply we'd had installed. The surveyor was very chatty and - without prompting - told me that there were no significant issues and he'd be giving the property a clean bill of health (or as clean as a 400 year old house is ever going to get!). We heard nothing further from the buyers for several weeks, apart from their solicitor's enquiries, so assumed all was well.

Then - 11th hour again! - they sent a specialist in to check out the septic. The guy who surveyed it said all was fine, but the buyers obviously weren't happy as they demanded a second opinion. This person decided (prompted by the buyers?) that the septic needed replacing ("to be on the safe side as it was old"). Which was followed by a demand for 20k off. As we'd already accepted their offer of 5% under asking, we were understandably annoyed, but we were really keen to move and knew we'd struggle to find another buyer quickly in an area where properties took an age to sell. We managed to negotiate this back to 10k off and got the same off the probate cottage we were buying...but it still stank imo. It does seem to be a thing these days.

My sister DH sold his flat at the start of this year, they married three years ago and he moved in to her house.

It has taken three years and is the third buyer, he sold it for exactly what he bought it for and has lived there for over a decade, granted it needs work done.

It depends on how much you want to move but if it takes a further year how will you feel?

I would agree to it just to get rid of a leasehold flat in London as they are going to remain hard to sell and you can finally move on with your life.

Is it bollocks called negotiation. Engaging in this sort of shit at the 11th hour is just the mark of an absolute arsehole. Treat people as you want to be treated yourself. What goes around comes around, I sincerely hope, and karma is a bitch.

That said @Housesellinghell sometimes it is better to just accept it to move on quickly. Put it down to experience, the market is appalling for flats right now. Leasehold are even more difficult to sell. Your buyer knows all this, is probably going to rent it out anyway. Sell, just to be rid of them, and don't even leave a fucking light bulb in situ when you close the door for the final time.

Take the hit. It’s galling but, in my experience, there will be times you need to take a lower offer just to move on. Sew prawns into the curtain hems on moving day 🤣

Exactly this.

I don't think it works like that. The property you will buy next will also cost less because of the slow market. I am putting my house on at less than the 2015 purchase price plus the work done over 11 years. It kind of hurts but there's no such thing as 'safe as houses' now.

Agree with this. With the future trajectory heading downwards, I think I would go ahead and sell but insist on no further reductions and build that in to the agreement.

Before I did that though, I would negotiate on a price half way between their new figure and the original offer and let it known you are disappointed by their lack of integrity.

Exactly, what goes up must come down, sellers have short memories. If the house is well priced the buyer can jog on and a new buyer will pop up, but if the house is overpriced it is just going to be buyer after buyer (if you are lucky enough to get any interest) saying Drop the Price, Drop the Price.

Yes, "safe as houses" is one of the daftest memes in this sorry house price bubble saga.

London flat prices will continue to go south until rates return to zero.

So forever then.

If the property is desirable though another buyer should come along to outbid them, that is how markets work, the big last minute price drops are usually pulled on sellers who initially overpriced (they are perceived as clueless) then indicated that they were desperate (no other interest) it isn"t happening all the time.