Flat buying - seller turning nasty

I'd personally say you want the property at the original price and all the furniture at the lower cost to.
For the sake of severly winding someone up who'd pulled that sort of stuff on me, I'd be willing to forgo my cost in searches and pull out/threaten to pull out.

If she's moving abroad by a certain date will she want the hassle of trying to sell a flat of all property types in an uncertain market. She should be biting your hand off. You're in the strong position here if you're willing to walk away which you should now be threatening imo.

It all depends. The housing market is in a state of flux at the moment. Flat prices have taken a bit of a beating. And this women is being rude, unhelpful and basically lied to. You're in a very strong position, make sure you use it

I'm all for cutting off my nose to spite my face but that's the way I am. I cannot tolerate people being rude or negating on a verbal contract. If someone does that to me I personally cannot trust their word again and would rather be a thorn in their side if I have to deal with them but while still being civil . I can be such a stubborn ****hole at times :rolleyes:

You're trying to offer lots of goodwill gestures here and as you've said, it's not been reciprocated. It's a buyers market at the moment. I'd be more than prepared to leave her stranded and get a good deal elsewhere where the people might be polite to you and actually answer your calls and stick to their word.

ghekkomanic wrote: »

I'm buying a small flat for my girlfriend and I to move in to. It's our first purchase. As luck would have it she is a trainee solicitor so is handling the conveyancing our end.

Anyway the seller started off very friendly saying how they wanted first time buyers in the flat, not investors. All very nice, until the agent phoned to tell us the price we'd agreed (this is back in Auguest) had been bettered by a developer and the seller said if we could we match it it was ours. We did and it was. We then had to do the same thing again, taking the price up £2k. I didn't take it personally but my girlfriend wasn't happy with what she regarded as being messed about.

Our sale was agreed on the understanding (verbal) that we negotiate a price for the furniture in the flat, as the seller is moving abroad. This amounts to a washing machine, wardrobes, bed, sofa and chairs and various lamps, bookshelves etc. Nothing special, and I wasn't expecting to pay more than £2k for them. The seller had other ideas, and I ended up paying WELL over the odds as I wanted us to move in before Christmas and the seller was asking so much I didn't want to jeapordise the sale. I'm stretching myself to pay for it all, taking out an interest free loan from my work.

I discussed a completion date with the seller on the phone, and they agreed that the first week of December would be fine for them - I told them good I can hand my notice in to my current landlord with that in mind. After emailing the seller later to confirm this date, and also about another matter I didn't get a response. The agent called me a week later to say had I heard from the seller as they couldn't get hold of them. I said not for a week and gave them the seller's email. I left a polite phone message for the seller, and also another email also politely enquiring about the matter in hand and the completion date. A couple of days later the seller's solicitor told my girlfriend that I was to "stop harrassing" the seller! She made it clear I wasn't, and that the seller had given me their phone number and email address and encouraged me to contact them with any questions. I phoned the agent a few days later and she said the seller had also had a go at her on the phone, so that now she couldn't contact them either!

Now we've got the contract from the seller's solicitors and they want a completion date TWO DAYS after the date discussed, as they have booked their flight and need the flat over the weekend. They have ignored the date we agreed verbally, and they know my girlfriend and I will be effectively homeless for that time.

As the completion date is now just 3 weeks away, I want to tell the agent that I am now only willing to pay half the amount for the furniture (still not a bad amount, and probably more than they would get selling it individually). I risk losing my search fees and this flat if the seller decides to pull out, but I'm prepared to find somewhere else if I have to.

What does everyone think? Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

You are in an excellent position, the seller is in a very poor position.

Under the circumstances, it's amazing that the seller is acting like they are. Jacking the price twice after agreeing it and then demanding a silly amount of money for furniture that they are needing to get rid of anyway. To then delay completion for a weekend (after verbally agreeing) is just the final insult.

Personally I would just walk away from the whole thing unless it's a place you really, really like and/or you are getting a very good deal relative to the local market for similar properties. Chances are that you can find something as good or better for less cash, given the way the market has turned.

If your GF is a conveyancing solictor, I find it amazing that she has put up with this messing around by the vendor. What is her view?