Cash Buyers

trulysaintly

Hi all,

Just thought that I'd share my experience with a cash buyer - which I guess explains how the sale market is at the moment.

We have been on the market since February - then switched agents one month ago. New agents have marketed our property differently and viewings have increased as a result. We have also dropped asking price by £10k since Feb in order to move with decreasing market.

Last Thursday my wife gets a knock at the door from a 'drive-by viewer' - asks if she could look around the property as she saw our For Sale sign. We liase with our agent and they suggest (she has already declared that she is a cash buyer) that my wife shows her round.

After doing so, viewee declares her undying love for our house and asks for us to let her know 'what our lowest acceptable offer would be' - exact words. She is also apparently desperate to move because she is in temporary rented accommodation.

I'm at work, so I meet up with my wife at lunchtime to discuss. We go back to her (through our agent) with our lowest figure, bearing in mind we will make nothing out of the deal apart from covering our costs and being able to move - which is the main aim.

She thinks about it for 12 hours, comes back with offer £12K below the figure she asked for !!! :eek:

Needless to say that was declined, but we thought that negotiations were going to continue - we felt we could re-jig some other finances to make it happen....

What happened next? Nothing. She didn't even pick up the phone to the agent - yesterday we found out that she is now holding out for a particular street in an adjoining village - where properties only come up every 4-5 years.

We figure that she will return within a month to see if we will drop our price to meet her figure, but we can't do that. She did the same last month to someone else as well..:mad:

Just goes to prove that 'cash buyers' aren't always the most honourable buyers....

maninthestreet

Sounds like a time-waster who thinks house buying is some sort of game that has to be won.

trulysaintly

maninthestreet wrote: »

Sounds like a time-waster who thinks house buying is some sort of game that has to be won.

Thanks M,

It seems that it could be a ploy she is trying with each property - the one last month ran that she put in an offer well below asking price, they then told her where to go.

After this, they dropped their asking price, and asked the agent to go back to her, saying that if she would put forward her original offer, that she would be successful.

What does she do? Nothing - because she didn't like it that she had her derisory offer turned down. She told my wife that story.

Nice to know who you're dealing with eh? She's in her Seventies by the way.

*Louise*

I think you were too nice dropping your price to the bare minimum for her.

What a chancer she sounds, but I suppose if you don't ask, you don't get eh?:rotfl:

Hope you find a serious buyer soon.

pinkshoes

trulysaintly wrote: »

She is also apparently desperate to move because she is in temporary rented accommodation.

trulysaintly wrote: »

yesterday we found out that she is now holding out for a particular street in an adjoining village - where properties only come up every 4-5 years.

trulysaintly wrote: »

She did the same last month to someone else as well..:mad:

I've picked out the important sentences.

An utter time waster, and probably not even a cash buyer!

trulysaintly

*Louise* wrote: »

I think you were too nice dropping your price to the bare minimum for her.

What a chancer she sounds, but I suppose if you don't ask, you don't get eh?:rotfl:

Hope you find a serious buyer soon.

Thanks Louise,

I think also what doesn't help is that the Estate Agents are too worried about upsetting and losing potential buyers - two years ago they could afford to laugh off an offer which is £15k below asking price, but that is no longer the case with fewer buyers around.

Whatever happens I've got a lovely wife and two kids, we're healthy and live in a fantastic area.

I just hope this woman gets piles......!:rotfl:

cats!

Hope you find a buyer soon!

Better to find out now she's a time waster, rather than on the day of exchange!

Microstar_2

Its how you get a bargain. This is a money saving forum, isn't it? Ask for lowest price and then offer below it. I have bought houses like that. I recently bought a new car the same way. Called dealers within an 80 mile radius and asked for their lowest price. When you've benchmarked the lowest price go back and offer below it and tell them you are prepared to place and order there and then. Worked very nicely.

trulysaintly

cats! wrote: »

Hope you find a buyer soon!

Better to find out now she's a time waster, rather than on the day of exchange!

Funny thing is, I don't think we've heard the last of her yet.

Talking it through with my wife last night, our conclusion is that she'll be back shortly to test the water again.

Last week it was supposedly between our property and another in the other village (which subsequently sold to a different buyer). There is nothing else in outer villages in the Forest as cheap as our property - we have been told her spending budget and it's well above even our asking price.

Properties in the New Forest are still changing hands, it's just the time aspect to get there!!

tgon

A time waster and doubtful cash buyer unless your EA has had sight of her bank statement.

trulysaintly

Microstar wrote: »

Its how you get a bargain. This is a money saving forum, isn't it? Ask for lowest price and then offer below it. I have bought houses like that. I recently bought a new car the same way. Called dealers within an 80 mile radius and asked for their lowest price. When you've benchmarked the lowest price go back and offer below it and tell them you are prepared to place and order there and then. Worked very nicely.

Well done to you - I'd do the same in your position however unlike our viewer I would at least show some courtesy by communicating.

Except she hasn't got what she wanted - which overall makes the exercise a waste of her time and mine.

And with a young family I don't have the time or inclination to play games - if she valued the property at a different level, fine. Just don't lead people down the garden path (all 85ft of it) before trying it on.

If only life was as simple as buying a car eh?