To those selling in these difficult times

GDB2222

LouBlue wrote: »

I have a viewing Monday afternoon, at least I have some notice, last time I got 2 hours notice to tidy up.

Its a BTL'r, still don't know why anyone wants to come round as we are around £18k overpriced but can't do anything about it, but shall tidy up, and see what happens.

At least the house will be tidy.

RetroBob

I'm not selling (FTB) but had a gander at this thread. All this gazunder talk is interesting, I imagine it's a real kick in the teeth - no different to the empty shock when you are gazumped. What goes around, comes around I guess.

Davesnave

RetroBob wrote: »

I'm not selling (FTB) but had a gander at this thread. All this gazunder talk is interesting, I imagine it's a real kick in the teeth - no different to the empty shock when you are gazumped. What goes around, comes around I guess.

Everyone's experience and situation is different, but there's somewhat less justification for gazundering than gazumping, because the price agreed is just between two parties, both of whom should be in full possession of the facts about market trends etc. The trick in a falling market is, therefore, to price well ahead.

An adjustment in the light of defects revealed in a a survey isn't gazundering; it's just taking full account of new facts.

In the case of gazumping, a third player enters the frame, who may not have been in full possession of the facts.

For example, last year a 'motivated' seller put a house up at an attractive price and gained a sale before we even learned about the property. Had we been in a proceedable position at that point, we would probably have made a better offer, not out of spite, but because we felt the house had sold well below market value, and certainly below what it was worth to us. I don't think that the situation was 'fair' for the seller, but it was a consequence of us losing our buyer at an unfortunate time. Of course, it would also have been possible for the original bidder to increase their offer, had we been able to bid.

Buying and selling is a highly emotive issue, so people can act badly or irrationally at any point. I would never gazunder, but I can envisage gazumping in some circumstances.

flissh

Hmmmm, Know what you mean about a third party entering the picture, but it still feels horrible to be gazumped. We are about to exchange and I wouldn't dream of gazundering, we agreed a price and that is the deal. But we were gazumped once, after our survey, searches and all. We as the buyer had all the outlay and would not top the gazumpers offer, so pulled out.
If this seller said he had a better offer now, (unlikely!) I'd ... Well I don't know what I'd do to be honest. Start again I suppose.

Davesnave

That's why I said every situation is different. In my example, we were 135 miles away, the agent was unaware of us and it went under offer within days, so there was little chance that anyone had incurred large expenses. The owner, a 'distressed seller,' would have appreciated the extra money, I'm sure, as he was losing his home, held for only two years. It is significant that we measure every house we look at now against that property. We went on to lose another one, and another buyer, about six weeks later.

However, I agree that the normal procedure would simply be to register your interest with the agent, in case the sale fell through.

In our recent sale, we would not have entertained any gazundering, as we knew what our bottom line was. That's why I said people can act irrationally.
It would probably have been irrational in that circumstance to lose the sale, but living with oneself after the event is something that can't be measured rationally in pure money terms. It mattered to us that we sold the house to someone we liked for a price we could accept; unlike the seller in my example, we had a choice.

rasmus

O/h's family put th family home up for sale in late october, got quite a few viewings and an offer in november, asking price was 750, they offered 725 which was accepted. !! weeks later they decided they couldn't afford it and could thy have it for 680 instead, couple of weeks later and it was negotiated to 695 and we have a closing date in a couple of weeks.
How could it hav got on for 11-ish weeks ok and they then can turn around and do this?

Davesnave

rasmus wrote: »

O/h's family put th family home up for sale in late october, got quite a few viewings and an offer in november, asking price was 750, they offered 725 which was accepted. !! weeks later they decided they couldn't afford it and could thy have it for 680 instead, couple of weeks later and it was negotiated to 695 and we have a closing date in a couple of weeks.
How could it hav got on for 11-ish weeks ok and they then can turn around and do this?

Without knowing the purchaser's position and the views of their mortgage company, who's to say? Many people overreach themselves. Many people overvalue too.

QTPie

RetroBob wrote: »

I'm not selling (FTB) but had a gander at this thread. All this gazunder talk is interesting, I imagine it's a real kick in the teeth - no different to the empty shock when you are gazumped. What goes around, comes around I guess.

I think that is one of the very interesting things about reading this forum: you get an appreciation for all sides of the story...

Personally I am strongly against gazumping or gazundering (as Davesnave says, renegotiating after a bad survey report is a different matter): the world would be a lot better if both buyers and sellers acted with integrity...

... just a real shame that quite a substantial percentage of the population don't do this :mad: . I would like to see a offer system like Scotland: where, once agreed, trying to pull out (for either side) is financially damaging...

QT

rasmus

It definately is a kick in the teeth and neither should be allowed, our house was off the market for 11 weeks after it was all agreed, they know if they wait till the last possible moment they have you by the short and curlies, the way the market is now you never know when your house will sell.

Debras_Angel

Hi All,

Not been on for ages as didn't want to tempt fate!

Got an offer on the house 2 weeks before Christmas and exchanged 16th Feb and completed the 17th Feb!:j

My story for those who don't know it.

Put house on in July 2008 - looking for what I paid for it on 1st March 2006.

Got only 2 viewings (but knew if we got viewed it would sell as it was a beautiful house).

1st viewing in August offered £35k less than what we had it in for, knocked them back as we had already put it on the market at a fair price. We weren't looking for a profit just what we had paid.

Nothing again until the 2 weeks before Christmas and they came in and loved it. They asked what I would accept and I gave them the figure I paid and said that's what I wanted (they had already checked what I'd paid). The follwowing night got the full offer.

They were cash buyers so no hassles.

We have bought the house we wanted at £43k less than it was on the market at. It was sold vacant possession as the owner had died.

We are also now mortgage free.

We now have a project on our hands with hopefully enough funds to achieve something special.

So hopefully this will give some hope to those of yoou still struggling to sell.

Best Wishes for a speedy sale.

D