Should I reduce my offer?

Dithering_Dad

Steve78 wrote: »

The house is still on the market and has been on the market for a month. After the survey report when I reduced my offer( and that was a genuine reduction) they put the property on the market without telling me. I am a serious buyer, have spent on my mortgage fee, survey fee and solicitor for searches so if this deal does not happen I will lose money. I want to go through with the deal as well.

I think that it's fine to negotiate a deal, but once the negotiation is complete, then it should be upheld by both sides unless, of course, a survey reveals a major problem with the house. I really do wish that we had the Scottish system in England, it'd stop the sharp practices of gazumping and gazundering.

I do find it entertaining on this forum that there are so many people who moaned about HPI people mocking the HPC people when prices were rising fast, and gazumpers making their lives miserable. These people are now the ones who mock the HPI people and are rampant gazunderers. The oppressed are now the oppressors. Human nature I guess, but at least I (and it sounds like a few others) live by the 'Do unto others...' refrain.

People just don't seem to have any integrity or self repect these days. It's sad.

"My word is my bond" seems not to be in the Steve78 vocabulary.

pawpurrs

If you are serious and were happy to pay the £215k yesterday, you should be over the moon that they have accepted this large reduction today, and be happy to plough on all steam ahead, rarther than risk losing it again, by seeing if you can squeeze a little more out of them at that price based on other previously sold for prices, it seems a reasonable deal to me.
Its the fact you want to play more games that irked me and other posters.
I hope you can see how they would feel, after reluctantly accepting the reduced offer, how another reduction would make them feel, and it could tip the balance in telling you to pee off, even if that means taking a lower offer from someone else further down the line.

huntersc

If you made a genuine offer and told them it was valid for a week then stick to it. It was valid for a week. If you go through life making ultimatums and then reneging on them then they mean nothing.

So be prepared to walk away.

No doubt the vendor will say no but stick to your guns. They certainly would if the market was buoyant. If they had 5 people after the property do you think for one moment they would accept asking price if others were offering more? No, they would increase the price on your !!! as soon as they could.

So good on you for holding your ground. This is not a time for charity, you're not in the business of giving money away.

Steve78

huntersc wrote: »

If you made a genuine offer and told them it was valid for a week then stick to it. It was valid for a week. If you go through life making ultimatums and then reneging on them then they mean nothing.

So be prepared to walk away.

No doubt the vendor will say no but stick to your guns. They certainly would if the market was buoyant. If they had 5 people after the property do you think for one moment they would accept asking price if others were offering more? No, they would increase the price on your !!! as soon as they could.

So good on you for holding your ground. This is not a time for charity, you're not in the business of giving money away.

Exactly my point, If they had come back to me within the deadline, I was ready to honour my offer but tthey did not so I reduced it. I am still sticking to my offer if they come back to me then fine otherwise I will walk away. The main point is evey assett is worth something what someone else is willing to pay imho.
To be honest, whoever buying in today's market is taking a risk of getting into negative equity so I am just trying to cover myself as much as possible. I was ready to stick to that offer but they did not accept it within the time frame. I am sure they would have done the same thing if they have given me a timeframe. It is a two way process.

sarahs999

IF you are happy to lose the property then offer what you want. But don't be surprised if they turn you down; this seems to have dragged on a bit and they will be feeling pretty fed up with it.

boyse7en

I'd say no to you. Purely on the basis that you keep lowering your offer and I would think that you would want to do a last-minute lower offer again on the completion date.

As HunterSC says (although he then seems to contradict himself), you made an ultimatum so stick to it. Walk away.

greggymagic

Steve78

"The main point is evey assett is worth something what someone else is willing to pay imho."

So Steve the fact that they missed your deadline by one day means that you're only willing to pay 207K now. Fine

I'm not criticising honestly but stop trying to justify yourself.

You are using the fact that you know the seller is desperate to try and get yourself a better deal. If you're happy to do that with your mind clear then do it.

Who knows it might be some Greedy banker who's been made redundant......... then again it might be some sweet old lady who's hoping to live off the proceeds in her retirement..... Whatever makes you sleep better.

morg_monster

i also would go by "do unto others as you would have done unto you". Maybe you would be happy to be treated like this, who are any of us to say.

I really dislike the argument of "FTBs have been screwed around by sellers for too long, so now the shoe's on the other foot sellers deserve everything coming to them". Couple of reasons - one you are tarring all house sellers with the same brush due to the behaviour of a minority, we all know that isn't fair, most people have too much of a conscience to behave that way. how do you know if your vendor ever behaved badly to a FTB - probably this old person has been living there for 30 years before they died! Secondly as DD already said, if you think the "screwing over" by sellers was so bad, why would you want to behave in the same way now you have the advantage?

Anyway I have come to the personal opinion that the kind of person who is desperate to gazunder as a buyer, would have no qualms about gazumping as a seller given half the chance. Thats why I think peoples protesting cries of "no-one batted an eyelid at gazumping (not true btw) so we will gazunder" ring completely hollow. They will be the same people gazumping the next generation of FTBs in 20 years when this cycle has gone full circle again and the market is rising. Their mantra might be "do unto others as others have done already unto you" instead of the more usual version. fair enough, but not my cup of tea.

Steve78

greggymagic wrote: »

Steve78

Who knows it might be some Greedy banker who's been made redundant......... then again it might be some sweet old lady who's hoping to live off the proceeds in her retirement..... Whatever makes you sleep better.

It is neither, it is a deceased estate.

and I did convey to EA when making the offer that if offer is not accepted within the deadline then new offer will be less.

StevieJ

Chaps I am impressed with some of the views on here, I always thought that this was the greedy board.
Then again the HPC mob are notable by their absence.
Spoke to soon.