Views on reduced offer please....

gazza975526570

i currently own a 2 bed starter home which i had on the market for sale.

Whilst it was on the market i saw a house i wanted at £150k.

I really wanted it, it was a friend of a friend and i wanted him to take it off the market even tho i hadnt sold my house. I offered £145k coz i wasnt in a great position with my house still on the market. He accepted but said he would continue marketing the property. i then rescinded my offer as i was only offering this if he would take it off the market.

2 months on and ive now got a buyer for mine and i know his house is still on the market after calling him on saturday (we were looking at dealing direct as opposed to ea to save him £3k and myself in the bargain)

So

the question is, as im now in a much better postion, buyer for mine, mortgage in place, i want to now offer less that £145. What would your reaction be if you were the seller?

UK007BullDog

I am not able to post here what I would tell you. I mean you could try but you might not get far.

Also your reputation would not be rosy with your friends when they hear what you are doing with their friend?

You expected him to wait until you sold your house. What about him? he also has a need to sell and maybe he needs the full £145K?

gazza975526570

WHy are you unable to post?

Reputation would be intact if we both agree a price we are happy with.

I didnt expect - i offered above what i would have done as i hadnt sold my house. The ball was in his court and he declined. I appreciated the fact he would need to wait therefore thats why my initial offer was high.

I have now got a buyer and the original offer was only 1% below the full asking price which is fantastic in this area.

Im now in a better position so why couldnt i offer a reduced price?

Martinslovechild

UK007BullDog wrote:

I am not able to post here what I would tell you.

Computer says no...

You'd probably have to tell a white lie and say that you'd received a reduced offer for your place, so would he accept a lower offer himself? In doing so, you'll be taking the risk that he won't accept less than £145K, but you could then maybe go 'up' from your lower figure to somewhere between that and £145K, maybe arriving at £142.5K thereby saving you £2.5K.

You'll need to keep this very close to your chest if you're going to do this, but let's face it - i've heard of estate agents pulling similar games, inventing so called 'phantom offers' so as to increase genuine offers (and their own margins).

tomstickland

White lie means abusing a level of trust that maybe some people expect from a friend of a friend.

If I was the friend-of-a-friend then I'd prefer a basic statement of "I've got a buyer for my house and my revised offer is £xxxxK". They can only say yes or no based on their current situation. I'd expect them to be surprised at the lowering of offer. So it'd be simplest to offer the original amount.

irnbru_2

UK007BullDog wrote:

I am not able to post here what I would tell you. I mean you could try but you might not get far.

Guess you'ld be staying in a house that hasn't sold then.

As for the OP, it's a housing market. If you feel it's worth less than £145K then offer less - either no-one else thinks it's worth it or the vendor is holding out.

sm9ai

Offer what you like, he can only say no.

The house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If its been on the market for two months with no interest then it is not worth what he wants for it.

It is real money you are offering him. Would you give a close friend £5,000* or so for no reason? No, then don't offer £5,000 more for something to stop hurting their feelings.

* or a.n.other figure.

P.S. On a side note, selling large items between friends quite often leads to disaster.

P.P.S. On yet another note, arn't you supposed to offer around 5% less anyway?

Gorgeous_George

The friend of a friend thing is a red herring. We are talking serious money and friendships are outside of the discussion.

Like any other house purchase, until contracts are exchanged everything is negotiable.

1. You make the offer at a price that you are prepared to pay SUBJECT TO SURVEY etc.

2. They accept/decline your offer.

3. You repeat 1. and 2. until you either a) agree a price or b) you decide to look elsewhere.

4. If a price is agreed, you have the house surveyed. On completion, you may decide to offer less , in which case, steps 1., 2. and 3. are repeated.

Until contracts are exchanged, all spending is at risk. You or the vendor can still pull the plug on the deal. If house prices crash, for example, you would almost certainly renegotiate (as would your vendors on their next home). If prices rise, the vendors may increase their sale price and you would have to negotiate the price again.

Essentially, treat these friends of friends just the same as you would treat any other vendors. They should treat you the same way.



GG