First time buyer - baby on the way

MrChips

Vendors are refusing to budge on price...we will see!

Meanwhile got this list of chattels sent through with an approximate valuation. Any comments on whether they fall into the "justifiable" range?

Freestanding wardrobes first bedroom £1000
Freestanding wardrobes second bedroom £1000
Carpet
Curtains/curtain tracks
Ceiling light fixtures £500
3 fridges in the garage £500
Custom made garden shed £600
tv Aerial £200
satellite dish £200
Freestanding bookshelf in garage £100
Bookshelf £100
HD cables in wall living room £100

I guess I don't really care if the items are worth exactly what they say, just if they fall into the range where eyebrows would be raised.

The final offer from the agent is to pay £500k + ~£5k for the above + £5000 + VAT "finders fee" to the agent (total £509,875).

westlondonbuyer

None of these prices would be unreasonable for brand new F&F; they're hilarious for second hand goods. Do you have an Ikea catalogue to hand? Or access to Ebay? Check out comparable prices for freestanding bookshelves.

Some of these items (the 3 fridges) are going to be of no use to you (and will cost you around £100 to have removed from your property). They're charging you to leave the wiring? !!!!!!?

And really, !!!!!! again about paying a "finder's fee" to the agent???

Shall I tell you my honest opinion? This whole transaction stinks. Yet everything you've posted here suggests you're going to buy this place anyway. If you love it, at the end of the day you're not going to regret whatever amount you end up overpaying.

olly300

MrChips wrote: »

Meanwhile got this list of chattels sent through with an approximate valuation. Any comments on whether they fall into the "justifiable" range?

Freestanding wardrobes first bedroom £1000
Freestanding wardrobes second bedroom £1000

Rip off - Unless they are hand made and wood through out they are not worth that second hand.

MrChips wrote: »

Carpet

Can't include that at a price.

MrChips wrote: »

Curtains/curtain tracks

Any price for these? People can take curtains with them so these can have a price.

If the curtains are on tracks then the tracks should be free. If they are on pole than a price for the poles can be included but something like £5 per pole.

MrChips wrote: »

Ceiling light fixtures £500

How many of them are there? What type are they? You can get paper lamp shades for 50p so unless there is a chandelier they are trying it on.

MrChips wrote: »

3 fridges in the garage £500

Definitely not worth that second hand. You can also get them free on freegle/freecycle. As previous poster said you are going to pay £100 to remove them.

MrChips wrote: »

Custom made garden shed £600

Is the shed moveable with ease? If not then they are taking the p*ss.

If the shed includes tools and is a workshop type of shed then they could get away with charging more.

MrChips wrote: »

tv Aerial £200

Rip off. TV Aerials are thrown in free this is because it's not worth the vendors time and money to get someone in to remove the area and then place it in their new property.

MrChips wrote: »

satellite dish £200

Rip off. If you sign up to sky you get a free one or one for less than that new depending what offer they have on.

Again the vendor taking that off the wall and moving it will cost them more in time and effort so this is given free or taken with the vendor.

MrChips wrote: »

Freestanding bookshelf in garage £100
Bookshelf £100

Second hand book shelves are worth nothing. The maximum you would pay if you were kind would be £10. People give them away on freegle/freecycle and dump them outside their house to get rid of them.

MrChips wrote: »

HD cables in wall living room £100

Rip off - If they are fixed into the wall then removing them would damage the wall. This means it would cost them more to repair the wall than what the cables are worth so these should be almost free.

Look your vendors have just invented figures out of thin air without actually doing research. There is stuff they can charge for which they haven't put a price on, stuff that would rise suspicion because it's got a price when it should be free, and stuff that is simply over priced so makes you entire transaction look dodgy.

Do you have a solicitor? If so they wouldn't entertain such a deal with those prices as it's clear that you and the vendor are trying to avoid stamp duty.

MrChips wrote: »

The final offer from the agent is to pay £500k + ~£5k for the above + £5000 + VAT "finders fee" to the agent (total £509,875).

Why are you paying a finders fee to the agent?

The EA gets a percentage of the money from the sale of the vendors house. They are completely unethical.

Personally I think you should step away from this one. Have the baby wait a few months then move.

MrChips

A lot to consider here!

We are coming from the angle that we are happy to pay somewhere around £505k for the house, but refuse to enter into a transaction that attracts 4% stamp duty. We are therefore not really concerned about being "overcharged" for these goods, so long as it means the transaction can go ahead and we are not falling foul of HMRC.

Ideally we'd get it for £500k exactly, but so far the vendors won't entertain the thought of going below £510k - so we may end up with an impasse in the end and we have to walk away.

I will start looking into organising a solicitor tomorrow (should I just google some local branches?) and consult their opinion about the latest schemes we are being offered.

The finder's fee suggestion did make me chuckle...

AMILLIONDOLLARS

MrChips wrote: »

Vendors are refusing to budge on price...we will see!

Meanwhile got this list of chattels sent through with an approximate valuation. Any comments on whether they fall into the "justifiable" range?

Freestanding wardrobes first bedroom £1000
Freestanding wardrobes second bedroom £1000
Carpet
Curtains/curtain tracks
Ceiling light fixtures £500
3 fridges in the garage £500
Custom made garden shed £600
tv Aerial £200
satellite dish £200
Freestanding bookshelf in garage £100
Bookshelf £100
HD cables in wall living room £100

I guess I don't really care if the items are worth exactly what they say, just if they fall into the range where eyebrows would be raised.

The final offer from the agent is to pay £500k + ~£5k for the above + £5000 + VAT "finders fee" to the agent (total £509,875).

Vendors are having a laugh:D, also finders fees, the EA are taking the P**s:mad: Save yourself a hit on your credit record and run as fast as you can away from these two jokers!!!!

AMD

MrChips

Well, we've sent the agents a strongly worded email that basically says we've had enough of being strung along, we aren't prepared to bend the tax rules and we are struggling to understand the vendors' position (they are upsizing so surely it is easier for them than for us to either negotiate a 2.5k discount on their sale price, or add another 2.5k to the mortgage to make up the difference).

We also said we are beginning to have trust issues!

Catatonia

I would definitely report the EA to HMRC. I reckon that list would be likely to launch an HMRC investigation, so you would be stupid to risk it.

Tell the EA that your final offer is £500k, with no money for f&F or EA fees. And that they have 2 days to decide yes or no.

I reckon it will be accepted.

Chimpofdoom

Freestanding wardrobes first bedroom £1000 - Made of gold?!
Freestanding wardrobes second bedroom £1000
Carpet - Lets see them try and remove them all before they move out
Curtains/curtain tracks - Relatively cheap from Dunelm/Ikea
Ceiling light fixtures £500 - either made of gold or having a laugh!
3 fridges in the garage £500 - second hand, could be years old and break down at any time
Custom made garden shed £600 - custom made eh? Brand new sheds are less than that
tv Aerial £200 - rip off
satellite dish £200 - £30 on amazon, sky will install one free if you take out a package with them
Freestanding bookshelf in garage £100 - Bookshelf in garage?! Books included?!
Bookshelf £100
HD cables in wall living room £100 - HD cables in wall.. well HD cables are relatively cheap and if they've made £100 for them, then they were ripped off when they bought them! HDMI cables can be had on amazon from £2, there's no difference in quality betwen a "high end" and a "low end" cable.. the signal is digital.. makes no difference if they are gold plated or not...

hazyjo

OMG never read anything so crazy. £500k final offer in my book with 3 days to accept or you'll write the property off and never touch it again with a bargepole. I hope you're still keeping a close eye on the market. EVERYONE knows that not much will sell at just over that £500k mark. The house we want has suffered, and we've lost loads on my house cos of the lower threshold. The vendors sound completely deluded and the EAs dodgy as hell. Can you imagine what a nightmare they're going to be if you have to deal with them throughout the whole purchase? I sincerely hope some WONDERFUL property comes on the market well under that £500k mark that you love. I'd have walked away from this one a long time ago. 'Finders fee'! Jeez... that's a good one. 'Carpets' is another. Were the carpets listed on the original EA details? Pretty much everything listed there should be included - and if it's not, it'll say 'available under separate negotiation' or words to that effect.

Good luck... think you might be needing it (and maybe a lasso to reign in these cowboys!).

Jx

MrChips

Thanks for the positive vibes hazyjo! Just what I need right now

We've changed tack and have set my wife on them now, the whole saga is just giving me a headache. If anyone can grind them down, she can! She is expecting a call from the agent later today. If they are still going round in circles, it will be a case of £505k, take it or leave it and let us know by the weekend as that is when we will put down the deposit on the flat (we've got another viewing of it tonight incidently).