Vendor asking for a lot more than the advertised price

Taz_Sutton

Hi,

My partner and I are first time buyers, we've got a mortgage in principal and have been to look at a few properties one of which was listed as £69,950.

We go to look at the property and the house is fantastic. It needs some work doing bits of new plasterboard here and there because of leak damage, and doors where they've been scratched by pets, but that's it. Then the vendor (who is showing us round) tells us that he and his wife have split up and he has to sell the house etc as he's lost his job and can't afford to live there anymore, and that despite what the estate agents he's with say it's worth way more than it's listed at.

He goes on to say he's had two other estate agents look at it who've told him it's worth 105,000 (big difference from 69,950) and he has already turned down an offer of 75,000. We get home and decide to email him and ask what he has in mind and he replied with 95,000!

Yes the advert says 25,000 off the asking price, but it's listed as this because the vendor apparently wants a quick sale, and his estate agent specialises in quick sales apparently.

We do love this house but the sense of more trouble than it's worth comes to mind. Or do we bide our time get together a bigger deposit and play the waiting game, as part of me thinks he'll end up having to take the money when the Ex or the bank, put the pressure on.

Also to top it off he told us how long ago he bought it, and there it is on Zoopla, stating it was bought the same year he said for 40,500. All these numbers have me very confused.

Any advice would be great I'm just not sure what to think or do.

Jeffrey_Shaw

V [vendor] can ask for whatever loopy amount he wishes, but he sounds unreliable (maybe shady) and I'd just say 'No'.

vickyj

i am guessing that if sold price is on zoopla then it was sold less than 5 yrs ago in which case a rise like the one you are describing is a bit off kilter.
I personally would make the offer that you think is reasonable and what the house is worth to you. What are other properties selling for in the area and how long on average do they stay on the market ? These could help.
Thanks Vicky

timbo58

surely if you offer the full asking price it will then prompt the agent who has a contract to try to sell his house at £69,950 to raise some pertinent questions with the vendor?
i.e. !!!!!! are you playing at? :-)

Tixy

I think he realised you thought the house was fantastic, realises you are first time buyers and is trying to get more money out of you.
If you like it offer the asking price (to the EA) and then don't budge.

If as you think he is desperate to sell he may well accept, or accept in a few weeks when he realises you are not going to up your offer.

evoke

Jeez.

Offer what you think it's worth.

If the vendor thinks it's worth an extra £25K then the EA needs to market it at the correct price.

Do NOT negotiate with the vendor directly. Do EVERYTHING through the EA during the early stages.

MacMickster

Could it be that his wife wants to force a sale of the property but he doesn't want to sell? He deters buyers from putting in any offers by spouting the nonsense that he told you, then claims that its not his fault that the house won't sell.

DannyboyMidlands

Ignore the vendor, he's trying to play you like a fiddle. If you like it then speak to the agent and offer say 5 or 10% below your top price to allow some negotiation. The Agent will then also try to play you like a fiddle. Stick to your guns, take the long view and don't pay any more than you want to. It's a buyers market.

evoke

@MacMickster: Regardless of all of that, all discussions about price should go through the EA. The vendor has a contract with the EA and the EA is going to be mightily preeved if he's marketing the property at £70K and the vendor verbally wants £100K.

An offer price should never be discussed with the vendor, IMO.

Taz_Sutton

Thanks for all the replies everyone, you've basically said what the sensible part of me was thinking which makes me feel better. To be fair he did seem to be a little bit odd to say the least.

There's a terraced 2 bedroom property on the same road (the one we looked at is 3 bedroom semi detached) and the two beds on the market for 79,950 but has been online for a few months.

I think we're going to figure out what we can afford and then put an offer in direct to the estate agent. Least we can say we've learnt from a first time buyer sympathy mistake of putting too much belief in a vendor.

Thanks again everyone, sometimes the outside opinion is the best one clearly

mark5

vickyj wrote: »

i am guessing that if sold price is on zoopla then it was sold less than 5 yrs ago in which case a rise like the one you are describing is a bit off kilter.

Zoopla goes back to 1995 with house sale prices.