Offer accepted, but want to reoffer at lower rate!

joAnn

We have been given the opportunity to buy another flat in our building on a private basis. We had an offer accepted that was 6k below that asking price, we offered in about July/August time.
Due to many factors, our BTL mortgage application is dragging on, so we are still waiting for a mortgage offer from the bank in order to proceed. The vendors are keen to make progress, however, they have not threatened to remarket, which means we are now unsure as to whether we are possibly paying far more than it's worth. The tenure is share of freehold, but the lease is pretty short approx 70odd years, so we will need to pay to extend that. Naively, we based our offer on the 3 estate agents valuations that the vendors sought, without actually seeing their valuation letters.
Is it acceptable to lower our offer, before we even get the valuation survey done??

DominicJ_2

Until you have exchanged contracts, you can do whatever you like.
I demanded an allowance on completion the day before exchange (I wasnt just being a git, they messed around my roofing guy trying to hide abit of work that needed doing.)

Naively, we based our offer on the 3 estate agents valuations that the vendors sought, without actually seeing their valuation letters.

Estate Agents are not impartial, they work for the seller, their sole purpose is to screw every penny they can out of the buyer.
They are not your friend.

Is it acceptable to lower our offer, before we even get the valuation survey done??

Yes, if it makes you fell better, lie and say the bank has pulled the mortgage offer.

Soapn

The vendors have waited since last August for you?

JimmyTheWig

From a legal point of view, you can make whatever changes you want to. Up to them if they accept or not.

From a moral point of view, it's a bit out of order to reduce your offer "just because". It's called gazunderring. But equally, it's silly to pay over the odds just because you don't want to appear "out of order" to some stranger on a forum!

Did you know about the length of the lease when you made your offer? I.e. have you since found out it will cost more than you thought? if so, that's a valid reason to reduce your offer. Again, up to them if they accept or not.

My concern if I were you is that if nothing has happened for the best part of 6 months the vendors don't seem that interested in the sale.
If they find that you still haven't got your mortgage sorted and you're now arguing about price then they might just walk away from the whole thing.
My concern if I was the vendor would be how often during the process will you turn round and ask for further money off. I don't want to get backed into a corner and you reduce your offer further at the last minute. Might be safer for them to say "no" now.

jimpix12

If the last bid was placed in August then tell them you wish to reduce it given the poorer economic outlook etc.

GAH

Wow, if I was the vendor I would have had the property back on the market way before christmas. But that aside.

Of course you can reduce your offer, whether the owners will accept that is another matter.

If the reason you want to make an ammended offer is the length of the lease, have you only just found this information out now? If so, your solicitor should also be shot.

If it is Share of Freehold, then extending the lease is not going to cost you much money at all. It certainly won't run into Thousands or Tens of Thousands.

xyellowx

op- say you beleive property prices have fallen since aug and as a result your lowering your offer to reflect it.

klolav

xyellowx wrote: »

op- say you beleive property prices have fallen since aug and as a result your lowering your offer to reflect it.

But, surely it is delays on the op's side that have caused this sale to take so long to get to this stage. I think surely you should be grateful that they have waited this long for you and it would be a kick in the teeth for you to offer a lower price at this stage. Just my opinion. I am a seller and see things from the other side. If my purchaser appeared after 5-6mths with a lower offer, it would be an uncategoric no, but each case is different.
Good luck with the purchase.

klolav

forgot to ask- how much are you thinking of offering under your accepted offer?

xyellowx

klolav- if i was the seller i wouldnt be impressed either but that aside its a buyers market

if a another buyer had come in it would of been sold and if house prices had gone up offer would of now been declined,
hard one to call but if op thinks they have offered to much dont buy it or offer less, its not about making freinds its about buying a very expensive purchase at a price your happy with regardless of what the seller thinks

zzzLazyDaisy

joAnn wrote: »

We have been given the opportunity to buy another flat in our building on a private basis. We had an offer accepted that was 6k below that asking price, we offered in about July/August time.

Is it acceptable to lower our offer, before we even get the valuation survey done??

You made an offer last July/August and you haven't even got as far as having a valuation survey done yet?

Personally I would have continued to market the property until the survey was carried out, as until then you are not in a position to proceed (as your sellers have now discovered).

But to answer your question - you can do anything you like, although you risk your sellers pulling the plug on the deal. In my view you would be better off pushing the lender to sort out the mortgage and getting the valuation carried as soon as possible - this will confirm to your sellers that you are serious buyers, and if the valuation comes in at less than you have offered (which is a high risk these days on flats, unless they are very competitively priced) then you will have something on which to base your revised offer.