Help! buyer wants price reduction rather late on!

tim123456789

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Why would you demand that from the buyer and risk putting their back up and ending the sale or any chance of negotiation?

Because the buyer has already started down that path!

tim

Icecold_2

Hi

Another reply from a buyer: we had a full survey done on a house we are purchasing. The report showed a problem with the installation of several windows, we sent our quote from a builder to correct this along with the surveyors "to do" list,,,we had nothing to hide and wanted to prove our point. Out vendor got their own expert in to check the findings and they agreed with ours. Fortunately the windows are still within warranty so they will be made good before we exchange.

I would fully expect to show proof of any findings before expecting money off the price

Good luck :beer:

Sponge

I've been monitoring this thread with interest as I find myself relating to so many points.

I'm selling to a first time buyer and buying an unoccupied house. So the chain is short, but possibly not very strong.

Our house has been on the market for 2 years and we've dropped the price several times. We've finally got a buyer and are keen to keep them. We got the buyer before we found somewhere ourselves. (We stopped properly looking after several false starts.)

A couple of days of frantic hunting and we found somewhere and have been to view 5 times; even taking our parents for second opinions! It ticks nearly all the boxes.

The vendor had a firm price they weren't willing to go below, which was a few grand more than we would have liked, but within budget. (They told us they'd rather sell to a family member than go any lower). So we agreed and the price was set.

However, our valuation, homebuyer's survey, electric & damp reports suggest remedial work of c.£4000 need accounting for.

We've revised our offer and provided copies of all the reports to support it, but haven't heard anything in nearly 5 days (inc weekend).

I'm worried the vendor is going to dig in and refuse to negotiate, leaving us in the awful position of having to walk away (don't forget we have buyers eager to move in), or take on the 'debt' of the repairs (rewire and sort damp).

I keep hearing it's a buyer's market - but if one finds a property one wants, needs...

Mozzanov

A bad roof sticks out like a sore thumb (OK, if it's a high block of flats it is easy to miss, but yours isn't).

There was a property I loved (despite needing a lot of expensive work internally), but the roof was in very bad condition. I didn't know how much it would cost and to what extent there was a problem, so I posted on a DIY forum about it and got 3-4 opinions from roofers (showed photos). I also (importantly) had someone look at it in person (second viewing). I did this before making an offer. They all had the same view, so I didn't make an offer as I wasn't willing to pay the cost of repairing a roof (plus other problems caused by the roof). Sure, it could be a negotiating point, but one of too many problems, so I didn't feel it fair to waste anyone's time. The old lady who owns it had moved into a retirement home, so probably her children are taking care of the sale for bills/inheritance. The property has been on the market at the same price for a year, so I can't imagine they are in a rush to sell. The EA was on another planet (sale prices are £7.5-15k less for similar/bigger properties in better condition), so (in my view) they have really done the vendor a disservice with their valuation (although it could be the sellers instructing them, I guess), considering the overall condition of the property.

Your "buyer" should have identified this early on (when viewing - if the roof is in such bad condition then, it will be very obvious even to a lay person) and investigated before putting in an offer. Then offered to reflect (or changed their offer at the survey/valuation time _if_ it was an issue, but if they got a mortgage at the require value I guess even the lender doesn't think so), but now instead they are wasting your time. (At least a few months.)

If your flat is priced to reflect the work required (so check sale prices of similar properties), then call their bluff (just politely point out what the sales prices are for similar properties and how yours has already been dropped in price to reflect the work required) or tell them outright no and move on to another buyer.

Get your EA to list the property, if it has been removed, even if you do continue to "negotiate" with this "buyer". Either it will prompt the "buyer" to get real, or bring you viewings and potential buyers you've been missing out on (hopefully real ones). In my view, I think you've been too patient with this buyer.

Good luck and hope you get something sorted soon.

BigG10

Agree sort of with the above...

Why has the buyer left it so late to re-negotiate?!?

Find that out and ask for homebuyers report. Like I say, as a buyer I would have no problems showing all the relevant paperwork if something needed doing.

However, I wouldn't expect a buyer to start an investigation into a defect with a property without putting an offer in. Maybe in some markets...but other markets move to quickly for that...try London. A property comes on start of the week and is gone by Saturday afternoon in most cases.