Buyer has Pulled Out

DRP

motherofstudents wrote: »

If they are not prepared to provide evidence of what they say is needed then I wouldn't negotiate with them. If they know you are willing to negotiate on genuine work that needs doing then why don't they give you the details so you could talk it through between you. It sounds to me like they are just wanting a price reduction.

yeah this^^

Your buyers are chancing it in the hope of getting a better price.

be thankful they were daft enough to show their hand relatively early and not just before you exchange...

lessonlearned

I think it is unrealistic of them not to provide proof of the retention, you have every right to know more about this.

Re the rendering - that figure sounds high. And - did they only get one quote. At least three quotes needed.

If you have good contacts and you know you can get a good job done for a fair price then if you can manage it then I think it would be a good idea to get the work done yourself.

The big problem with FTB's is that usually they are pretty stretched as it is, with very little spare cash for repairs, so red flags on a survey or any kind of retention sends them into a tailspin.

Very often they have no experience of property maintenance or repair issues and they generally tend to over estimate how much remedial works are likely to cost, hence they panic and over-react, expecting the vendor to take the full hit of the retention or the one estimate they have for works needed.

You have told them you are prepared to meet them half way with the £300 - that is fair. For anything else you would definitely need to see hard evidence of the figures for both the retention and the rendering.

If they are genuine they will furnish that evidence. Their reluctance to do so means at best they are either extremely naive, at worst they are disingenious. Either way you have played fair and showed willing, now it's their turn.

Good luck.

For what it's worth, I do think that the tide is starting to turn - ok maybe not everywhere in the UK but in certain areas we are starting to see a few "green shoots" of recovery in the housing market .

How sustainable the recovery is remains to be seen, maybe just a little "Spring Surge" which might peter out and come to nought. Who knows.

But ........ there does seem to be a bit more activity at the moment. It's tentative and patchy but it is there.

Mortgages seem to be getting a little easier and that is the key. Unlock the finances, get the money flowing again and things will start moving.

There is a lot of pent up demand, sooner or later the dam has to burst.

moneyistooshorttomention

lessonlearned wrote: »

For what it's worth, I do think that the tide is starting to turn - ok maybe not everywhere in the UK but in certain areas we are starting to see a few "green shoots" of recovery in the housing market .

How sustainable the recovery is remains to be seen, maybe just a little "Spring Surge" which might peter out and come to nought. Who knows.

But ........ there does seem to be a bit more activity at the moment. It's tentative and patchy but it is there.

Mortgages seem to be getting a little easier and that is the key. Unlock the finances, get the money flowing again and things will start moving.

There is a lot of pent up demand, sooner or later the dam has to burst.

...and who am I to disagree with you on this one lessonlearned:D:T

EDIT: ...and how's it going re your own househunting? Any good ones come up you like?

m0t

Orlando_Virgin wrote: »

I agree its optimistic, however when i have already dropped 5k and am willing to meet them half way on the damp repair, asking for a further 2k off the price for rendering that I have no proof of needing doing is unfair I feel.

That comment wasn't aimed at you, and it is clear that your buyers are attempting to take you for a ride. I would tell them to do one, the chances of them actually pulling out seem low since they will have already spent a fair bit of money to get to this stage.

lessonlearned

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

...and who am I to disagree with you on this one lessonlearned:D:T

EDIT: ...and how's it going re your own househunting? Any good ones come up you like?

Have two viewings on Sunday.

My search for that "diamond in the rough" is about to get serious...;)

lindsaygalaxy

If we could get a bigger deposit we would buy tomorrow! In this area houses dont seem to be taking too long to sell, but then new developments are popping up with a 3 bed costs over £300k (not London) so I have no idea how people can afford them!

Sponge

Like others here, I think they were trying it on. If it happens again, don't give in. But you need to be prepared and play it cool. :cool:

What sort of damp survey? A proper one, or a contractor looking for work? Satisfy yourself the work needs doing and what it will cost. Even if it costs you to find out. (There's no such thing as a free lunch.) Same goes for any and all other work. What sort of render work? Fixing, or improving? Does the sale price not reflect the general condition of the property?

A builder, recommended by an EA? Really?? :rotfl:Find your own. One you can trust.

What sort of retention? Witheld, or not? What did their survey value your property at? If it's not witheld and the valuation means the mortgage was a go, then they were trying it on.

I wouldn't have taken their word on anything, until seeing documental proof.

I'm currently dealing with scared FTBs, without a clue, making mistakes, freaking out over every single, little thing and at first I was sympathetic.

Thrugelmir

Orlando_Virgin wrote: »

They agreed to this and yet today the estate agents has called me and said the buyer has pulled out as she has received a quote from a builder saying that there is £2675 of rendering that needs doing. How would they know this? I haven't let a builder on to the property so how could they assess this amount?

Assume that they are looking to render the exterior of the house. So easy enough to view without accessing the property.

What state is the render in? Visibly cracked? Lost majority of stones?

Tancred

Orlando_Virgin wrote: »

Hi All,

Just after some advice really. First time I'm selling a house and I put it up for 110k, managed to agree a price with the buyer for 105k. She was an FTB. They had the survey done, then a timber and damp survey and found that some damp needed sorting and got a quote for £600 via the estate agents. They also said that their mortgage lender had placed a retention on the mortgage for £1900, not sure where this figure came from.

I asked for proof of the retention (in order to prove they weren't just trying it on and so we could come to an agreement) We went back and forth arguing about the £600, and when they stated they were pulling out I offered a split deal. (Even though I still hadn't seen proof of retention)

They agreed to this and yet today the estate agents has called me and said the buyer has pulled out as she has received a quote from a builder saying that there is £2675 of rendering that needs doing. How would they know this? I haven't let a builder on to the property so how could they assess this amount? Anyway, wondering now is it worth getting this damp and possible rendering situation now to prevent a similar re-occurrence?

Many thanks

OV

As you have already gone down on the asking price you shouldn't go down any further. The buyer is trying his luck in my opinion. My advice is not to budge.

Tancred

m0t wrote: »

I think you are deluded if you think things are going to suddenly improve and you will be able to sell your house that has been on the market for 2 years without a £5K price reduction. The economy is still in the toilet, job creation is minimal, inflation is eating into most peoples living budgets and suddenly the ridiculous house price gravy train is going to resume???

All that has happened in my area is estate agents have whacked a new year premium on house prices and still none are selling.

Not sure where your area is, but in Berkshire prices are sky high and houses are selling! Infact there is a lot of demand and houses are in desperately short supply. The ones that are not selling are in dodgy areas or in a bad state of repair.