Seller has come back with a 'can't go lower than' offer?

Calleja

Hi all,

I've put two offers on a house which have both been rejected. On the second rejection, the EA has advised me that the vendor is keen to sell but they can't let the property go for less than £xxxk (based on what they owe the bank). The price they have come back with is a few grand less than what the asking price was.

I wasn't expecting the rejections to come with counter offers! Do you think this is genuine? Or is it still appropriate to sit tight or go in with a lower offer still?

I do think the vendor is generally honest - but so am I, and I still want to get the house for the best price possible!

If they won't budge lower than this offer, anyone got any tips on any 'extras' I can ask for to ease the blow of matching their revised price (I'm not being greedy, I will just struggle a bit upfront with the price they are asking for)?

*mudangel*

Hmm, we might have been a similar position to your vendor recently. We needed a certain amount from the sale of our house to be sure we could manage 80% LTV on the property we wanted to buy. It was pretty close, but we just managed it.

Perhaps something similar is going on with your vendor?

I guess looking as attractive as you can as a buyer will strengthen your case - having funds in place etc. We took a bit less than we wanted to, but we were pretty confident that the buyer is in a good position.

Catblue

You could respond with "Sorry, can't go higher than £yyyK (slightly more than you've offered before) as this is the maximum the bank will lend me". Doesn't need to be true, of course.

They might come back with a meet-in-the-middle offer.

They sound quite keen to me. However, be aware that if they genuinely need a certain amount to pay off the mortgage then there's not much to be done.

And yes, absolutely emphasise that you are in a good position to proceed (if you indeed are).

Calleja

Thanks both. Yes they know I am a 'perfect' buyer with absolutely everything in place - not sure I have any other cards to play!

Kayalana99

I always find sitting on your hands for a few days to 'think about it' before taking Catblue's advice might help. Makes it seem like your less into the house as most buyers who fall in love make the mistake of pushing for it untill offer has been accepted in which case they know if you want it that bad they can push you up.

Take into account if the vendor wanted £xx price he would probally have put the house sale up for a % more then he wanted...so if the price he wants is *really* close (it depends if your offering on a 80k house to a 200k house if a fewk is close) he might be lying to push it up.

Counter offers is normal btw and I actally prefer them to do this as it gives an indication what they are actally after instead of just no no no... :-)

jibbyboo

Well, I spoke to the vendor of the house I'm purchasing, and they told me that they would ideally like £xxxxxx but would accept £2k lower. I wasn't really sure why they'd told me this, as obviously I'd go in at the lower end. But now that I've offered that amount and am proceeding, they're not taking it off the market and keep making excuses to delay doing so (infuriating). Might be the EA or the vendor, not 100% sure who's being difficult.

So beware of that! Make sure you're explicit about your conditions of making the offer, and if possible have them confirmed in writing at the time of presenting it. Mistake that I made was a verbal agreement with the EA that the house would be taken down once the survey was booked. Has it hell!

Dan-Dan

If your proceedable (i.e actually sold your own or have the cash) and they havent marked it as sold stc or at the worst `under offer` i`d be camping on the EA`s doorstep till they did!

And i`d be worrying about getting gazumped into the bargain!

Calleja

Yes, I'm a little worried about this too, esp if you agree a price under asking price, plus you are a mortgage buyer, do they have any obligation to take it off the market? I can't afford to do this twice!

hazyjo

I'm seeing this a lot... but they will only ever get what someone is willing to pay. If they need a certain amount, you might as well be taking a loan out for them! Not your problem. Compare against sold prices of similar nearby properties and offer accordingly.

Most will take the property off the market (it will show Under Offer or SSTC). Say you want it off when you offer.

Jx

Racml34

We had this recently. The house was 15000 over our budget but we had been told the vendor needed to sell quickly, knew what our rough budget was and would accept an offer in that region. When we made the offer after thinking about it for a while he came back and said he couldn't afford to sell it to us as he'd only had it a year and redemption fees as well as EA and solicitors fees and the price drop meant not only would he lose his deposit but he'd end up not having enough to clear the mortgage. He suggested the lowest he'd take which was some way off our budget. We were gutted and could not afford to offer more. We left it a while thinking he'd come back and he didn't sadly so I presume he was being truthful.
In the end it's worked out for the best as we are now at the agonising stage of waiting to exchange contracts on another house which is much better value for money. At the time I was very upset though!

Better_Days

It is very useful to have a counter offer. At least then you have an idea of how far apart you are, and whether or not you can actually stretch, with a bit of juggling of finances, nearer to what the vendor is looking for.

I had my final and best offer rejected this week, but the vendors refused to come up with a counter offer, other than saying they wanted an offer nearer to the AP. EA was frustrated with it all too, as they hadn't told him what they wanted either. Saw his fee slipping away on a property that needs a fair bit of updating. It's a probate sale and as far as I know the beneficiaries don't have to achieve a certain amount.