House selling

scaniarob

Hi,

just a bit of advice required pls

house been on market 26 days with one viewing , on Saturday we had another viewer and the agent said the feedback was good but was really at the max of there affordability , they came back on Sunday for second viewing and offered me an amount which was about 20k under what i thought i could get , as i already have another property to go to , i accepted there offer and shook the guys hand , he has been into ea yesterday with all id, mortgage offer etc and solicitors details , today ea rings me and says he has another lady wanting to view house , i tell him i shook guys hand and done a deal , he says i should give her viewing , i said no its sold , he said she may offer more

Have i done the right thing , the buyers serious , the time scales work perfect for both of us , but as ea says its not sold till exchange and completions

any advice would be appreciated as its got me thinking am i right in upholding a gentleman's agreement that i will sell it him , or should i let someone have a viewing as well , they may offer more ??

just to add i am reasonable happy even at the lower money


thanks guys

StrawberryTwist

I think you have done the right thing. Imagine if you let the other person view, they offer a little more then further down the line pull out and so you have to go back to the original buyer saying "actually you can have it if you want.."

I would tell you where to go You would not be trust worthy and I would be loathe as the original buyer to trust you to spend on surveys etc. So I wouldn't. I would of moved on instead.

Gentlemen's agreement is the right thing to do.

Dan-Dan

I think you are admirable and remember karma can bite you on the !!!!......a handshake can go a long way

scaniarob

thanks guys , i f the boot was on the other foot , i would not want messing about by the seller so i will go with my gut feeling and not let any other viewers see the property

i got a fantastic deal on my next property by paying a lot less than they wanted so as long as we are all happy so be it:beer:

mrsmchapman

I did the same thing once I had sold, someone else wanted the view agent said it was my choice, I decided I'd stick to my word and honour the price I'd accepted. I'd like to feel I'd treat others like they would me, sadly not always the case but I did the right thing and my house was exchanged on nearly 2 weeks ago.

aliby21

yes you are doing the right thing.

EA can take the woman's details in case things fall through. But you are doing the honourable thing in sticking to the agreement you have with the other chap.

When I accepted an offer on my house (not full asking price, but a price I was happy with from purchasers I was happy with), I got EA to cancel the remaining viewings that were lined up.

Talc1234

No you are doing the wrong thing

Happened to me once and I took the higher, later offer. I gave the original bidder the opportunity to match the new price, they declined

Building isn't sold until contracts exchanged, so why shouldn't you aim for the best possible price? Otherwise you are just giving a nice, big, cash gift to a stranger.

Forget all this honor / integrity / karama rubbish.

mark?_3

you are (potentially) about to give away Twenty Thousand Pounds because of a handshake.
Just think about how many months it would take for you to earn that much after the tax man has taken his share. Personally, i'd put up with the extra hassle and risk given the potential reward.

I agree with the other posters that it's a horrible thing to do to the current buyer, but this isn't loose change that your talking about

HarryBarry

I think this soon after the other offer was accepted wouldn't be so bad, I doubt the guy has paid out any money yet.

What would you do if the 1st person that viewed your house suddenly came in with an offer 10K more ?

As someone who is currently looking to buy, if I was told "sorry someone else has come in with a higher offer" a day after my offer was accepted, I would be annoyed that it happened, but not at the seller as its not their fault someone want to give them more money (and I think everyone would understand that there is no reason to turn down more money if the circumstances are the same). A few weeks down the line if you were actively looking for a higher bid, while money was being paid out for surverys etc, that would be wrong.

GenD

I think you're doing the right thing, and I wish all sellers would be so honourable. I would do the same, because I wouldn't want it on my conscience to go back on an agreement, even if it couldn't be enforced in law. You've got a good deal on your next purchase, so you can afford to take the offer - and don't forget that the potential other viewer might not make a higher offer or any offer at all! I think properties should be closed to further viewings once an offer has been accepted, it's just not fair to keep messing people about in search of more and more money.

Be nice, and nice things will come to you :A

moneyistooshorttomention

My basic viewpoint is to stick to a deal I have agreed with a buyer. However, that is based on the buyer offering a fair price (meaning asking price or not much less than asking price - say only £2/£3k under asking price). So my asking price is £170k and I would agree and stick to a price down to £167k - or possibly if "push came to shove" and the house had been on the market for ages (over 6 months) then £165k if I absolutely had to.

I would never agree a price of £20k off in the first place. I am assuming the fact that you agreed such a huge discount means that your house is a particularly expensive one?? - ie £300,000 or more level...

If you've agreed to drop such a large amount on a house that is worth, say, £500k then that's one thing - but if you agreed that on, say, a £200k house then that buyer hasn't been very "moral" to you offering you so much less than the house is up for sale for. If a buyer were that not "moral" to me - then I wouldn't feel compelled to be "moral" to them.

So £20k off a £500k house I would probably stick to - but £20k off a £200k house - I'd think "That buyer was the one that started the lacking in morals bit with such a low offer" and I would accept a subsequent higher offer that was nearer to my asking price.

I would certainly feel "do as you would be done by" and I would regard that first buyer as having treated me unfairly with such a low offer.