what to do - Dilemma

I_have_spoken

.Saw a property recently - I really liked it.

I believe the other buyer is a genuine one
.i think I likely WOULD have paid £364k
.I do think this could be our 'final' home.

TBH, I think you're best off paying the £364k if you've seen loads of houses to get a feel for what's out there.

Getting it for that price against a starting price of £380k isn't too shabby. The vendor is likely thinking why walk away from £14k for 24hrs work?

You'll just need to be on top of the vendor in case they pull some other tricks, e.g. comprehensive inventory of fixtures and fittings in case they take the light bulbs.

Mojisola

littlemissy29 wrote: »

But
.i feel really resentful over paying £14k more than agreed
.i think about how long it takes to save this amount of money let alone earn it
.i hate anyone getting anything over on me
.can't trust the vendor now not to do it again even if I did proceed

If the £14k is going to be paid through a mortgage, add on all the extra interest you'll pay over the years.

I wouldn't be able to trust the vendor or the EA not to try something else after you've committed yourself by spending money getting a survey, etc, which would make it even harder to pull out of the deal.

ACG

I hate people that bump up/down the price at the last minute. Personally i would pull the deal completely if anyone did that to me.... It goes back to once i have agreed something, its agreed.

But if the valuation does come back with works that need doing, then that is a genuine reason to negotiate the price. In my experience people do tend to be stubborn on that front though - they have lived with whatever issue it is and dont see it as a reason to reduce the price - why would they? Estate agent has said its valued at £xxx and you have offered £xxx so in their minds if you pull out someone else will offer it... not always the case but vendors have rose tinted glasses on.

You do need to decide if the £14k is enough to put you off the property and in reality once you move it it will either eat at you or you will forget it as you settle in. I think a lot comes down to whether you can get a similar property for a similar price (or better) or if this really is a one off or something that only comes around once in a blue moon and i think that will also help you to realise whether you were in a bidding war or not.

If its in the south east in particular London there is a little boom going on so it could well be true.

Duskylady

Hopefully an EA on here can advise you better but a friend of mine who used to be an agent said that you could ask for proof of the other offers from the agent to 'prove' there were genuine offers and if they couldn't show this then you could reduce the price on that basis. Not sure if this is the case but might be worth asking!

SG27

Duskylady wrote: »

Hopefully an EA on here can advise you better but a friend of mine who used to be an agent said that you could ask for proof of the other offers from the agent to 'prove' there were genuine offers and if they couldn't show this then you could reduce the price on that basis. Not sure if this is the case but might be worth asking!

I doubt it. Even if the other offers are real, what proof would they have?

gazter

littlemissy29 wrote: »

Saw a property recently - I really liked it. Was up for £380k and it needs a lot of work. Made an offer that was too low - and info back from EA that they would not accept less than 350k. Agreed to this after a short period. And house taken off the market.

2 days later get a call from the agent to say that someone else is interested and has made an offer slightly higher than mine. Not ethical I guess - but I know it happens. Agreed to match the slightly higher price as didn't want to lose it. (+2k)

Expecting a call back to say all sorted, but instead got a call back to say it has gone back up again as the other party had made a new offer. (now 359k apparently)
Really not happy with this obviously - Agent then said the vendor has decided sealed bids would win the right to buy by 9am the next morning. Horrific night not knowing what to do.

Decided we liked it lots and offered £364 in the morning - Bid accepted.

Feel frustrated and a bit cheated and also don't trust the vendor at all. Property has gone up £14k in 24 hours - and I feel very bitter.

Nothing to stop them changing their mind again once I've paid for a survey/searches of course.

What would you do in this situation?
There are no similar properties in the area and this would be an ideal family home

Littlemissy29

Considering they fudged you twice, you owe them nothing, sealed bid or not. Go back to the original offer and tell them you are walking away.

robatwork

If you were selling the house can you say - hand on heart - that you would just accept the offer of 350 even though somebody else offered more? What if that extra £14k meant you could buy that house of your dreams, or pay for a stairlift, or........

GM11

a house is only realy worth what someone is willing to pay, if someone else is willing to pay more than you then it's worth more to them than it is to you. ys they might be trying it on but i go back to what i said originally wich was always decide what you are willing to pay tops and stick to it. when it comes to houses in that bracket £14k isnt much, we dropped our price by £50k to sell it quick, houses dont realy have a fixed price its about what your willing to pay or except

martinsurrey

This happened to me, rarely available house in a popular location, I decided that I was willing to walk away so refused to negotiate...

other buyer was real and paid what the EA had said they had offered.

As it wasnt my dream forever house I didnt mind calling thier bluff, but if it is yours, be careful.

Dan-Dan

Duskylady wrote: »

Hopefully an EA on here can advise you better but a friend of mine who used to be an agent said that you could ask for proof of the other offers from the agent to 'prove' there were genuine offers and if they couldn't show this then you could reduce the price on that basis. Not sure if this is the case but might be worth asking!

Codswallop

sorry