Am I being overcharged?

jburfot

We are due to exchange contracts on a house in the next few days. However last week a house 5 doors down the road on the same side, with the same estate agent has come up for sale at £20,000 cheaper. Now this is a huge sum. The house is almost identical outside and from the specs the room sizes/garden etc are the same.

There is no mention of it requiring modernisation etc. Now I am wondering why the house I am due to buy is £20,000 more expensive. I have rang my solicitor and told her not to exchange now until I get in touch with her.

I want to view this house and see for myself why the price is so much less. If its anything other than a quick sale I am going to have grave concerns that I am being overcharged on my purchase.

Can anyone offer an advice please on how I approach this? obviously if I go direct to the EA they are going to fob me off, I am thinking of getting my bro-in-law to arrange a viewing and accompany him along. If i see nothing that warrants the price difference then should i question the agent. I would seriously consider pulling out entirely if I felt i was being overcharged

Burlesque_Babe

Could be they need a quick sale and are willing to take a lower price.

If you have paid the market value for the property you are going to exchange on, then the property probably needs loads of work or is maybe an executors sale or there is another reason?

jburfot

if its a quick sale then fair enough i can understand. But if its found not to be then what do i do.

wecanhelpu

If the other house sells for £20k less, this will be the new market value of your house as well.

Remember, valuations are based entirely on what similar houses have recently sold for.

If, as you say the other house is identical, then you should be looking at buying the cheaper one.

Hope this makes sense.

Good Luck

Doozergirl

Overcharged? It's a buyer who decides how much a house is worth to them and the vendors decision to accept that offer, or not. It's nothing like Tesco where the price is set but still competitive.

The price of a house is completely subjective. As a Money Saver, it is your responsibility to view as many houses and details as you can, and to check recent sold prices for an area in order to be sure that the house you eventually buy presents decent value for money in comparision to similar properties.

The are PLENTY of vendors out there who are either deluded or simply prepared to take a punt at getting a higher price for their house. If you can't find a valid reason for this new house being cheaper than the one you are in the process of purchasing, then I am afraid that there is only one person to blame

pinkshoes

Go and view this other house ASAP, and ask plenty of questions about its price. If you feel it's EXACTLY the same as the one you're buying, then maybe you can get a £20k reduction on the one you're buying? You've already paid for surveys etc... so it's worth a try. How long has the house you're buying been on the market for?

jburfot

Doozergirl, I know what your saying and you are exactly right, however there have been 4 houses for sale in this road in the last few months. 3 were priced at roughly the same as the one we chose. But this has since come on much cheaper and had given us cause for concern.

I am sure if you were in my shoes you would have the same concerns. Now if I view and there is no obvious reason for the price difference and the owners are not looking for a quick sale then I have a big decision to make.

wishiwasarichgirl

Go view it ASAP, although if it is on the market with the same estate agent as the one you are buying then I imagine there must be something wrong with it, as surely the estate agent would have valued the house at the same price as yours and the others which you say sold for the higher amount?

Doozergirl

Oh, I think you should go and view the house yourself, under your own name. There's nothing wrong with that and if you want to buy that house instead then that's your perogative. Who wouldn't want to save themselves £20,000?

It's just that your question was 'Am I being overcharged?' and the rule, when buying property is 'caveat emptor - buyer beware' It's your own responsibility to make sure you're not paying over the odds. There's no-one to complain to

jburfot

this close to exchange i dont think the EA will be very co-operative. Anyhow, i am viewing it with my bro-in-law and will go from there. I will certainly have to do some serious thinking if I like it.

silvercar

I would phone the estate agent and ask straight out. If you are not satisfied with the answer then go along with your brother. There could be a very simple reason that will set your mind at rest.