FTB Help! Reducing your offer at a late stage

Estellaabella

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has advice on reducing an offer.

We're supposed to exchange contracts tomorrow but went to the property today with a boiler engineer who said the boiler needs £1700 worth of work.

Also we had a second viewing last month and the tenant they had has left it in a dreadful state. They promised to clear it up and it hasn't been touched at all.

Also the survey said the windows need replacing as a matter of priority.

What should we do?! In such a panic because we we're hoping to complete next week when we have to be out of our rented house.

Any advice gratefully received! Thanks

marksoton

Estellaabella wrote: »

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has advice on reducing an offer.

We're supposed to exchange contracts tomorrow but went to the property today with a boiler engineer who said the boiler needs £1700 worth of work.
That's your risk frankly...
Also we had a second viewing last month and the tenant they had has left it in a dreadful state. They promised to clear it up and it hasn't been touched at all.
Why haven't you addressed this earlier?
Also the survey said the windows need replacing as a matter of priority.
See above comment....
What should we do?! In such a panic because we we're hoping to complete next week when we have to be out of our rented house.
Never give notice until exchange...
Any advice gratefully received! Thanks

I hate to say it but you've created a right muddle for yourself.

And no, as a vendor i wouldn't be happy with you gazundering me at this stage....

Estellaabella

Thanks for your reply.. We we're given notice by our landlords so were in a desperate panic to buy somewhere as there's virtually nowhere to rent because of the Christmas floods.
I addressed the state of the house five weeks ago and was told it would be cleaned and cleared.
You're right, I am in a muddle never having done this before and having a very small timeframe. I don't know what gazundering means!

csgohan4

Gazundering all over it


Put it this way, you pull out now, the vendors will get more money for it when they sell now than when you put your original offer.


Who's to say that current owners won't leave it in a 'state' when they move out either?


You should never hand your notice in until you EXCHANGE contracts and have a completion date. Things will and do go wrong.


If the vendor knows, they have you by the sack and can actually ask for more money

Estellaabella

What the hell is gazaudering?!

eddddy

I'm not sure I'd be as harsh as others.

The problem is that you're in a weak negotiating position. Normally, you could say:

"I'm not going to exchange tomorrow because the property hasn't been tidied up as agreed, and I've discovered that the boiler needs considerable work so a retention needs to be agreed to cover all/part of it."

But if the EA/vendor know you need to complete by next week, they might play hard ball, and refuse your demands.

However, if the EA really thinks you might walk away because of this, they might have visions of their commission floating away from them, so they would push the vendor very hard.

Clutterfree

Estellaabella wrote: »

What the hell is gazaudering?!

gerund or present participle: gazundering
lower the amount of an offer that one has made to (the seller of a property), typically just before the exchange of contracts.
"the couple have just been gazundered in one of London's most expensive areas"


As a previous poster said, why wait until now if you had the second viewing last month? You've had at least 3 weeks to sort this but chose the day before exchange to address it?! :mad:

Person_one

A new boiler would be less than 1700.

Getting to a week before exchange/completion and trying to drop the price for flimsy reasons is almost universally considered to be pretty s****y behaviour.

Estellaabella

I haven't waited - after the second viewing I brought up the cleaning / clearing of the house and was promised it would be done.
The vendor (via estate agent) had told us two months ago the boiler had been serviced and it was only Monday this week our solicitor found out it actually hadn't been which is why we've had to at this late stage get someone to service the boiler (at our expense) and they've come back with this.

Estellaabella

I don't think we're being sh***y at all. The vendor's know we need to move quickly so haven't done the things they've promised.

Person_one

Estellaabella wrote: »

I don't think we're being sh***y at all. The vendor's know we need to move quickly so haven't done the things they've promised.

Maybe they'll clean it this week before completion? Everybody has to clan/clear up a bit when they buy a place anyway.

You want to renege on the deal you agreed to right at the last minute. Would you be ok if they suddenly decided to up the price because house values have increased since you had your offer accepted?