FTB Help! Reducing your offer at a late stage

zebulon

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.

You were given notice, you didn't give notice, you don't need to leave (but should in my opinion)

fed_up_and_stressed

Clutterfree wrote: »

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:

Assuming you are buying with a mortgage even if the vendor agreed to a reduction which i very much doubt then you'd need a new mortgage offer so you timescales would disappear into the wind !

steeeb

Tell the vendors you asked for it to be cleaned up - you visited the property and it hasn't.

You won't exchange until the issue is resolved.

The other issues...
- Boiler - Expected when buying. The survey would have mentioned this or to check (not the day before exchanging). Although since you said they said it has been serviced, you can tell them to provide proof or get it serviced or you won't exchange.
- Windows - It was on the survey, I assume you didn't get the survey a few days ago?

You can gazunder if you want, but be prepared for it to go back on the market and you being in a pickle.

The fact they know you're in a rush has put you in a really bad position. Gazundering definately won't work in my opinion. In fact, they'll probably do nothing.

So put it up to experience or pull out.

duchy

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.

Well whether you are behaving in a less than stellar manner or not is a matter of opinion.

So if you go back to the vendor and say you are not exchanging til the house is cleared and a reduction of £1700 is agreed and the vendor tells you No- exchange or walk ....what will you do then ?

Do you have a contingency plan for if the sale fails at this point ?
Have you calculated how much you have spent already in legal fees, surveys etc and done the maths . Is it worth losing not only the house but also all your costs so far and starting all over again .....and most importantly where will you live until you find another house and go through the whole process again ?

Trying to blackmail the vendor at the 11th hour can backfire badly - especially if they know the situation with your rented property.

lewishardwick

Is a reduction of £1,700 really worth losing the sale over?

Can you contact the vendor directly and offer to go 50/50 on the boiler work?

The windows are a non-starter as you had plenty of notice to address them with the vendor.

I'm in a similar position for a job that's going to cost around £1,500. It's really not worth getting the mortgage offer adjusted and more fees from the solicitor to re-draw contracts. Not to mention it'll take time to do.

eddddy

Wow - what an emotional thread!

You can see why people say house buying/selling is one of the most stressful events in your life!


Just one thought, if you want to make things sound a bit softer if/when you talk to the EA - instead of using phrases like "reducing your offer", maybe use phrases like "arranging a retention for urgent boiler repairs".

i.e. You solicitor keeps back, say, £2000 which can be used to pay the heating engineer - and the 'change' given back to the vendor.

This will also mean that your mortgage offer doesn't need to be adjusted.

But as I mentioned before, you are probably in a weak negotiating position on this.

bmthmark

When I moved house my solicitor made it clear that the new place had to be left in a reasonable condition. The day before we exchanged the place was a dump, but I was told the vendor has arranged a cleaning company to sort the place out. This was done as promised - something similar may happen in your case.

With regards to the boiler,if its completely broken then this needs to be raised by your solicitor that this needs to be fixed as part of the sale. But I have a feeling you may have to take the hit on this one as its been left too late. There is no harm in getting your solicitor to get your message across though. You never know they may just get someone in to fix/service it.

Windows is over to you to sort out after you have bought the place.

Personally the above would not stop me from buying the place.

frugalsmurf

The Windows....thats something you should have addressed earlier

Boiler.....again if you had got that done earlier you would have known...but wouldn't a new boiler be similar price?

Cleaning....I agree it should be left clean, can you address it with them and insist you see it . But if you need to complete soon, you may struggle.

What would you do if it takes another three weeks(possibly more, I don't know) to change the mortgage/contracts etc to show the differences in price

Personally I think it's too late now unless you don't mind risking it all falling through

cashbackproblems

Is there anywhere else you can stay as a backup?

Personally I disagree with the above, you are not gazaudering for the sake of saving money but due to finding genuine issues. The vendor might get a higher asking price but they themselves could need the cash urgently and have to wait another 3 months + if finding a new seller, so you are in a strong position.

Just lower your offer, I would.

csgohan4

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Is there anywhere else you can stay as a backup?

Personally I disagree with the above, you are not gazaudering for the sake of saving money but due to finding genuine issues. The vendor might get a higher asking price but they themselves could need the cash urgently and have to wait another 3 months + if finding a new seller, so you are in a strong position.

Just lower your offer, I would.

Actually the OP is the one who made the mistake and gave in notice before even Exchanging.


They also left it the day before the exchange and hasn't thought of the consequences re Mortgage e.t.c


If I was the Seller, I would know where I would be telling where the Buyer should put it