Offer accepted, now buyer wants to drop offer

Money_saving_maniac

I accepted an offer on my house about 5 weeks ago and found the house I wanted to buy last week
I left it till after the referendum to spend any money starting the conveying process in case my buyer dropped out if we had a Brexit vote.

Thursday the EA called and said the buyer wants me to drop 12k!!! off the price on my house 'because prices are dropping.'
There's been some going back and forward but the offer is now 8k less and no movement to be had.

I might add that my house was only selling for 180k. The EA says they can't really advise me what to do because the market is slowing down and if I remarket I might not get a buyer in the right time frame to buy the house I offered on. They also say that it's possible if I leave it a couple of months that I'll get the full asking price. They've been pretty good really. Nobody's got a crystal ball.

Anybody else suffering similar and if so what are you doing/what has your EA said etc etc...

cashbackproblems

Well after Brexit and the gradual fall in house prices expected, you could well reject this offer and get even lower ones from the next buyers and lose the house you are bidding on. After the news of the last few days and market reductions, people are thinking about how much they could fall by. Eg Friday London Evening Standard story has got everyone talking.

Some EA's are still deluded, in my area which is a booming commuter town places are remaining unsold for months and lots of reductions last week, start with April's stamp duty rise

My partner is an EA and said a few buyers last week had offered 10-20% less having offered more pre-brexit, and some of the vendors accepted.

Ultimately it is up to you, but i would think 12k isn't a big drop considering what we could potentially see. The uncertainty won't be resolved over the next 3-6 months and its inevitable prices will fall. Plus you can try reducing your offer on your next place by same amount

kinger101

It's a bit cheeky, but you could see if they're prepared to knock a bit off further up the chain. Or are prepared to wait for you to find another buyer.

iantojones40

If you don't want the chain to collapse then it's certainly worth trying to get an equivalent reduction from your forward purchase, in fact, assuming you're moving up the ladder and buying somewhere more expensive then you'll actually be better off.

£8k off £180k is only 4% so not that a bigger deal in the grand scheme of things, even the most optimistic predictions are suggesting house will quite possibly fall more than this in the next year.

missbiggles1

kinger101 wrote: »

It's a bit cheeky, but you could see if they're prepared to knock a bit off further up the chain. Or are prepared to wait for you to find another buyer.

I don't think that's cheeky, just normal.

Davesnave

In a falling market, reductions are often passed up the chain, but may not be like-for-like, or even proportional.

It's all down to what individual parties will accept, and at the start of a downturn, some may not accept that it's happening at all.

People generally wish to keep the chain intact, but in a situation as well publicised as this, the fear that things will get worse should be an extra powerful incentive.

FBaby

Spoke with Estate Agent yesterday and told that except for the week following the vote, the prices were continuing to go up, maybe it depends on where you live.

I think they are using this as an excuse, way too early to say how it will go, but ultimately, it now becomes irrelevant, where you are now is a question of who is more desperate to sell/buy.

iantojones40

Your agent can't possibly have such recent and specific statistics on what the property market is doing, it's not like the stock market where changes can be easily observed on a daily basis.

pinkshoes

Your buyer sounds flakey and will no doubt cause you problems further down the line!

I would say no thank you, and put it back on the market immediately.

I would rather have £12k less from someone more reliable.

kilby_007

pinkshoes wrote: »

Your buyer sounds flakey and will no doubt cause you problems further down the line!

I would say no thank you, and put it back on the market immediately.

I would rather have £12k less from someone more reliable.

Flaky, or a rational and measured reaction to falling house prices? 4% is very little and over a 6month period they're likely to fall a lot further. Personally I wouldn't risk losing a buyer in this climate and I'd seek to negotiate up the chain.

Clutterfree

Can you still afford to buy the property you want if you accept £8k less on yours?