Is it strange that the seller wont accept a higher offer?

PasturesNew

When selling a house it's common for the seller to agree "I won't sell it to anybody else" and mean it. Even a higher offer.

An Englishman's word is his bond and all that.

The buyer will have already incurred costs etc and they might be a much sounder "bet" than a random FTB who hasn't even viewed the place yet.

I'd have turned you down.

It's not about the money, it's about honour and risk.

martindow

We are often advised here to treat house buying and selling as a commercial decision and to keep emotions out of it. The reality for most of us is different.

The owner of the house may feel that having given their word they won't lightly go back on it. They may also decide that they like the people who made the offer and that this makes them resistant to the lure of extra cash.

Hoploz

The moral of the story here is that if you are searching you must register with all the local EAs and put up with them badgering you with unwanted calls about unsuitable properties, even sometimes viewing them just to stay fresh in the EA's mind as keen, because sooner or later one of them will be just what you're looking for!

If the OP had been first on the list to be called by the EA they wouldn't have been 'too busy' to book the appointment and may well have secured it.

Smodlet

"Honour". A word we hear far too seldom these days. What a refreshing tale, and thread. Three cheers for honour and integrity!

I have enquired about properties on which offers had already been accepted before, been told by the EA, "Oh, but they are still having viewings" and declined even to go and look at them because it was clear to me those vendors were completely lacking in two of the three qualities I prize most highly. The third is loyalty.

cashbackproblems

Also bare in mind, if you overpay and the mortgage company values it lower i.e. what its REALLY worth, you all have to find the difference. EA's find this happens a lot so if you overbid they always ensure you have a big enough deposit so you can adjust the LTV

Cakeguts

You don't know that this was the only offer. It may have been the best offer from the point of view of a quick sale. Just because you make on offer on a property doesn't mean that a seller has to accept it.

anotheruser

The problem is though, people as a whole love money.

All those posters saying "glad the seller didn't accept your offer" - how much would you take to change your mind? 20k, 30k, 40k?
Everyone has a tipping point. Unlikely someone will offer 40k over the asking price, but there is no hiding behind morals and whatnot.

Davesnave

anotheruser wrote: »

All those posters saying "glad the seller didn't accept your offer" - how much would you take to change your mind? 20k, 30k, 40k?
Everyone has a tipping point.

I think this is probably the case, even for many of those taking the moral high ground here, which is easy enough, compared with the real deal.

Alter_ego

anotheruser wrote: »

The problem is though, people as a whole love money.

All those posters saying "glad the seller didn't accept your offer" - how much would you take to change your mind? 20k, 30k, 40k?
Everyone has a tipping point. Unlikely someone will offer 40k over the asking price, but there is no hiding behind morals and whatnot.

On that basis, every woman is a prostitute! Well, it's the same principle.

Smodlet

Maybe some have never felt the pain of being gazumped... and maybe some value money above principles which, no-one would deny, can be expensive. Some of us think they are worth it, unless we are really skint. :cool: