Gezumped on charity property

sparky130a

davidmcn wrote: »

Not entirely irrelevant, as they may feel they have a legal duty to get the best possible return, even if that involves gazumping.

So again, charitable status is irrelevant.

Lord_Baltimore

Gazumping is not nice. I'd keep an eye out for the price actually paid for this property.

G_M

I believe charities have a legal duty to get the best possible price.

In the same way (though different reason) that banks have to when selling a repo.

The Charities Commission audits their accounts and ensures how their income is generated, and where their expenditure goes.

If (as seems likely here) someone bequeathed them the property in a will (that could explain the 3 years empty), they cannot simply sell it at any knock-down price they wish. OK - that's an extreme example, but the point is if they receive 2 offers and one is sufficiently higher than the other (£100 would probably not make a difference), the CC would ask them why they sold to the lower one, and hence why they threw away the opportunity of further benefitting their charitabe cause.

There have even been high profile (and expensive!) legal cases, where executers of a will have been taken to court by charities for failing to get sufficient money from a property sale when the charity was due to receive a percentage of the estate......

tiny_tim

I see. I was told the other bidder is pulling out of another accepted sale in order to purchase this one, though I'm not sure why they would wait until it has been changed to 'SOLD STC' to do so....

dimbo61

Tell the estate agents your offer is on the table and look for another property.
It is sometimes writtern in the stars

ReadingTim

Guidance on the sale or lease of charity property can be found here

"The law says you must:

• try to get the best deal for your charity
• take written advice, including a valuation, from a qualified surveyor before you agree a sale or lease (although you don’t need one for a short lease)
• advertise the sale or lease, unless the surveyor says otherwise"

Accepting a higher offer seems to fall within the first point - sorry OP.

warehouse

OP, ask how much the other bid was for. OK, I know that you're thinking that this may just be some underhand trick by the seller or estate agent to get more money, but find out anyway and then weigh up if it's worth paying a few % more to obtain this house.

One thing I've noticed is that you haven't said anything positive about the house. How much do you want it?

tiny_tim

The other sell bid for 309k, mine was 305k. Estate agent tells me the other bidder has a smaller deposit and is pulling out of another sale for this one so may not be reliable. I am not sure if this counts in my favour or not.

Yes I love the house - its the best location and size for me. It needs a little bit of work but has a lot of potential. I will see what the response is first and then consider if I want to change the offer, it just a bit stressful!

Davesnave

tiny_tim wrote: »

I see. I was told the other bidder is pulling out of another accepted sale in order to purchase this one, though I'm not sure why they would wait until it has been changed to 'SOLD STC' to do so....

Human nature.

People see that someone else wants something they're also considering and the competitive instinct kicks in. It's also an affirmation of their assessment that the price seems about right.

G_M

tiny_tim wrote: »

The other sell bid for 309k, mine was 305k. Estate agent tells me the other bidder has a smaller deposit and is pulling out of another sale for this one so may not be reliable. I am not sure if this counts in my favour or not.

It may make a difference, especially if you are closer to Exchange - how far have you got?

£4K is enough to make the charity consider the new bid, but a bird in the hand is worth more that 2 in the bush - they will weigh up the pros and cons.

Only the charity can decide what they will do.