Is it reasonable for us to drop our asking price given current climate?

jbsn

Hi all
We had an offer accepted on a property back in Nov. Following surveys etc we have knocked a few grand off for repairs that need doing but are almost paying asking price. We have had numerous issues with the seller, basically faffing about, not providing documents for months on end, they have useless lawyers...hence we still haven’t exchanged. We have had to apply to a local school to that area for our son so it’s got a bit stressful recently not knowing if it was all going to work out or not.

They are now pushing for exchange and completion in two weeks. We are going to view again next week because last time we saw the property they were mid-move and had done a terrible job of it (damaged walls, carpets etc). 

My question is- given we have waited so long for this transaction to go through, have had numerous delays on their part and now it looks like the market is about to crash, do we have reasonable grounds for asking for a further reduction? I don’t want to be churlish but I’m aware that if we were to pull out of this sale we could end up with a better property in the months to come given prices are going to plummet...

Any advice would be great, thank you. Don’t want to take the mick but also keen not to be a doormat!

eidand

Up to you, I would say. 
Seller may say yes or may say !!!!!! off. Up to them.
You can definitely pull out since you haven't exchange yet. Yes, you could end up with a better property or may end up with nothing, at this stage we don't really know.

abanksee

I'm in exactly the same position pretty much. Most people on here think you should honour price though... even though the bank of england are estimating the worst recession in memories.

eidand

abanksee said:

I'm in exactly the same position pretty much. Most people on here think you should honour price though... even though the bank of england are estimating the worst recession in memories.

biggest recession that they don't think will last long .....

abanksee

eidand said:

abanksee said:

I'm in exactly the same position pretty much. Most people on here think you should honour price though... even though the bank of england are estimating the worst recession in memories.

biggest recession that they don't think will last long .....

It might not.... the problem is we are at the very start of this. We were talking about a flight dip and a sharp v shaped recession 8 weeks ago. Now its predicted to be more severe.

The problem really is that nobody knows, we look to be lifting restrictions rather quickly and if that results in another spike we could be in real trouble. If the op wants to lower his offer then fire away, its ALOT of risk to take on at the moment.

OldMusicGuy

Only you can decide. No-one knows what will happen in the future. This is not like the financial crisis nor previous house price drops. The supply of properties might dry up so that although prices might fall or stay stagnant, your chances of finding a place you actually want to buy could be reduced. Or there might be a short term drop followed by a sharp recovery. 

Because there is very little activity in the market right now, no-one knows what has happened to house prices. So asking for a reduction isn't based on any "reality" but it's obvious there is increased uncertainty. So you can definitely try it on and if you get a reduction, you will have done well. I think a lot depends on how desperate the seller is to sell. 

princeofpounds

This is business. In your shoes I would certainly be considering a reduction in my offer. I don't normally advise it, because the objective is not usually to milk every penny from a transaction, but get a good home at a reasonable price. But it's clear that conditions have changed materially, and it was their fault it took so long as to expose the transaction to price shock risk, not yours.

However it's always possible they don't see it as reasonable, and choose to pull out. The critical question you have to ask yourself is whether you have better back-up opportunities or not if that happens.

I wouldn't necessarily be looking at a huge reduction. The economy is in a sorry state but interest rates have been cut yet again, and when uncertainty fades that will filter through into mortgage rates, so house prices may recover in time. Whilst you might get some bad data, a real crash is unlikely. That will come when we finally get an unexpected surge in inflation and rates have to climb.

steampowered

It depends how much you want to move. It also depends whether you are selling your own property or moving from rented.

Are you also selling a property at a price agreed pre-Covid 19? If yes, you are exposed to the property market right now anyway, so you wouldn't lose much by proceeding.

csgohan4

If you are not affected financially, on what basis would you demand a reduction? It's like the people on here last year suggesting reducing offers due to Brexit

If one demands due to the economy which doesn't affect them directly, it would be poor form to do so, however you don't ask you don't get, but be prepared to walk away if they say no and ask you to foxtrot oscar. 

I don't ask/get  reductions in my petrol because oil prices have reduced as an example. 

abanksee

csgohan4 said:

If you are not affected financially, on what basis would you demand a reduction? It's like the people on here last year suggesting reducing offers due to Brexit

If one demands due to the economy which doesn't affect them directly, it would be poor form to do so, however you don't ask you don't get, but be prepared to walk away if they say no and ask you to foxtrot oscar. 

I don't ask/get  reductions in my petrol because oil prices have reduced as an example. 

Petrol prices have dropped to a 4 year low... so you kind of do.

Crashy_Time

csgohan4 said:

If you are not affected financially, on what basis would you demand a reduction? It's like the people on here last year suggesting reducing offers due to Brexit

If one demands due to the economy which doesn't affect them directly, it would be poor form to do so, however you don't ask you don't get, but be prepared to walk away if they say no and ask you to foxtrot oscar. 

I don't ask/get  reductions in my petrol because oil prices have reduced as an example. 

Brexit has barely started though, and is on pause at the moment, how could you gauge what will happen with Brexit yet? The financial effect for the OP here is if they end up in NE because the wider economy has hit serious trouble as other people lose their jobs.A seller who was previously "faffing about" for months now pushing to complete in 2 weeks should be a large red flag IMO.