Increase in house value - what would you do?

MeandO

tigerlily74 said:

As you have a buyer and a house you want to buy I would just crack on and get it done. You have a solid argument for not accepting a drop in price which I would stick with if I were you, but only remarked if your buyers drop our or become unreasonable.

I think this may be the wisest course of action, thanks tigerlily74. 

Neil49

Carry on with the sale. Your buyers have been very reasonable by selling their property and moving in with family while you take as much time as you want finding somewhere suitable. If you re market but don't find a quick buyer then you could end up paying stamp duty on your next property. 

If you had found a property to buy months ago you wouldn't be asking this question. If I was your buyer I would have looked elsewhere by now and left you starting from scratch again.

Having been through the house buying process a couple of years ago we soon became aware of those sellers who were serious about moving and those who were basically testing the market and wasting our time. I put you in the latter category. 

MeandO

Neil49 said:

Carry on with the sale. Your buyers have been very reasonable by selling their property and moving in with family while you take as much time as you want finding somewhere suitable. If you re market but don't find a quick buyer then you could end up paying stamp duty on your next property. 

If you had found a property to buy months ago you wouldn't be asking this question. If I was your buyer I would have looked elsewhere by now and left you starting from scratch again.

Having been through the house buying process a couple of years ago we soon became aware of those sellers who were serious about moving and those who were basically testing the market and wasting our time. I put you in the latter category. 

Quite an unnecessarily aggressive post Neil49 tbh.

As I stated myself, the buyers HAVE been very patient during the process for which I have thanked them and apologised via the estate agent for the length of time it's taken for me to secure a property. They have been reasonable because they really want this house which I am selling to them for now a lot less than market price (and less than I paid for it) and leaving them the white goods and all the blinds for free as a gesture of goodwill for their patience. They are now delaying things whilst also demanding they are moved in within a few weeks, which I agreed to.

I also offered over asking price on a property the day I received the offer from my buyers, but lost out to a cash buyer. This has happened 4 times during the past 3 months, so I have not been 'taking as much time as I want' to find somewhere, I have been desperately looking at everything that has come onto the market, most of which has been complete refurbs or houses with lots of problems, whilst also caring for my son and my two seriously ill parents. I have had plenty of reasons and time to pull out if I wasn't serious about selling, which is not the case. I'm sure you can understand this hasn't been 'ordinary' times to try and buy and sell a house and no, I wouldn't have been asking this question months ago because the house prices hadn't risen so considerably then.
As I also stated, stamp duty is not applicable as the properties I'm looking at are under that threshold.

I too have been through the house buying process several times over the years so I am aware of the process. I am not 'testing the market', I am trying to relocate nearer to my son's school and reduce my mortgage debt, but as I am the only adult in our household and my job isn't always the most secure I am trying to ensure I can keep a roof over my son's head no matter what by downsizing my mortgage and paying it off as quickly as I can. My question was simply am I shooting myself in the foot now that house prices have gone up and buyers are suddenly being difficult and what would others do in this situation. Instead of constructive opinions, you've chosen to wrongly judge my intentions and label me in "a category" based on previous bad experiences you've obviously had yourself. 

Chilli6

I'd be another to say carry on if you want out of your current home. They don't seem to realise how fortunate they are if the prices have gone up so much. 
Also worth considering, if it had gone the other way and the house was now worth up to £30,000 less, would you have accepted the buyer lowering their offer by that much?  It is a risk we all take with slow conveyancing that the prices could move either direction before exchange. 
Sounds like they're getting a bargain but peace of mind for you being in a more suitable position could be worth more? 

MeandO

Chilli6 said:

I'd be another to say carry on if you want out of your current home. They don't seem to realise how fortunate they are if the prices have gone up so much. 
Also worth considering, if it had gone the other way and the house was now worth up to £30,000 less, would you have accepted the buyer lowering their offer by that much?  It is a risk we all take with slow conveyancing that the prices could move either direction before exchange. 
Sounds like they're getting a bargain but peace of mind for you being in a more suitable position could be worth more? 

Yes, thank you Chilli6, financial security and to be settled in a home for 10 years + is what we need right now, so I think you're right.
If prices had dropped, I would be fine by that as long as my ongoing purchase had also dropped to an equivalent amount but unfortunately the opposite has happened atm! Mine has gone up after an offer was accepted and I have had to pay higher prices for the ongoing purchase, but it's not about an investment for me, it's about securing a comfortable, affordable home for my son and I for the forseeable.

If they become increasingly difficult or pull out I'll re assess the situation then I think.

brewthebear

Your buyer is being patient because they realise its now a bargain house they will have noted the price increases.I would  sell for higher youd be mad not to ..

Neil49

MeandO said:

Neil49 said:

Carry on with the sale. Your buyers have been very reasonable by selling their property and moving in with family while you take as much time as you want finding somewhere suitable. If you re market but don't find a quick buyer then you could end up paying stamp duty on your next property. 

If you had found a property to buy months ago you wouldn't be asking this question. If I was your buyer I would have looked elsewhere by now and left you starting from scratch again.

Having been through the house buying process a couple of years ago we soon became aware of those sellers who were serious about moving and those who were basically testing the market and wasting our time. I put you in the latter category. 

Quite an unnecessarily aggressive post Neil49 tbh.

As I stated myself, the buyers HAVE been very patient during the process for which I have thanked them and apologised via the estate agent for the length of time it's taken for me to secure a property. They have been reasonable because they really want this house which I am selling to them for now a lot less than market price (and less than I paid for it) and leaving them the white goods and all the blinds for free as a gesture of goodwill for their patience. They are now delaying things whilst also demanding they are moved in within a few weeks, which I agreed to.

I also offered over asking price on a property the day I received the offer from my buyers, but lost out to a cash buyer. This has happened 4 times during the past 3 months, so I have not been 'taking as much time as I want' to find somewhere, I have been desperately looking at everything that has come onto the market, most of which has been complete refurbs or houses with lots of problems, whilst also caring for my son and my two seriously ill parents. I have had plenty of reasons and time to pull out if I wasn't serious about selling, which is not the case. I'm sure you can understand this hasn't been 'ordinary' times to try and buy and sell a house and no, I wouldn't have been asking this question months ago because the house prices hadn't risen so considerably then.
As I also stated, stamp duty is not applicable as the properties I'm looking at are under that threshold.

I too have been through the house buying process several times over the years so I am aware of the process. I am not 'testing the market', I am trying to relocate nearer to my son's school and reduce my mortgage debt, but as I am the only adult in our household and my job isn't always the most secure I am trying to ensure I can keep a roof over my son's head no matter what by downsizing my mortgage and paying it off as quickly as I can. My question was simply am I shooting myself in the foot now that house prices have gone up and buyers are suddenly being difficult and what would others do in this situation. Instead of constructive opinions, you've chosen to wrongly judge my intentions and label me in "a category" based on previous bad experiences you've obviously had yourself. 

Please accept my apologies now that you have clarified your situation. We've experienced so many time wasters that have cost us money with unnecessary surveys etc and that is how it came across. If both parties are content to proceed at a slow pace then maybe they may be amenable to increasing their offer sufficiently to spread the benefit equally. I think you will struggle to find many newly listed properties in the run up to Christmas but after that there may be a surge in listings. I wish both parties well. 

newsgroupmonkey_

Whilst I appreciate that you're comparing with a new build, is that new build in the HTB scheme?

You'll be aware that there is a 10% newbuild premium generally, but this can be pushed up if it's HTB too.

So yes, I appreciate you might get a bit more than you would have earlier in the year, it could all go horribly wrong. You don't get a buyer before Christmas therefore not beating the SDLT holiday, houses drop 10% and you've got no buyer.

I hate to agree with Crashy on this one, but it's a case of "a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush"

Scotbot

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

So yes, I appreciate you might get a bit more than you would have earlier in the year, it could all go horribly wrong. You don't get a buyer before Christmas therefore not beating the SDLT holiday, houses drop 10% and you've got no buyer.

I hate to agree with Crashy on this one, but it's a case of "a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush"

Yep no guarantee you will get a much higher price, given buyers will see the price history they will almost certainly make lower offers nearer to the original price.
Ultimately depends what happens in April. If Dishy puts SDLT back up a number of sales will fall through and properties will be back on the market. Even if that doesn't affect your transaction it will affect others and sentiment may change. Or not. Proceed with the current sale IMO.

badger09

You mention that other similar homes on your estate have sold for between £15k and £30k more than yours. Have they actually sold at those prices - or are they merely STC?. There's a big difference, as many threads on this board will tell you.

If you are really unhappy where you are, have found a suitable home nearer your child's school, which although smaller, gives you an element of financial security, then I think you would be mad to pull out of your sale now for some mythical extra money.

Just my opinion of course, and I wish you well whatever you decide.