House buying nightmare - buyers over offering and surveyors down valuing

jackieblack

AdrianC said:

Your other option, of course, is to move a bit further out.

Indeed, an hour out of Liverpool Street on the main line and you can easily get a 3 bed detached/4 bed semi for £300-350k

BecsMags

@jackieblack yes, that is so incredibly tempting. Was dreaming over some beautiful properties by the Essex coast. We just have a pesky situation of two children in local schools - GSCE year and son under amazing SEN, so moving would be last option. We need to exhaust looking for a house local to here (elderly mother lives local to here too). 

Would rather wait to see if prices come down than pack up our whole lives and move miles away. 

Natbag

It's really annoying when houses are going for over the asking price, yet only the house you are selling gets down valued. It's happened to me twice in a row now. You either found another house to buy, or suck up the difference if you think it's worth it to get the home you want. The housing market is really crazy at the moment, I'm waiting to exchange and I'm just praying I don't end up back on the search as we just wouldn't get a similar property now for the reasons you've outlined.

mortgage_noob

BecsMags said:

Thanks all. We have 2 kids, boy and girl, so 3 bed is really only option. Also, they are both in nearby schools and as we both work they travel on public transport on their own to school, so moving further and cheaper can only be a plan c at the moment. 

We are on outskirts on London/Essex - crazy prices. There is pretty much nothing for 300k for 3 bed. The few 350k houses that we've seen have gone for over 375k, so stuck in the same loop. We could go in at 375, but then it will be down valued anyway. The house we offered on was up for 375-400, so we thought we were good to go with 380k. 

We are the buyer and unfortunately can't really go beyond our 10% deposit. Also, don't want to get caught up in paying way over the odds for something. 

We will find out today if the buyer wants to sell at 360k (everything crossed!) Otherwise back to the drawing board. It may be worth waiting until the stamp duty frenzy is over, we'll lose on stamp duty holiday but will hopefully get a more realistic price for a property. 

Thanks for all your comments. This has been a nightmare rollercoaster!

Becs

Good luck - hope it's good news from the seller!

Natbag

Oh you're the buyer, apologies. In that case, it puts you in a good position. The seller could try to get a better offer from another buyer, but they risk delaying the whole process (and possibly having to pay stamp duty later) and they also risk the next buyer's mortgage lender under-valuing it by just as much or more. It depends how much they want to move or how much they want the house they are buying and their own finances, and maybe then can renegotiate down a little on that to narrow the gap. But from experience you are definitely in the stronger position here.

BecsMags

Natbag said:

Oh you're the buyer, apologies. In that case, it puts you in a good position. The seller could try to get a better offer from another buyer, but they risk delaying the whole process (and possibly having to pay stamp duty later) and they also risk the next buyer's mortgage lender under-valuing it by just as much or more. It depends how much they want to move or how much they want the house they are buying and their own finances, and maybe then can renegotiate down a little on that to narrow the gap. But from experience you are definitely in the stronger position here.

Thank you Natbag, that is reassuring. That's what we keep telling ourselves. We have a mortgage offer in hand and are good to go. Putting it back on the market could see them in the same position and just draw the whole thing out. Plus with sd holiday ending prices will start to come down I think. 

We are still waiting to hear an answer, I guess it is something that it is not an outright no! 

BecsMags

Buyers want to stick to 380k Of course they are in their total rights to do so, can't really complain. Back to the drawing board for us. Gosh this house buying business is draining!

Voyager2002

BecsMags said:

As we have kids that travel on buses to school, we can't move too far. Ashamed to admit I don't drive, so rely on public transport for schools and work. The eldest child coming into GSCE year, and son is under amazing SEN care at current school, moving schools is not really an option. 

Where we currently rent is great for us, so we are okay for the time being! 

Just waiting for that phone call to let us know the outcome!

Not driving is a reason to be proud rather than ashamed: you are doing your bit for the air quality of your community and helping to pay for bus services for all those who cannot drive for whatever reason. Plus, within inner London not driving is being practical rather than getting a status symbol.

I agree that with the school situation moving too far would be a really bad idea. I think the best strategy is to keep in touch with your vendor: unless there is a cash-rich buyer waiting in the wings s/he is unlikely to get a buyer as good as you, and may also feel under pressure to complete a purchase before the end of the stamp-duty holiday (and if your vendor is trading up then his potential SDLT bill would be a lot more than £4k). So you have a lot to gain by negotiating; perhaps meeting the vendor and being pleasant.

Voyager2002

BecsMags said:

Buyers want to stick to 380k Of course they are in their total rights to do so, can't really complain. Back to the drawing board for us. Gosh this house buying business is draining!

If I were the vendor my first reaction would be the same. However, if the agent then explained to me that this really was the absolute maximum that my buyer could afford, and that there was zero chance of getting another buyer to complete before the end of the SDLT holiday, I would be open to some face-saving compromise. So don't despair; be super-nice to all concerned, and see if something pops up early next week. In the meantime, fingers crossed for you.

Sunsaru

BecsMags said:

Buyers want to stick to 380k Of course they are in their total rights to do so, can't really complain. Back to the drawing board for us. Gosh this house buying business is draining!

You may get a call back in a week or so if you're lucky.