Have we accepted the right offer?

warwick2001

Not really advice, but from my very recent experience.

Put my house on market, lots of interest and offers, went with FTBs, as like you, I bought my house as a FTB and quite liked the idea of a similar situation . Turned down other offers from cash buyers for sentimental reasons.

7 weeks later FTB pulls out due 'worry about coal mining in local area'. I live in West Cumbria. The ENTIRE area was a mining area. Coal mining hasn't happened for over 60 years in this area. Every house search I have seen list coal mining, and speaking to my solicitor ditto, they see this within searches every day. Solicitor/EA stress to FTB that the house was built 45 years ago, there have been numerous environmental surveys (mostly by the council as there have been a good few houses built in the last 30 years) all saying there has been no movement in the ground, was safe to build on etc. FTB still pulls out despite these reassurances. 

So, by all means go with your heart and change to the FTB instead of the cash buyer, but just be wary (they do have a reputation of not being hugely reliable and are scared by things an experienced house owner would dismiss).

Good luck

lookstraightahead

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

lookstraightahead

warwick2001 said:

Not really advice, but from my very recent experience.

Put my house on market, lots of interest and offers, went with FTBs, as like you, I bought my house as a FTB and quite liked the idea of a similar situation . Turned down other offers from cash buyers for sentimental reasons.

7 weeks later FTB pulls out due 'worry about coal mining in local area'. I live in West Cumbria. The ENTIRE area was a mining area. Coal mining hasn't happened for over 60 years in this area. Every house search I have seen list coal mining, and speaking to my solicitor ditto, they see this within searches every day. Solicitor/EA stress to FTB that the house was built 45 years ago, there have been numerous environmental surveys (mostly by the council as there have been a good few houses built in the last 30 years) all saying there has been no movement in the ground, was safe to build on etc. FTB still pulls out despite these reassurances. 

So, by all means go with your heart and change to the FTB instead of the cash buyer, but just be wary (they do have a reputation of not being hugely reliable and are scared by things an experienced house owner would dismiss).

Good luck

But was this because they are first time buyers?

you bought it as a first time buyer. 

I think they just pulled out.
all kinds of people pull out.

I think the worst kind of buyers are those who have always bought new but really want a quirky old house, but pull out because walls aren't level/no damp proof course (!), squeaky floorboards etc.
or people downsizing but don't want anything smaller 

Some FTB can be nervous but some cash buyers are too.

NameUnavailable

lookstraightahead said:

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

That's the gamble as Jim Bowen used to say on Bullseye!

As I said, I'd be just as wary of a so called cash buyer and I'd want to know that the agent has seen proof of funds at least.

LAD917

lookstraightahead said:

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

This is the reality in many parts of the world if the real estate market is hot.  You submit a binding, no-contingency offer with a deposit that you lose if you later change your mind, or even if you can't get a mortgage. Vendors won't even entertain surveys, or if they do, buyers need to do the survey at their own cost with no guarantee of anything prior to submitting their binding offer. Cash is king, and mortgaged buyers can often only compete by offering higher AND accepting the property in pretty much any condition with no contingencies.

I like NameUnavailable's suggestion.

lookstraightahead

NameUnavailable said:

lookstraightahead said:

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

That's the gamble as Jim Bowen used to say on Bullseye!

As I said, I'd be just as wary of a so called cash buyer and I'd want to know that the agent has seen proof of funds at least.

Thank you for that image 😂

lookstraightahead

LAD917 said:

lookstraightahead said:

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

This is the reality in many parts of the world if the real estate market is hot.  You submit a binding, no-contingency offer with a deposit that you lose if you later change your mind, or even if you can't get a mortgage. Vendors won't even entertain surveys, or if they do, buyers need to do the survey at their own cost with no guarantee of anything prior to submitting their binding offer. Cash is king, and mortgaged buyers can often only compete by offering higher AND accepting the property in pretty much any condition with no contingencies.

I like NameUnavailable's suggestion.

There's lots of realities in other parts of the world that don't make sense. 

Houses in other parts of the world are actually falling down because of lack of checks.

MrsBrush

For what it is worth, there is far too much generalisation going on here! And that is not a nice thing.

Just because some FTBs are nervous nelly's doesn't mean they all are. Some will have had the sense to go with good quality solicitors, pay the higher costs, and get the best possible advice - I suspect the nervous ones are where they don't have that support or reassurance, and that wont be limited to the first time buyer!

Same applies to experienced hands - for many reasons. What isn't important to a buyer who can get hands on and sort issues out will be hugely important to another buyer who needs a trades person to lift the toilet seat! It also depends on life stages as well. An elderly buyer who is downsizing may want something trouble free, but the same applies to a busy professional who doesn't have time to get work done.

We had one couple come to look at ours, for a second time. they spent an hour of our precious Sunday deciding where their piano and sewing machine was going, which bedroom was going to be for the grand kids, only to decide on the Monday that they "didn't think the conservatory would be so bright".....  so the glass roof didn't give them any indication at all? I was not prepared to install blinds for them; and they walked away.

People are just unpredictable, sometimes nervous, and sometimes the gut feel just isn't there. My dad gave me a bit of advice once - if in doubt, don't do it. He is right, and I suspect that unknowingly many people who decide to not proceed are unwittingly following that advice - basically doing the right thing for their circumstances.

MaryNB

LAD917 said:

lookstraightahead said:

NameUnavailable said:

Go with the FTB but say you want a £5K deposit which will be set against the price if they proceed, but won't be refundable if they pulll out for any reason.

And really prey on the naive first time buyer? Lovely! What if the survey comes back saying the house is falling down? 

This is the reality in many parts of the world if the real estate market is hot.  You submit a binding, no-contingency offer with a deposit that you lose if you later change your mind, or even if you can't get a mortgage. Vendors won't even entertain surveys, or if they do, buyers need to do the survey at their own cost with no guarantee of anything prior to submitting their binding offer. Cash is king, and mortgaged buyers can often only compete by offering higher AND accepting the property in pretty much any condition with no contingencies.

I like NameUnavailable's suggestion.

I think it's a terrible idea unless the survey is provided up front. While FTBs have a reputation for being skittish, it stupid to commit to a six figure purchase without doing some due diligence. Even risking a four figure cash deposit is significant. If an FTB said "I bought a house suffering from subsidence but didnt know when I bought it because I didn't get a surveyor to look at it" they'd be a lot worse than a FTB saying "can I get £100 off because I don't like that the bedroom is painted orange?".