Should I increase the price of my property...

babyblade41

I doubt the outside items are worth 50k !!

They maybe , depending on what they are , worth very little 2nd hand .

I know I would pull the plug on the deal . Buying property is a business transaction , I should know I've done it well over  30 times professionally & I'm on my 18th private move now ..but  I expect fair play in any business I do  & if someone pulled this stunt on me my view would be to stick your house where the sun don't shine .

As you say it's a business transaction so easy to pull out & offer elsewhere , win , win in this case . Buyer gets to do a deal with someone who is scrupulous & maybe get a better house , then seller can go off & find a buyer who will pay what he's asking..... or maybe not .

If you want the poker analogy then the seller will have to learn the art of gambling with high stakes ..he could get it wrong & this time next year he/she is still trying to pull the same stunt with buyer number 4 .. outside kitchen will be worthless & house prices may have dropped ...is he brave enough to take the gamble ??

TonyTeacake

If the market price would have dropped by 50k would you be asking your buyer to give you 50k less?

simon_or

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't blame the OP for thinking this way. This is a function of the way the English house buying system is set up. An 'offer' or its 'acceptance' has no meaning at all. Anyone can become an EA and spout any nonsense re valuations that they wish.

The way things work, the housing market is a dog eat dog environment and not a world of unicorns and rainbows where people are willing to gift tens of thousands of pounds (whether perceived or real) to a stranger without being legally bound to do so. Blame the system and property culture we have in England, it's human nature for people to adapt their behaviour to it.

Ramouth

[Deleted User] said:

Gycraig said:

This is mental, so you chose a buyer because they where willing to work to your time scale, now following YOUR time scale prices have gone up and you want to increase your price ?. 

Frankly I think I’d get quite abusive if you did that to me. They have paid a fair price for when you sold it and now the whole market has moved, talk about having both bites of the cherry. 

“I have got a long time scale for my next house so do you mind agreeing to purchase it now and then in 6 months when I’m ready to move if prices have increased I’ll try to charge you market price when all your alternatives have gone up as well” not sure many would have agreed to an honest discussion about your plans. 

Disagree. Buyer has made a last minute attempt to get items for free causing everyone to review their interests. No mention of this until the last minute, the buyer had 6 months if they wanted other items. Only  they dont reakise that they are grossly mistaken as to their negotiating power. Vendor is adaptable and willing to pull the plug rather than bending over. Prices have gone up and if it was me, my willingness to stick to the previously agreed deal would quickly evaporate with the buyers trying to change it themselves. With the buyers being yhe ones starting to mess about, I find criticsm of OP to be a strange take. 

Poker analogy. Check your hand, keep the pot small. Raise and prepare to be re-raised.

You make a good point about it being the buyer who has started this.  And I meant no criticism of the OP.  But I still wouldn’t risk it.  But then I would be a truly awful poker player!  

It is reassuring to know that the house might sell for more if the OP looses their buyer after a falling out about the extra items but there are no guarantees.  For many of us selling and buying incredibly stressful so we paid over the odds to get it over and done with.  I can see that this isn’t the case for everyone however.

lookstraightahead

All this assumption that the house is with extra is just nonsense. It's not that there's another offer on the table.

although who really wants a second hand fridge and bbq - if I were the op I'd be happy to give such heavy awkward items away. They're probably worth about 50 quid secondhand with nothing more to be made on the house.

MobileSaver

Gycraig said:

Frankly I think I’d get quite abusive if you did that to me. They have paid a fair price for when you sold it and now the whole market has moved, talk about having both bites of the cherry.

Er, are you sure you have read the thread properly?

The buyer agreed a price six months and agreed to wait. It is the buyer who has now ripped up that agreement and is demanding a better deal.

meeemee said:

if you do decide to remarket I hope you offer to pay any wasted fees the poor buyers have incurred as an apology for wasting their time

Why should the OP apologise and pay their fees when it is the buyer who has pulled out of the original deal?!?!

Some of the responses here are quite incredible and it's pretty obvious the "house prices should be lower" brigade are out in force today...

The buyers chanced their arm and it's backfired spectacularly. The buyers have reneged on their agreement and the OP has every right both legally and morally to put the house back on the market at whatever price they see fit; I know that's exactly what I would do if my buyers pulled a stunt like that.

The alternative view is that put forward by @lookstraightahead which had occurred to me too. Everyone knows prices have risen since last year so it seems odd the buyers are essentially trying to lower the price and I do wonder if this is just an excuse to pull out without embarrassment. In which case the right thing to do is still to put the house straight back on the market.

JReacher1

Would be crazy to just throw £50k to £75k away. The buyers are being difficult so pull out of the deal and put it back on the market. 

It’s a financial transaction so no emotion should be involved. The property is now worth more than it was seven months ago. For all you know the buyer could be planned on flipping it and selling it on straight away to make £50k 

trix-a-belle

I agree you are totally right & within your rights to tell the buyers that no they can't suddenly have the items for free, those are pretty significant things, you need/want them going forward in your next property. & out of order for them to suddenly turn around and want them now after so long.
(I note you mentioned land so if they are going into storage while something is built consider if it might be detrimental to them being sat around - i'm mainly thinking about the fridge/freezer here)

Run the scenario;
You say no you can't have them & by the way I want the new valuation, they pull out & you lose your onward purchase because of it, if it takes you another 6 months to find somewhere new to buy and get to the same point in the process & prices have risen again, would you do it again? potentially you would never move if you always wanted the higher price.

Yes its a good chunk of money but as has been said they agreed to your extended timescale & you knew there was the risk that prices would go up in that time.
It may be a business decision but you are moving for a reason so weigh up the wants & needs; hassle, money, reasons for moving.

My neighbour recently pulled out of a purchase at the point they were ready to start talking exchange & completion dates due to the seller suddenly wanting an extra £15k which she couldn't pull together from her savings or buyer, she could potentially have resold for more as her sale had been agreed before christmas (the EA was on the phone the next day trying to get her to relist & still hasn't picked up their sign) but the hassle for her wasn't worth it

GDB2222

simon_or said:

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't blame the OP for thinking this way. This is a function of the way the English house buying system is set up. An 'offer' or its 'acceptance' has no meaning at all. Anyone can become an EA and spout any nonsense re valuations that they wish.

The way things work, the housing market is a dog eat dog environment and not a world of unicorns and rainbows where people are willing to gift tens of thousands of pounds (whether perceived or real) to a stranger without being legally bound to do so. Blame the system and property culture we have in England, it's human nature for people to adapt their behaviour to it.

I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k? 

babyblade41

GDB2222 said:

simon_or said:

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't blame the OP for thinking this way. This is a function of the way the English house buying system is set up. An 'offer' or its 'acceptance' has no meaning at all. Anyone can become an EA and spout any nonsense re valuations that they wish.

The way things work, the housing market is a dog eat dog environment and not a world of unicorns and rainbows where people are willing to gift tens of thousands of pounds (whether perceived or real) to a stranger without being legally bound to do so. Blame the system and property culture we have in England, it's human nature for people to adapt their behaviour to it.

I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k? 

It's not definite though is it, it's a maybe .  Has the OP's house gone up that much in this time ?  who knows.

What if they lose their buyer & onward purchase & then repeat the whole scenario again as the buying & selling process especially in a chain can easily take 4 months .

From the iso day after offering the value will normally go up, but then the onward purchase will rise as well. 

What if their onward purchase goes on a while & they do the same .

I feel it's a lot of risk on a maybe , possibly , might, could sort of situation