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Should I increase the price of my property...
Comments
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Every house rises in value from the day the offer is accepted, it should be enough to get everyone motivated.
I'm 5 months in the process & so close to exchange I wouldn't say "OK now I want 50k more " Sometimes there are more important things in life & money should never be right at the top, all of the time
OP move on , take your garden bits & bobs if they mean that much to you & get on with your life.
I'd hate to see you post next year still in the same boat2 -
Sunsaru said:
People seem to be jumping to the conclusion that the buyer(s) are being a-holes when it could have been a cheeky "you don't get if you don't ask".MobileSaver said:Sunsaru said:So put quite simply this is a choice between money or honour...For the buyer, yes it was and they chose money rather than honouring the original deal.As the buyer has backed out of the agreed deal, the OP can now they can make a decision based purely on what's best for themselves with no qualms about the buyer.I agree that no-one here has any idea why the buyer decided to do what they did but that doesn't change the fact that it was the buyers who waited until they were almost at completion and then decided to renege on the agreed deal; whether they're a-holes or just half-witted is irrelevant, they're the ones who created the situation the OP now finds themselves in.That some people here want to rewrite the story to suit their own agenda is both sad and amusing; how you demand something by asking for it but making it clear you'll carry on even if you can't have it is a new one on me but each to their own.
Initially I thought this was just the HPC crowd's take on the topic but I'm thinking now that some people are just jealous that it's quite likely the OP could make an extra £30k or more on their sale. I don't believe anyone here would turn down the opportunity to make that much extra once the buyers decided the original deal was no longer good enough for them.If I was the OP I'd be re-marketing my property the second the buyers decided they no longer wanted to honour the original agreed deal. As already suggested by myself and @lookstraightahead there's actually a good chance this is what the buyers are hoping for anyway so a win-win for everyone.Every generation blames the one before...
Mike + The Mechanics - The Living Years2 -
Op what's your main objective because it could go either way. What would you rather 'lose'? You've been moving for a long time now, I personally couldn't wait that long as a buyer or a seller. If you think houses have increased by that much, if you'd moved months ago you'd have made the money on the new house. What if your vendors get the same idea as you and increase the price of their house?
What you want here is more for your present house, but to pay the same for your purchase. Not sure that's how it will pan out. If you think your buyers are playing games, telling them you're going to re market might not bother them at all.0 -
Not if the seller is the reason it has taken 10 months. Jack Reacher would do the right thing, you not so much...JReacher1 said:
Yes I remember this thread and thought at the time that the seller was right to increase the price. It’s ridiculous to think you can buy a house at a price agreed ten months ago.tooldle said:
Not sold, but has been under offer since October ‘21. There was a similar thread not so long ago, where a vendor having been under offer for months decided to ask the ‘buyer’ for a significant chunk of extra money citing the rising market. The vendor in that case, just like this case, was the cause of the delay. Initially the buyer accepting the increased cost. Several days later they thought better of it and pulled out. IIRC the buyer updated some time later to say the property was still on the market at its ‘new’ price, without interest. Here is the link in case the OP is interested. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333463/seller-increases-asking-price-after-10-months-when-they-have-caused-the-delay-in-exchange/p1JReacher1 said:
They sold it in three days. Very hard to see why they would struggle to sell it a second time.lookstraightahead said:
What £50k? They could end up losing their onward property and not getting the £50k. Or not even selling. But they will get to keep their BBQ I suppose.GDB2222 said:
I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k?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.0 -
No I’m not but in the example shared it was 10 months so I think in that scenario there is a good argument that the price should be renegotiated. In addition if the housing market crashed in this period I think the vast majority of buyers would ask to renegotiate the price. There isn’t really a difference.nicknameless said:
What a load of rubbish. Seems you're advocating for my tongue in cheek suggestion of paying market value at point of completion then? Loads of transactions take that long.JReacher1 said:
Yes I remember this thread and thought at the time that the seller was right to increase the price. It’s ridiculous to think you can buy a house at a price agreed ten months ago.tooldle said:
Not sold, but has been under offer since October ‘21. There was a similar thread not so long ago, where a vendor having been under offer for months decided to ask the ‘buyer’ for a significant chunk of extra money citing the rising market. The vendor in that case, just like this case, was the cause of the delay. Initially the buyer accepting the increased cost. Several days later they thought better of it and pulled out. IIRC the buyer updated some time later to say the property was still on the market at its ‘new’ price, without interest. Here is the link in case the OP is interested. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333463/seller-increases-asking-price-after-10-months-when-they-have-caused-the-delay-in-exchange/p1JReacher1 said:
They sold it in three days. Very hard to see why they would struggle to sell it a second time.lookstraightahead said:
What £50k? They could end up losing their onward property and not getting the £50k. Or not even selling. But they will get to keep their BBQ I suppose.GDB2222 said:
I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k?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.0 -
It’s very weird how many people seem to treat buying and selling a house as some sort of honourable transaction which is a test of someone’s moral fibre. There should be no emotion involved at all in the transaction and it’s weird you seem to agree the OP should ignore a potential £75k increase in the value of their asset.TheJP said:
Not if the seller is the reason it has taken 10 months. Jack Reacher would do the right thing, you not so much...JReacher1 said:
Yes I remember this thread and thought at the time that the seller was right to increase the price. It’s ridiculous to think you can buy a house at a price agreed ten months ago.tooldle said:
Not sold, but has been under offer since October ‘21. There was a similar thread not so long ago, where a vendor having been under offer for months decided to ask the ‘buyer’ for a significant chunk of extra money citing the rising market. The vendor in that case, just like this case, was the cause of the delay. Initially the buyer accepting the increased cost. Several days later they thought better of it and pulled out. IIRC the buyer updated some time later to say the property was still on the market at its ‘new’ price, without interest. Here is the link in case the OP is interested. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333463/seller-increases-asking-price-after-10-months-when-they-have-caused-the-delay-in-exchange/p1JReacher1 said:
They sold it in three days. Very hard to see why they would struggle to sell it a second time.lookstraightahead said:
What £50k? They could end up losing their onward property and not getting the £50k. Or not even selling. But they will get to keep their BBQ I suppose.GDB2222 said:
I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k?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.1 -
Unless you have given away £50k, are you in a position to lecture us about what you think is the ‘right thing'?TheJP said:
Not if the seller is the reason it has taken 10 months. Jack Reacher would do the right thing, you not so much...JReacher1 said:
Yes I remember this thread and thought at the time that the seller was right to increase the price. It’s ridiculous to think you can buy a house at a price agreed ten months ago.tooldle said:
Not sold, but has been under offer since October ‘21. There was a similar thread not so long ago, where a vendor having been under offer for months decided to ask the ‘buyer’ for a significant chunk of extra money citing the rising market. The vendor in that case, just like this case, was the cause of the delay. Initially the buyer accepting the increased cost. Several days later they thought better of it and pulled out. IIRC the buyer updated some time later to say the property was still on the market at its ‘new’ price, without interest. Here is the link in case the OP is interested. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333463/seller-increases-asking-price-after-10-months-when-they-have-caused-the-delay-in-exchange/p1JReacher1 said:
They sold it in three days. Very hard to see why they would struggle to sell it a second time.lookstraightahead said:
What £50k? They could end up losing their onward property and not getting the £50k. Or not even selling. But they will get to keep their BBQ I suppose.GDB2222 said:
I totally agree. All the people here saying to 'do the honourable thing', would they do that if it were their £50k?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.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?2 -
A collective thanks for the replies and opinions everyone (not so much on a few frankly, offensive ones), it’s blown up far more than I expected.The reason I posted originally was because I was hoping for ‘objective' views as I was torn on ethics vs economic sense and like most of the more business minded views here, because of the amount of the new valuation, the economic side made way more sense.There have been a real mix and some people can clearly articulate exactly the views I was hoping for. Others are tbh, quite naive and can only see this as subjective without naming names. If you can put yourself in my shoes and say that you wouldn’t consider this in my situation you’re either crazy wealthy or just…crazy. But I guess I was a little naive to post this on an open forum and expect anything less.Just to clear up some inaccuracies mentioned by some members here:The house has been independently valued at £50k - £75k more. 50k being the minimum value. I live in a popular village where houses rarely come to market. Any that have sold, sell quickly and recent sales nearby are easily in-line with the new valuation. Fact. The question here isn’t 'is it actually worth £50k more?', it’s how much above £50k would it achieve? It would sell and it would sell quickly. This isn’t me bragging, it’s just the truth. I would rather not lose the sale and I rather not upset the applecart but if I was the buyer I’d be ringing my hands right now.The buyer has waiting but I definitely wouldn’t class it patiently. And without getting into detail, it also suited their situation to wait too. For the record, they waited 3 months for us to find a new property, we’re now three months into conveyance. They still haven’t completed some paperwork their end and now they have demanded additional items. Yes @bladebaby, ‘demanded' is the correct term, and fairly aggressively from what the EA reported. Which is why the situation has arisen. And yes, the items are substantial enough to care about, mean a lot to us and would cost a lot to replace. 2nd handhand or not, they’re valuable, high quality items that I would only consider selling at the price it would cost to replace, if at all. They were never part of the sale.If house prices had dropped in the same period by £50k+ I would expect and accept another negotiation because I’d know that if I had to go back on the market I’d have to drop the price anyway and it would remove any doubt of finding another buyer and also the inconvenience of going through conveyance again. This goes both ways. You can blame the English house buying system all you want but sorry people, this is how the world works. You pay what something is worth, if you get it for less, pat yourself on the back, you where either lucky or a great negotiator. Take your personal feelings away from the equation, it’s a transaction between two parties that (usually) do not know each other, let alone owe any favours to one another. I’m not angry that the buyer has reopened negotiations, it’s a open negotiation up until completion. I know this all too well.I don’t know the buyer, I’ve never met them, I wouldn’t even know if I passed them on the street so why on earth would I gift them £50k+? I wouldn't gift £50k+ to my closest friends. Fair enough, it’s not £50k+ until it has landed in my account but that’s a mute argument tbh, because if we went to market it would reach at least that amount. Sorry if you can’t accept that but unless there’s a market crash tomorrow, it’s fact.I genuinely think that my suggestion of offering the buyer a much lower increase was a fair compromise and probably the one I'll take. We would gain slightly more and they would still get the house, one that’s still worth far more that it’s market value. The question is whether the buyer would react like some of the posters on here and not see the bigger picture here. and b) can afford to raise.As @sunsaru mentioned, the buyer might just be trying their luck. But why isn’t it ok if it’s the other way around? If I was a buyer and someone said to me, look, the house has increased in value dramatically, we can’t let it go for the same price BUT we’re not going to charge anywhere near full true value. Once I’d gone for a looong walk, I’d see reason and go for it.The only valid counter arguments here, which are exactly my own concerns, are if the chain collapses. Our buyer drops out and my sellers aren’t willing to wait. My thoughts here are that, we can sell quicker than my sellers can re-market and get a new buyer, then they have to a new conveyance process. But I guess this is my risk to weigh up.I was looking for others' views on “If this was you and your buyer was asking for more near completion and you found out that your property was now worth £50k (minimum) as an consequence would you take the most economically sensical option of renegotiating and if that falls through, go to market? Or the ethical option and gift the owner a house worth a lot more than they paid? I wasn’t looking for views on ‘If you were the buyer and your seller increased the price of the house near negotiation would you tell them to swivel?’ 🙄.@baldebaby, thanks for your interesting views on this, I’ll take onboard your ‘business’ approach on this (and quickly forget it) but it would be best if you just let the grown ups discuss this one.I guess we've probably exhausted all views and everything single angle here so a big thank you to (mostly) everyone.
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Sounds like you and the buyer(s) deserve each other tbh.6
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I think it's when this has all come up in the process is the problem.
We only know a certain amount from one side. I doubt the OP would be very happy if the prices had dropped considerably & buyer said at the last minute they want a reduction.
If , maybe they had said after about 6 months that they want to go for a higher price whilst they were still looking, it would have given the buyer a choice to either stay in the game or look elsewhere.
That way the OP could have re-marketed at a higher price with the original buyer on the back burner but leaving them free to look elsewhere, then this would have been preferable to stringing them along for so long.
Personally I wouldn't have stayed on board for that long & considered the seller not committed enough to move .
OP just pull out of the deal if you honestly feel your house is worth up to another 75k , leave your buyers free to move on & find something within their price range as I imagine this would be outside their re-mit & get on with things
You never know you may have made the right choice... then again you could be wrong... better to regret the things you have done than to regret the things you haven't
Just play a little bit fairer instead of paying silly beggars1
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