Previous owner asking to buy back property!

GrumpyDil

I do have a certain sympathy because we regret selling our old house but it is what it is and certainly we would not have gone back like that, offering less than we sold for! 

JuanBallOfWimbledon

julicorn said:

Flugelhorn said:

I think a letter like above is fine - can add that "should we consider moving in the future, we could contact you to prior to it going on the open market to see if you are interested in buying " 

I'd personally leave out the "prior to it going on the open market" bit. If they're delusional enough to think that the house is suddenly worth £10k less just because they've changed their mind, I'd definitely want to see what another buyer would pay for it before striking up some deal with these people.

I think you're being so polite even in the way you're posting about this here, OP - I'd be quite annoyed / genuinely a little offended if someone tried to pull something like this even with a second hand armchair I'd bought, let alone a house. It's ridiculous. 

It just feels surreal, I think. It’s been a chain of silly things that we didn’t even consider would happen, but each thing has become more and more ridiculous. Their stuff being here has annoyed me more than anything, but I’ve wondered on and off if I’m being irrational and impatient. I feel quite relieved seeing the replies here. 

They seem like a lovely couple, just maybe a little scatty? They’ve moved from a normal street in a small town to the countryside where they have no close neighbours. It’s a big change and I do sympathise, but I just want to settle into our first owned home and concentrate on all that comes with that. It’s difficult with all these things cropping up. 

Emmia

Given the sister lives next door, the previous owners will return to your location, and they may try re-making the offer in person. 

Could you change something about the outward appearance of the house, to show it is no longer their home, but yours e.g. different planting, replacing or repainting the front door / garage door?

Soot2006

Could you change something about the outward appearance of the house, to show it is no longer their home, but yours e.g. different planting, replacing or repainting the front door / garage door?

I was going to suggest this. The previous owner of our house kept doing drivebys and while that is mostly harmless, I did feel sorry for them and my neighbour pointed out the drivebys only stopped after we'd redone the driveway/paths, painted the garden walls/added picket fence and a garden gate, changed the front garden layout, got a new front door ...  Apparently, in our old owner's case, the neighbour tells me they were reassured we also loved the house and then I guess they stopped including the driveby in their routine. I think it can be hard to move on sometimes. I feel no attachment to my old house, and yet when an unexpected road diversion forced me to drive past it, I got really annoyed they hadn't properly cared for "my" trees in the front garden.

JuanBallOfWimbledon

Emmia said:

Given the sister lives next door, the previous owners will return to your location, and they may try re-making the offer in person. 

Could you change something about the outward appearance of the house, to show it is no longer their home, but yours e.g. different planting, replacing or repainting the front door / garage door?

We’ve got a fair bit of work planned, starting with new windows and doors, which are being done next month. I hadn’t thought of it this way!

Ath_Wat

JuanBallOfWimbledon said:

After pretty much 2 years of searching & multiple purchases falling through, we finally completed on our first house on 27/04/22. Since then things have been frustrating.

We’ve had a several odd things happen, which I won’t get into to save an essay, but now we’ve received a really weird request… They regret selling. Would we consider allowing them to buy back the house? His wife was born in the house & lived there all her life. They raised their kids here, her sister lives next door etc. They offered £5k less than we bought it for 9 days ago, because ‘it’s clear prices will fall given the economy and we have to consider our fees’. We actually got a ridiculously good deal on it, paying a fair bit under market value. We really don’t want to sell, but we have to live next door to this woman’s sister. 

Is it just me, or is this madness? How do we say no nicely, and avoid upset with our new neighbours? 

"Hello.  We wondered if you would consider doing us a huge favour that will result in a massive financial cost and waste of time for you.  We are not prepared to offer you anything as an incentive; in fact, we are going to make you an insulting offer that shows we think you are idiots and we are going to do our best to cheat you every step of the way.  Let us know what you think."

Abbafan1972

Oh no, so sorry you're having to go through all this when you've just moved in!

A bit of a cheek of them to leave all those things behind as well.  

I have read quite a few threads regarding previous vendors "hanging around", the one that sticks in my mind about the young couple that had just moved into their first home and the man who lived there before refused to redirect his post and kept texting to collect it and turning up. The mind boggles.  The sound an oddball couple.

Good that you've changed the locks though. 

GDB2222

I don’t know whether this is tactful, but I would be inclined to be effusive about how grateful you are to have at last found such a wonderful home. You understand why they have such fond memories, as it’s so lovely,  and unfortunately you could not bear to leave. 

Norman_Castle

JuanBallOfWimbledon said:

After pretty much 2 years of searching & multiple purchases falling through, we finally completed on our first house on 27/04/22. Since then things have been frustrating.

We’ve had a several odd things happen, which I won’t get into to save an essay, but now we’ve received a really weird request… They regret selling. Would we consider allowing them to buy back the house? His wife was born in the house & lived there all her life. They raised their kids here, her sister lives next door etc. They offered £5k less than we bought it for 9 days ago, because ‘it’s clear prices will fall given the economy and we have to consider our fees’. We actually got a ridiculously good deal on it, paying a fair bit under market value. We really don’t want to sell, but we have to live next door to this woman’s sister. 

Is it just me, or is this madness? How do we say no nicely, and avoid upset with our new neighbours? 

If you had changed your mind and asked them to buy it back offering 5k under would be understandable but expecting you to leave and take a loss is bonkers. The sister also has to live next door to you, are the family known for being unpleasant? Its not your fault they regret moving. Friends parents moved away from the family home then returned to a house on the same street a few years later, thats the option your seller has. Don't take responsibility for their choices.

TheJP

JuanBallOfWimbledon said:

After pretty much 2 years of searching & multiple purchases falling through, we finally completed on our first house on 27/04/22. Since then things have been frustrating.

We’ve had a several odd things happen, which I won’t get into to save an essay, but now we’ve received a really weird request… They regret selling. Would we consider allowing them to buy back the house? His wife was born in the house & lived there all her life. They raised their kids here, her sister lives next door etc. They offered £5k less than we bought it for 9 days ago, because ‘it’s clear prices will fall given the economy and we have to consider our fees’. We actually got a ridiculously good deal on it, paying a fair bit under market value. We really don’t want to sell, but we have to live next door to this woman’s sister. 

Is it just me, or is this madness? How do we say no nicely, and avoid upset with our new neighbours? 

you say - NO thanks.