Advice needed on a FTB purchase on the verge of falling through.

breaking_free

My 2 cents: the listing will now be tucked away on Rightmove as "under offer", but with the listing showing the original date it first appeared right?

If so, then when you tell this cheeky vendor, "Our offer is now minus X. We'll leave it on the table while we look elsewhere", the original listing will pop back up on Rightmove BUT it will now show the property as having been languishing unsold for almost a year. People who look at it will wonder what's wrong with the place and be asking awkward questions like, "Why did the sale fall through? Why has the price suddenly increased when it has been sitting unsold for a year?" You might find that after a while the vendor sees sense and comes back to you. 

MajimaGoro

Thank you guys for all the advice. We decided to make clear that we would not be negotiating any further and left £425k on the table, given the issues have already faced, and losing out on stamp duty holiday as well as the increased mortgage costs. The seller came back to the EA's within about 10 minutes of their call with us and decided he was not going to accept that, and has decided to relist the property on the market for his asking price of £475k. We were disheartened over the past few days with how things turned out, and even now to some extent, but I think we feel better knowing that we are not giving our money to a scummy individual, and we pray we find a home for us. Thank you all again.

Snookie12cat

MajimaGoro said:

Thank you guys for all the advice. We decided to make clear that we would not be negotiating any further and left £425k on the table, given the issues have already faced, and losing out on stamp duty holiday as well as the increased mortgage costs. The seller came back to the EA's within about 10 minutes of their call with us and decided he was not going to accept that, and has decided to relist the property on the market for his asking price of £475k. We were disheartened over the past few days with how things turned out, and even now to some extent, but I think we feel better knowing that we are not giving our money to a scummy individual, and we pray we find a home for us. Thank you all again.

So sorry to hear that - some people in this world are scum. I do hope that he does not sell it at that price.
Ensure you tell the agent about the problem with the land if they do not know already because once they know, they have a legal responsibility to disclose it. You will be surprised how many buyers wont go anywhere near it when they find out. 

MajimaGoro

Snookie12cat said:

MajimaGoro said:

Thank you guys for all the advice. We decided to make clear that we would not be negotiating any further and left £425k on the table, given the issues have already faced, and losing out on stamp duty holiday as well as the increased mortgage costs. The seller came back to the EA's within about 10 minutes of their call with us and decided he was not going to accept that, and has decided to relist the property on the market for his asking price of £475k. We were disheartened over the past few days with how things turned out, and even now to some extent, but I think we feel better knowing that we are not giving our money to a scummy individual, and we pray we find a home for us. Thank you all again.

So sorry to hear that - some people in this world are scum. I do hope that he does not sell it at that price.
Ensure you tell the agent about the problem with the land if they do not know already because once they know, they have a legal responsibility to disclose it. You will be surprised how many buyers wont go anywhere near it when they find out. 

Thank you, and they seem to be fully aware of the issue as I have made them aware throughout over the past year and a half, and the solicitor had included them in the email which outlined the council would be unwilling to sell the land etc. We have already seen the property listing go back up, however its the exact same listing we saw when we first got interested in the property. The pictures and the drescription are unchanged, so we did wonder whether they are allowed to just not mention anything in the listing. As I feel they are now misleading other people.

Snookie12cat

MajimaGoro said:

Thank you, and they seem to be fully aware of the issue as I have made them aware throughout over the past year and a half, and the solicitor had included them in the email which outlined the council would be unwilling to sell the land etc. We have already seen the property listing go back up, however its the exact same listing we saw when we first got interested in the property. The pictures and the drescription are unchanged, so we did wonder whether they are allowed to just not mention anything in the listing. As I feel they are now misleading other people.

The agents are not allowed to lie or mislead so they should tell people at the viewings and I hope they do. Otherwise some other poor sod will be going through what you did.

SusieT

I really hope you are able to find another, better property, and that the sellers are honest next time. 
I would make sure that the estate agents are aware (in writing) that the garden is not entirely owned by the vendor, and that they should be making any viewers aware of that. If the vendors change agents, I would make sure that they know as well so that no other person has to go through what you have. I know that may not sound like a nice thing to do, but i would not want anyone else to spend money on legals or survey on a house that is not as described

Rumana03

MajimaGoro said:

Thank you guys for all the advice. We decided to make clear that we would not be negotiating any further and left £425k on the table, given the issues have already faced, and losing out on stamp duty holiday as well as the increased mortgage costs. The seller came back to the EA's within about 10 minutes of their call with us and decided he was not going to accept that, and has decided to relist the property on the market for his asking price of £475k. We were disheartened over the past few days with how things turned out, and even now to some extent, but I think we feel better knowing that we are not giving our money to a scummy individual, and we pray we find a home for us. Thank you all again.

I really hope you guys find a better house soon. You did the right thing..this person would have just wasted even more of your time.
The market is starting to cool down at the moment & there isn't crazy bidding wars happening. I know obviously the prices must be higher than when you were originally looking but what can you do...fingers crossed you find your dream home!

Sarah1Mitty2

MajimaGoro said:

DairyQueen said:

As a veteran property owner (40+ years and dozen+ house moves)  I can comfortably state that seller is taking the mickey big time.

I suggest that you emotionally let go of a property that you should have given up as soon as the solicitor screwed-up. The direction of travel on interest has been clear since last autumn and your priority should have been to complete a purchase asap to secure a decent mortgage rate.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The seller deserves a sharp shock. Time for a counter-offer to their obscene £475k suggestion....something like this:

Given that you are facing a much higher mortgage rate, have missed the stamp duty window, have been deliberately misled over the property boundary, have been mucked about for over a year, and that the market has now moved against vendors....you are prepared to proceed on the basis of £400k, and only if vendor will reinstate the property boundary and exchange within 'x' weeks.

Any vendor this greedy and exploitative is likely to say 'no' but it may startle them into a reality check. At the least they may choke on their morning cuppa. Regardless, you will have the satisfaction of taking control and exiting the transaction on your terms.

You have been very unlucky so wishing you well in finding your first home.

I did also strongly feel like doing what you have just suggested, in terms of lowering our original offer. I feel like I would totally have to write the chances of the purchase off if I go down this route. I am sure it would be a rude awakening. The other part of me thinks of getting a price we agree on and then just stringing him along for another month or two and then pulling out on exchange day, very petty, but I guess it would be on his level.

What did the valuation say the house was worth with the smaller garden space?

MajimaGoro

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

MajimaGoro said:

DairyQueen said:

As a veteran property owner (40+ years and dozen+ house moves)  I can comfortably state that seller is taking the mickey big time.

I suggest that you emotionally let go of a property that you should have given up as soon as the solicitor screwed-up. The direction of travel on interest has been clear since last autumn and your priority should have been to complete a purchase asap to secure a decent mortgage rate.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The seller deserves a sharp shock. Time for a counter-offer to their obscene £475k suggestion....something like this:

Given that you are facing a much higher mortgage rate, have missed the stamp duty window, have been deliberately misled over the property boundary, have been mucked about for over a year, and that the market has now moved against vendors....you are prepared to proceed on the basis of £400k, and only if vendor will reinstate the property boundary and exchange within 'x' weeks.

Any vendor this greedy and exploitative is likely to say 'no' but it may startle them into a reality check. At the least they may choke on their morning cuppa. Regardless, you will have the satisfaction of taking control and exiting the transaction on your terms.

You have been very unlucky so wishing you well in finding your first home.

I did also strongly feel like doing what you have just suggested, in terms of lowering our original offer. I feel like I would totally have to write the chances of the purchase off if I go down this route. I am sure it would be a rude awakening. The other part of me thinks of getting a price we agree on and then just stringing him along for another month or two and then pulling out on exchange day, very petty, but I guess it would be on his level.

What did the valuation say the house was worth with the smaller garden space?

Unfortunately we never reached that stage, as once we learnt about the situation, my solicitor said we would need to report this to the bank, where a valusation would likely take place again. Of course, before then, the seller asks for an additional outragous sum.

saajan_12

Objectively, if you saw a house with the smaller garden actually on the deeds, would you place an offer? That's what you need to focus on, and look elsewhere if not. Unfortunately all offers and acceptances are just provisional hand shake agreeements, no expectation people will stick to them in moving markets.