Buyer wants to reduce offer after I've signed and sent contract

arthurdick

Morning OP,  we are half expecting our buyers to do the same within a week or two, they have  had 3 or 4 people come round so far since  early June, now they are saying they want to send their builder round.  Since we  have  put our house up for sale, a  lot has  happened and my mum passed away last month, so I am now looking forward to them putting in a  low offer, so i can finally use the well known "refer them to the Arkell case". 

Good luck and enjoy being in control.

m4ry444

arthurdick said:

Morning OP,  we are half expecting our buyers to do the same within a week or two, they have  had 3 or 4 people come round so far since  early June, now they are saying they want to send their builder round.  Since we  have  put our house up for sale, a  lot has  happened and my mum passed away last month, so I am now looking forward to them putting in a  low offer, so i can finally use the well known "refer them to the Arkell case". 

Good luck and enjoy being in control.

We've had 10 round which just seems ludicrous. So I'd like to say they've already sank a bit of money in already

prowla

m4ry444 said:

Hello

I've been waiting for my buyer to gazunder me for several weeks now after being suspicious of the amount of surveys/tradesmen she's had round since May and the were our highest of many offers.

They messaged me Friday saying she was going to be contacting my estate agent and putting in a reduced offer, but I've already signed and emailed/posted my contract to my solicitor earlier this week.

Does this have any legal implications yet if they're going to ask for money off? I'm guessing they won't have signed their contract yet if planning on asking for a reduction.

Thank you!

If you say no, they will have to take into account the money they've already put into the purchase.

[Deleted User]

Woolsery said:

m4ry444 said:

Hello

I've been waiting for my buyer to gazunder me for several weeks now after being suspicious of the amount of surveys/tradesmen she's had round since May.

Does this have any legal implications yet if they're going to ask for money off?

Three observations:

You've had since April to find out when an offer becomes binding. It's not MSE to go into the most major transaction you're likely to undertake without understanding the legal process.

While you've not been doing the legal homework, your buyer has tried to form a picture of  financial repercussions if they purchase. Every house has faults, so it's a judgement call whether you've priced-in anything of real concern in your asking price. FTBs may be unrealistic in their


 expectations, but sellers best counter that and push back most effectively by knowing their local market and sold prices. Hopefully you've researched that.

The market is reacting to recent interest rate hikes and the dire predictions regarding fuel prices. Concerns which weren't there in May are everywhere now. Before you reject a revised offer, talk with your agent about the realistic prospects of doing better.

What chance the agent is going to suggest remarketing when proceeding will presumably get them their fee?

I think the step before this is to reject the revised offer and set a dealine of 48 hours for FTB to recommit or vendor will remarket. FTB has paid for all the surveys so there is a chance they might continue. 

Woolsery

m4ry444 said:

arthurdick said:

Morning OP,  we are half expecting our buyers to do the same within a week or two, they have  had 3 or 4 people come round so far since  early June, now they are saying they want to send their builder round.  Since we  have  put our house up for sale, a  lot has  happened and my mum passed away last month, so I am now looking forward to them putting in a  low offer, so i can finally use the well known "refer them to the Arkell case". 

Good luck and enjoy being in control.

We've had 10 round which just seems ludicrous. So I'd like to say they've already sank a bit of money in already

It is ludicrous. A survey, EICR and maybe a visit from one specialist should be enough, unless there's a large problem of some kind. The buyer would pay for the first two, so that's fine, but were the others also paid for, or maybe tradesperson friends and friends of friends?

Again, it's down to knowing what's reasonable and what's simply taking the urea.

Woolsery

[Deleted User] said:

Woolsery said:

m4ry444 said:

Hello

I've been waiting for my buyer to gazunder me for several weeks now after being suspicious of the amount of surveys/tradesmen she's had round since May.

Does this have any legal implications yet if they're going to ask for money off?

Three observations:

You've had since April to find out when an offer becomes binding. It's not MSE to go into the most major transaction you're likely to undertake without understanding the legal process.

While you've not been doing the legal homework, your buyer has tried to form a picture of  financial repercussions if they purchase. Every house has faults, so it's a judgement call whether you've priced-in anything of real concern in your asking price. FTBs may be unrealistic in their


 expectations, but sellers best counter that and push back most effectively by knowing their local market and sold prices. Hopefully you've researched that.

The market is reacting to recent interest rate hikes and the dire predictions regarding fuel prices. Concerns which weren't there in May are everywhere now. Before you reject a revised offer, talk with your agent about the realistic prospects of doing better.

What chance the agent is going to suggest remarketing when proceeding will presumably get them their fee?

I think the step before this is to reject the revised offer and set a dealine of 48 hours for FTB to recommit or vendor will remarket. FTB has paid for all the surveys so there is a chance they might continue. 

You're right, the agent works for themselves first, then the client, but the agent is the only person who knows the current state of play in the market. All sold data is at least 3 months out of date.

We don't know exactly what was paid for in terms of surveys and what was Uncle Bob giving the roof the once over to see if he can find some leverage!

m4ry444

They were all local business that came round so I'm assuming they've had to pay for at least some of the extras 

macman

Just. Say. No.
They are as committed as you are, more so if they've paid out for pointless surveys. Call their bluff.

thegreenone

Do everything through your EA and solicitor.  No more contact with the buyer. 

10 people round is ridiculous.  

Voyager2002

Did all these inspections of your house uncover any problems? Do the buyers have anything like a good reason to reduce their offer? (Something like, we budgeted X for our new home and now find we need to spend y dealing with carpets that are a fire risk, so can only pay X-y.)

Personally, I bought my first house at a time when prices were falling. So (i) when the survey revealed some expensive problems I obtained a corresponding reduction; (ii) the mortgage lender took a long time to decide, at a time when prices all around were going down. So once I finally had a mortgage offer I sought advice as to whether the agreed price was still a reasonable valuation, and since it was I proceeded to buy without further discussion.

In sum: if a surveyor/valuer has told your vendors the price they agreed earlier in the year is now too high then there is scope for renegotiation, taking full account of the advice they have received. Otherwise, anyone who breaks their promise at this stage is unreliable, and you would do better to find another buyer.