Sale fallen through twice...do I renovate instead?

Itsalwayssunnysomewhere

Happy Christmas All!

I’ll try and be brief but there’s a lot of info!

I am an experienced property buyer and seller. Over the decades, I’ve bought, lived in and sold around nine properties, so I like to think I know my way around this kind of thing. But even I am so on the fence with the situation I’m in, and I genuinely don’t know which way to turn.

I lost my father earlier in the year, and currently his house is sold, subject to contract. The buyers have got it at a really good price because work is required to modernise it. None of it is structural, it’s all cosmetic like new bathroom/kitchen, flooring/carpets, total redecoration etc

Unfortunately, it’s been a really stressful time as the chain has fallen through twice, with it being the same property in the chain which lost its’ buyers (not my father’s one). This last time it fell through was just 10 days ago.

It was at this point, the estate agent was adamant, in that rather than everyone agreeing to keep the chain in place and wait for that house to be sold for a third time (which is what we all did the last two times), they said I should put the house back on the market in order to find a new chain, as this one clearly has serious issues with it ie THAT house!

They said that throughout this period, I’ve been fair and patient enough for this particular chain to eventually Complete. But, given where we are, they advised that, they too have now run out of patience, and I really should put the house back on the market.

I agreed, but just three days later, the agent informed me that the house has been re-sold for a third time. They have now completely changed their mind and are now saying to go with the chain again. This 180 degree about turn is clearly a financial one for them as they obviously, desperately want their commission!

They don’t realise how emotionally draining all this is, and I’m really fed up with it all now. So much so, over those three days I was seriously considering renovating it myself, as if I made the effort to do this, I could make a tidy profit from it. In fact, even as far back as when it first went on the market, I had those thoughts at the back of my mind - why don’t I just renovate it myself?  But, in the end, I took the easy route and decided to just sell it. But I was still thinking about it all the way through. Therefore, I now have the opportunity to do this very thing.

I’m thinking, it must be fate – chains break all the time, but how many times does it happen twice to the same chain, with a very good chance of it happening a third time?  Explanation below.

As the saying goes, things happen for a reason, and I’m convinced that fate is telling me that having two failed chains is my wake-up call, telling me this is not the right path to take going forward. It probably never was and it’s taken the loss of two sales to tell me not to go ahead and go through it all over again with no guarantee of it succeeding this time either. Isn’t it known that by continuing to do something repeatedly and expecting to get a different result is the definition of insanity? Selling this house, right at this moment, feels like we’re trying to push water uphill, and so no wonder it keeps on failing. It’s time to consider other options.

Fate has given me this opportunity (again) and this time, I should positively use it to ditch and switch and go ahead with MY idea. If I do this, no-one can pull out and disappoint me anymore.

However, at the same time, I now have a chain which is back on, and would I be silly to ignore this and forego my selfish aspirations?

The concern I have is that these new buyers are first time buyers. From my own experience, FTB’s are incredibly fickle. One minute they love the place and have agreed a price to buy, the next minute, they pull out for a ridiculous reason.

The agent selling the property has apparently told the agent I'm using, that they are very confident that this time, they can see this one definitely going all the way to completion. Of course, they would say that though, wouldn’t they?!! Didn't they think that about about the previous two sets of buyers then? 

I cannot believe that in the space of three days, the agents had lost a sale, put the property back on the market, took an enquiry, did a viewing and received and accepted an offer - so close to xmas, just at the time when the market is really quiet?  That sounds incredibly quick to me. These FTB's haven't had any time to breath, let alone think about this major decision they're making.

Apparently, these FTB's ARE aware of the windows which need replacing, (according to the 2nd set of buyers survey), and which apparently will cost £10k. This second set of buyers pulled out because the vendors wouldn't reduce/budge on the price because of this. So, there are now FTB buying a property which needs a min. £10k spent on it and apparently, they've agreed to buy this property at a non-discounted price?? Pull the other one! I am so not convinced by this - I wasn't born yesterday. Are the agents telling fibs and that actually, they haven't told the FTB's about the windows?And, as they're FTB's, one would think their parents would eventually give them the benefit of their advice as well. I really can't see these buyers lasting more than 2-3 weeks, let alone through to Completion. They'll have had time to think about things over xmas, plus, early January there is always an influx of new properties going on the market. It all sounds very precarious to me.

Some of you might advise me to continue to go with the chain anyway and see if it really does Complete this time and if it doesn’t, then I could still go through with my renovation plan.

There are two problems with that;

1) who’s to say exactly the same thing could happen again, and then when do you stop when each time, that property's agent keeps telling everyone this one is definitely definite!  

2) My agent is concerned about the increase in Stamp Duty coming on April 6th.  These first time buyers are effectively the one last chance for the chain to Complete prior to this deadline.

Experts are predicting that the changes in Stamp Duty will cause house prices to dip, and this could mean that if things do drag on past April 6th, I would have to sell the property for even less, as buyers will want to recoup the higher SD they’d be paying, by way of getting vendors to lower their asking price to get the sale.

This higher SD works out to be around an extra £2.5k. If I renovated the property myself, and there is a decent profit in it, I could offer a contribution to this in order to attract buyers after this deadline. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a negative effect on the house price.

If I don’t renovate, I wouldn’t have any leverage apart from the price, and the buyers are already getting the house for a fantastic price anyway. I really would hate to have to discount it even more because of this SD issue.

So, if this 3rd set of buyers also ended up pulling out, that would be the situation I would be in if I continued on the sell, don’t renovate treadmill.

The question is – do I go through all that malarkey and stress all over again with this third set of buyers and permanently have my fingers crossed, as well as going through yet more emotional turmoil? Or, do listen to fate and take control of the situation myself, knowing that no-one can mess me around and annoy me all over again.

I am fully aware that if I do pull out, I will still have legal costs and possibly estate agent costs to pay, but I really don’t care if it means I’ve now regained control of the situation. Also, for total transparency, the property falls under the inheritance tax threshold, so that part isn’t an issue – even when renovated. Therefore, it won’t have any bearing on either of the decisions I make.

 

Herzlos

Unless you're a builder or can get mates rates, you're almost certainly not going to add much more money than you spend renovating it.  If there's another buyer for the chain house I'd give it another try, though presumably there's no reason you couldn't keep yours on the market whilst it's going on in case you get any other buyers.

If this 3rd one falls through, then you can look at renovating.

ReadySteadyPop

Don`t spend any more money on it, use PropertyLog to see if your price cut beats other sellers.

PRAISETHESUN

I also agree to not spend money on the property other than the bare minimum to make it habitable. Price it accordingly as requiring work and go from there. If your current chain is messing around, then I'd definitely consider putting your foot down and finding a new buyer.

ReadySteadyPop

Good advice.

FlorayG

It depends very much on the house. Is it the sort of house that a FTB would want? As you have commented, they generally don't want to do any work they want everything nice, so a renovation would make it more enticing. If it's the sort of house that would more likely appeal to second or third time buyers then they generally know what they want and won't be impressed by a new kitchen or bathroom in a style they don't like.
It's totally a guessing game and I think you have already made up your mind and just want comments so that you can make it certain. If people here are saying 'stay on the market' and you start arguing against them then you clearly really want to renovate - it sound from your post that in the back of your mind you want to.

gwynlas

If you thought it was that simple ask yourself why did I not do this sooner?

This is generally not the best time to be selling as the days are short and natural lighting low making interiors look gloomy,

If you wish to complete some cosmetic work other than replace kitchen and bathroom then do so particularly if these rooms are serviceable but dated.

EssexHebridean

Disregarding anything else, the agent doesn’t tell you what to do - you instruct them, don’t let yourself be bullied! 

ReadySteadyPop

Itsalwayssunnysomewhere said:

Happy Christmas All!

I’ll try and be brief but there’s a lot of info!

I am an experienced property buyer and seller. Over the decades, I’ve bought, lived in and sold around nine properties, so I like to think I know my way around this kind of thing. But even I am so on the fence with the situation I’m in, and I genuinely don’t know which way to turn.

I lost my father earlier in the year, and currently his house is sold, subject to contract. The buyers have got it at a really good price because work is required to modernise it. None of it is structural, it’s all cosmetic like new bathroom/kitchen, flooring/carpets, total redecoration etc

Unfortunately, it’s been a really stressful time as the chain has fallen through twice, with it being the same property in the chain which lost its’ buyers (not my father’s one). This last time it fell through was just 10 days ago.

It was at this point, the estate agent was adamant, in that rather than everyone agreeing to keep the chain in place and wait for that house to be sold for a third time (which is what we all did the last two times), they said I should put the house back on the market in order to find a new chain, as this one clearly has serious issues with it ie THAT house!

They said that throughout this period, I’ve been fair and patient enough for this particular chain to eventually Complete. But, given where we are, they advised that, they too have now run out of patience, and I really should put the house back on the market.

I agreed, but just three days later, the agent informed me that the house has been re-sold for a third time. They have now completely changed their mind and are now saying to go with the chain again. This 180 degree about turn is clearly a financial one for them as they obviously, desperately want their commission!

They don’t realise how emotionally draining all this is, and I’m really fed up with it all now. So much so, over those three days I was seriously considering renovating it myself, as if I made the effort to do this, I could make a tidy profit from it. In fact, even as far back as when it first went on the market, I had those thoughts at the back of my mind - why don’t I just renovate it myself?  But, in the end, I took the easy route and decided to just sell it. But I was still thinking about it all the way through. Therefore, I now have the opportunity to do this very thing.

I’m thinking, it must be fate – chains break all the time, but how many times does it happen twice to the same chain, with a very good chance of it happening a third time?  Explanation below.

As the saying goes, things happen for a reason, and I’m convinced that fate is telling me that having two failed chains is my wake-up call, telling me this is not the right path to take going forward. It probably never was and it’s taken the loss of two sales to tell me not to go ahead and go through it all over again with no guarantee of it succeeding this time either. Isn’t it known that by continuing to do something repeatedly and expecting to get a different result is the definition of insanity? Selling this house, right at this moment, feels like we’re trying to push water uphill, and so no wonder it keeps on failing. It’s time to consider other options.

Fate has given me this opportunity (again) and this time, I should positively use it to ditch and switch and go ahead with MY idea. If I do this, no-one can pull out and disappoint me anymore.

However, at the same time, I now have a chain which is back on, and would I be silly to ignore this and forego my selfish aspirations?

The concern I have is that these new buyers are first time buyers. From my own experience, FTB’s are incredibly fickle. One minute they love the place and have agreed a price to buy, the next minute, they pull out for a ridiculous reason.

The agent selling the property has apparently told the agent I'm using, that they are very confident that this time, they can see this one definitely going all the way to completion. Of course, they would say that though, wouldn’t they?!! Didn't they think that about about the previous two sets of buyers then? 

I cannot believe that in the space of three days, the agents had lost a sale, put the property back on the market, took an enquiry, did a viewing and received and accepted an offer - so close to xmas, just at the time when the market is really quiet?  That sounds incredibly quick to me. These FTB's haven't had any time to breath, let alone think about this major decision they're making.

Apparently, these FTB's ARE aware of the windows which need replacing, (according to the 2nd set of buyers survey), and which apparently will cost £10k. This second set of buyers pulled out because the vendors wouldn't reduce/budge on the price because of this. So, there are now FTB buying a property which needs a min. £10k spent on it and apparently, they've agreed to buy this property at a non-discounted price?? Pull the other one! I am so not convinced by this - I wasn't born yesterday. Are the agents telling fibs and that actually, they haven't told the FTB's about the windows?And, as they're FTB's, one would think their parents would eventually give them the benefit of their advice as well. I really can't see these buyers lasting more than 2-3 weeks, let alone through to Completion. They'll have had time to think about things over xmas, plus, early January there is always an influx of new properties going on the market. It all sounds very precarious to me.

Some of you might advise me to continue to go with the chain anyway and see if it really does Complete this time and if it doesn’t, then I could still go through with my renovation plan.

There are two problems with that;

1) who’s to say exactly the same thing could happen again, and then when do you stop when each time, that property's agent keeps telling everyone this one is definitely definite!  

2) My agent is concerned about the increase in Stamp Duty coming on April 6th.  These first time buyers are effectively the one last chance for the chain to Complete prior to this deadline.

Experts are predicting that the changes in Stamp Duty will cause house prices to dip, and this could mean that if things do drag on past April 6th, I would have to sell the property for even less, as buyers will want to recoup the higher SD they’d be paying, by way of getting vendors to lower their asking price to get the sale.

This higher SD works out to be around an extra £2.5k. If I renovated the property myself, and there is a decent profit in it, I could offer a contribution to this in order to attract buyers after this deadline. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a negative effect on the house price.

If I don’t renovate, I wouldn’t have any leverage apart from the price, and the buyers are already getting the house for a fantastic price anyway. I really would hate to have to discount it even more because of this SD issue.

So, if this 3rd set of buyers also ended up pulling out, that would be the situation I would be in if I continued on the sell, don’t renovate treadmill.

The question is – do I go through all that malarkey and stress all over again with this third set of buyers and permanently have my fingers crossed, as well as going through yet more emotional turmoil? Or, do listen to fate and take control of the situation myself, knowing that no-one can mess me around and annoy me all over again.

I am fully aware that if I do pull out, I will still have legal costs and possibly estate agent costs to pay, but I really don’t care if it means I’ve now regained control of the situation. Also, for total transparency, the property falls under the inheritance tax threshold, so that part isn’t an issue – even when renovated. Therefore, it won’t have any bearing on either of the decisions I make.

 

Price is the most effective lever to pull to get a sale.