Buyer wants me to drop the price to account for windows

Tabieth

There’s no right answer here. You could say no, agree, or meet halfway. It depends on lots of factors that only you know. 

But I’m confused. Why is your house worth 8k less because it’s Victorian? 

pinkshoes

I'm sure you said in another post that money was tight. 

If you can't afford to drop then say no. They're taking the p*ss. 

I'd speak to the EA and tell them the buyer either exchanges at the agreed price within 7 days (48 hours) or the property goes back on the market.

Someone tried doing this to my parents just before exchange. They had no choice but to accept but boy did they let the neighbours know what the buyer had done. It's a very tight knit community... let's just say they got a cheque for £5k in the post and an apology!!!

faerielight

thanks .. it isnt worth less, i just thought it was fair as old properties tend to have more issues. .. it's been such a struggle to get the money together to do this move.. i have no savings, other than what i saved for the move,  and am on UC.

Tabieth

faerielight said:

thanks .. it isnt worth less, i just thought it was fair as old properties tend to have more issues. .. it's been such a struggle to get the money together to do this move.. i have no savings, other than what i saved for the move,  and am on UC.

Older properties may or may not have more issues (some new builds are a hot mess) but they also have period charm. It’s swings and roundabouts really. 

Your house is worth what it’s worth on the open market. What have similar properties sold for recently? That’s what I’d use as a guide to if the price should be dropped any further or not. Not what’s perceived as “fair”. 

dinosaur66

i had very similar situation happen to me 22 years ago selling a property in stratford

4 bed 1970s house with garage 250k

had multiple offers but 250k was the ceiling price in 2003 .

last few days before sale  buyer wants me to take 3.5k of price

he only lived about 200 yards from me albeit i did not know him

 i was livid had the property i still live in ready to go but  went down in person and explained to the lady i was buying from what had happened and lucky she agreed to delay and then went to estate agent and told them under no circumstances would i sell to this man / another man who was cash buyer and no chain bought it but it did take 4 months to go through

old buyer knocked at my door multiple times asking  to pay full ammount and we rowed.

25 years later i am still happy at property i bought in essex and hope every time he walks past my old property in stratford the 3.5k he tried to blackmail me on was worth it for the 700k that the property is now worth.

MeteredOut

pinkshoes said:

I'm sure you said in another post that money was tight. 

If you can't afford to drop then say no. They're taking the p*ss. 

I'd speak to the EA and tell them the buyer either exchanges at the agreed price within 7 days (48 hours) or the property goes back on the market.

Someone tried doing this to my parents just before exchange. They had no choice but to accept but boy did they let the neighbours know what the buyer had done. It's a very tight knit community... let's just say they got a cheque for £5k in the post and an apology!!!

And, of course, the buyers also paid HMRC the additional stamp duty they evaded by paying less in the first place

pinkshoes

MeteredOut said:

pinkshoes said:

I'm sure you said in another post that money was tight. 

If you can't afford to drop then say no. They're taking the p*ss. 

I'd speak to the EA and tell them the buyer either exchanges at the agreed price within 7 days (48 hours) or the property goes back on the market.

Someone tried doing this to my parents just before exchange. They had no choice but to accept but boy did they let the neighbours know what the buyer had done. It's a very tight knit community... let's just say they got a cheque for £5k in the post and an apology!!!

And, of course, the buyers also paid HMRC the additional stamp duty they evaded by paying less in the first place

The solicitors sorted it all out! So yes, I assume it was done legally! The sold price online shows the lower price.

BungalowBel

I would say no to the windows.  You know what the windows are like and the house  was priced accordingly.  They saw the windows on the viewing.

As for dropping £8k off the price 'because it is Victorian', what a cheek!  Thousands of people love Victorian houses.  We had one for almost forty years (built 1857), the people who bought it off us wanted a Victorian house.  We now have a Georgian one (George V) built in 1930.

They have had enough knocked off, I wouldn't do it.  If you think you may lose the sale over it, knock £500 off, but I wouldn't even do this lightly.

Hope things work out for you.

saajan_12

faerielight said:

thanks guys.. they offered 8k under, they didnt say why,  but i accepted as my reasoning was it was victorian. 

Ok that's a bit different to reducing a previously accepted offer due to a loose reason such as "its victorian". You don't actually know why, but that was the offer that you accepted. Presumably if you had other higher offers then you'd have taken those. So now that 8k lower price becomes the agreed value (ie what you'll sell for an a buyer will buy for). 


The 2k is different, that's coming further down the process, so I'd be asking what exactly is wrong with the windows that wasn't seen on viewing. If its coming out of a survey and that really is the cost to remediate, then that might be legitimate and another buyer might offer that much less too. 

GixerKate

Is there anything wrong with the windows, are they as the were during the viewings?  If they need replacing or have changed since the viewing then I can see where the buyers may have a point however if not then the buyers may be trying their luck.