FTB – seller in chain + offer 9% under “min” price – risk to Feb deadline?

Satako04

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

dharm999

Has your offer been accepted yet?

MeteredOut

You haven't said if they accepted your £20K below minimum price. Have they? Has the house been taken off the market?

Many people have been in your situation. You can't do anything to speed up the chain above you.

As February gets closer without a completion date in sight, be ready either to extend your lease or look for an alternative property.

As a last-gasp contingency, do you have any parents you could move in with if it does go beyond February? Difficult with baby due, I know...

Albermarle

Satako04 said:

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

Plenty of similar threads on the forum.

Trying to rely on a completion date is asking for trouble really.
It could be anytime from 6 weeks from now to 6 months, or never.
Ideally you need to get some flexibility into your own situation . A plan B and C.

Satako04

dharm999 said:

Has your offer been accepted yet?

Not yet – the offer hasn’t been accepted.

We’re now second guessing whether, if they come back with a higher counteroffer, we should go for it. We can afford the asking price, but we personally feel it’s a bit high compared to other similar properties in the area (nothing especially renovated or unique).

Given our February deadline, we’re wondering whether it’s worth paying more, or whether we should stand firm and risk walking away.

Thanks for the advice in advance!

MeteredOut

Satako04 said:

dharm999 said:

Has your offer been accepted yet?

Not yet – the offer hasn’t been accepted.

We’re now second guessing whether, if they come back with a higher counteroffer, we should go for it. We can afford the asking price, but we personally feel it’s a bit high compared to other similar properties in the area (nothing especially renovated or unique).

Given our February deadline, we’re wondering whether it’s worth paying more, or whether we should stand firm and risk walking away.

Thanks for the advice in advance!

Offering more makes it more likely your offer will be accepted sooner, and perhaps accelerate the vendors efforts in finding their next home, but I don't think it will materially impact whether you will or will not get a completion by next February.

Satako04

Albermarle said:

Satako04 said:

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

Plenty of similar threads on the forum.

Trying to rely on a completion date is asking for trouble really.
It could be anytime from 6 weeks from now to 6 months, or never.
Ideally you need to get some flexibility into your own situation . A plan B and C.

Thanks. Do you know if my mortgage could be affected if the lender does a final check while I’m on maternity leave, and my reduced pay shows in my bank statements? I’m not sure if they usually check this. We’ve made sure to save enough to cover at least 6 months of mortgage payments until I’m back at work.

Exodi

Satako04 said:

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't understand the logic in asking the estate agent what the minimum price the seller might accept is, then making an offer nearly 10% under that...

So you potentially have a house marketed for £240k, the estate agent telling you that the minimum the vendor would consider is £220k, to which you've responded by offering £200k?

I know people are very cynical about estate agents and believe they spend their time tricking buyers into paying over the odds but in reality their primary motivation is getting the house sold, the relatively small difference in commission selling it for more isn't worth jeopardising the sale. It wouldn't make sense if they were aware the seller would accept £200k to pretend to you that the seller would accept a minimum of £220k.

I have a feeling you're only waiting because the estate agent is obliged to put offers to the seller and get their response.

I could be totally wrong, just my 2c.

Regardless, given your circumstances, you definitely need to come up with a plan for when the lease expires. My last house purchase took 6 months (and that was chain-free!), I can't imagine the stress (and how sick of me the solicitors would have been) if I had been pulling my hair out because I 'had to complete' in 5 and a half months. You don't even have an offer accepted, nor does the seller - you need to plan around where you might need to go for a weeks/months. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, being a first time buyer is stressful enough, adding to it a baby and setting a relatively short deadline is a recipe for disaster.

Satako04

Exodi said:

Satako04 said:

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't understand the logic in asking the estate agent what the minimum price the seller might accept is, then making an offer nearly 10% under that...

So you potentially have a house marketed for £240k, the estate agent telling you that the minimum the vendor would consider is £220k, to which you've responded by offering £200k?

I know people are very cynical about estate agents and believe they spend their time tricking buyers into paying over the odds but in reality their primary motivation is getting the house sold, the relatively small difference in commission selling it for more isn't worth jeopardising the sale. It wouldn't make sense if they were aware the seller would accept £200k to pretend to you that the seller would accept a minimum of £220k.

I have a feeling you're only waiting because the estate agent is obliged to put offers to the seller and get their response.

I could be totally wrong, just my 2c.

Regardless, given your circumstances, you definitely need to come up with a plan for when the lease expires. My last house purchase took 6 months (and that was chain-free!), I can't imagine the stress (and how sick of me the solicitors would have been) if I had been pulling my hair out because I 'had to complete' in 5 and a half months. You don't even have an offer accepted, nor does the seller - you need to plan around where you might need to go for a weeks/months. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, being a first time buyer is stressful enough, adding to it a baby and setting a relatively short deadline is a recipe for disaster.

It’s mainly when we make the initial offer to the agent - they respond that it’s too low and insist the seller definitely won’t accept, because the seller needs at least £220k (as in the example above) in order for their own offer on the house they want to buy to be accepted. So, we raise our offer significantly, but it still ends up being about 9% below the “minimum” they’ve set.

Thanks for the advice - it looks like we’ll need to start considering both a Plan A and a Plan B.

Exodi

Satako04 said:

Exodi said:

Satako04 said:

Hi all,

We’re first-time buyers, offered ~£20k (9%) below the “minimum” price the agent quoted. Sellers are 2nd in a chain and their purchase isn’t yet secure.

Our lease ends early next year, baby due, so we must complete by 1st week of Feb. Concerned delays or collapse could leave us stuck.

Anyone been in this situation? Tips to speed things up or protect ourselves?

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't understand the logic in asking the estate agent what the minimum price the seller might accept is, then making an offer nearly 10% under that...

So you potentially have a house marketed for £240k, the estate agent telling you that the minimum the vendor would consider is £220k, to which you've responded by offering £200k?

I know people are very cynical about estate agents and believe they spend their time tricking buyers into paying over the odds but in reality their primary motivation is getting the house sold, the relatively small difference in commission selling it for more isn't worth jeopardising the sale. It wouldn't make sense if they were aware the seller would accept £200k to pretend to you that the seller would accept a minimum of £220k.

I have a feeling you're only waiting because the estate agent is obliged to put offers to the seller and get their response.

I could be totally wrong, just my 2c.

Regardless, given your circumstances, you definitely need to come up with a plan for when the lease expires. My last house purchase took 6 months (and that was chain-free!), I can't imagine the stress (and how sick of me the solicitors would have been) if I had been pulling my hair out because I 'had to complete' in 5 and a half months. You don't even have an offer accepted, nor does the seller - you need to plan around where you might need to go for a weeks/months. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, being a first time buyer is stressful enough, adding to it a baby and setting a relatively short deadline is a recipe for disaster.

It’s mainly when we make the initial offer to the agent - they respond that it’s too low and insist the seller definitely won’t accept, because the seller needs at least £220k (as in the example above) in order for their own offer on the house they want to buy to be accepted. So, we raise our offer significantly, but it still ends up being about 9% below the “minimum” they’ve set.

Thanks for the advice - it looks like we’ll need to start considering both a Plan A and a Plan B.

So to get an idea - They've listed a house for £240k, you've offered £180k and the Estate Agent responded saying the seller definitely won't accept that as the seller needs at least £220k to buy the house they want... to which you raise your initial offer to £200k?

(I don't know the exact figure the house was listed for or your first offer - though you mention raising it significantly, but as you say the minimum suggested was £220k and the figures above indicate your revised offer was £200k).

Putting it politely, with what you've said, I wouldn't be holding my breath...

user1977

Be aware that the "lease end date" isn't the hard deadline many people assume, it just means that, at worst, the landlord can start a court action for eviction.