URGENT advice needed on awkward seller

emmamc252

hoping for advice. we are ftb, had offer accepted on a house we like. we originaally put in a lower offer and increased by 3k to secure the house. before doing this my partners parents wen round the house again with us and we talked about what was being left. the owners said that if we were willing to increase the offer then they would leave everything, the only thing they wanted to take was the curtains to the master bedroom which match their bedding. we discussed a fridge freezer which they said they were planning to take but if we upped the offer they would leave, they literally said they would leave everything. so we upped the offer, we have had the surveys done, instructed the solicitor etc, the searches came back today complete with a list of what they are taking and leaving and this is where we have a problem. this document says they are taking all the curtains and curtain poles, they are taking light fittings for the dining room and master bedroom, and even the dishwasher which is intergrated into the kitchen and was on the original write up! they awknowledge in the paper that the dish washer was on the original write up, but just said dishwasher not included. the rest was a verbal contract but we are really mad about it as this was part of the deal. it might not sound like a lot but all of the curtains are really good quality and the dischwasher and light fittings are all top of the range, if we wanted to replace to the same standard prob about £1000.
the problem is that we have now payed all these fees and charges that amount to nearly £2k and we don;t want to have to start again but when we upped the offer we spent every penny, we won't have the money to re-do this stuff when we move in and why should we have to when this was what we agreed? with the market so slow i'm really surprised that they would mess us around like this! houses just aren't selling our area and whilst we have got the house at a good price its not a huge once in a life time bargain. basicall i'm planning to phone the estate agents tomorrow morning and i would like some advice on what we should do from here. like i said we are ftb and never been in this position before. i very much appreciate everyones input.

emma

Jorgan_2

Unfortunately, you should have got it in writing at the time, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Speak to the EA and ask them what items the vendor confirmed were being left. Did you have an offer letter from the EA stating that you had offered £X with a list of items that were to be included in the sale? The offer was conditional on the items being left, do you want to reduce your offer? Bear in mind that you may have to get another mortgage offer issued if this happens.

Who needs who in this situation? The vendor can't move without you, you say houses aren't selling, so they may be waiting some time for another buyer. Thats the easy answer, you have spent time & money and probably emotionally 'moved in'. If the vendor isn't prepared to leave everything, are you prepared to pull out?

Trollfever

houses just aren't selling our area

I would threaten to walk away unless I could come to a compromise.

The EA will also want a compromise or they will lose their fees.

emmamc252

when we spoke to the ea to up the offer we said that we wanted a list from the people of what they were leaving and told them about the agreement but they never provided us with it. i think we have just been nieve and taken people on their word, but like someone said befor they need us way more than we need them. just think they are being really silly. think we would have to walk away if they weren't prepared to either leave the items or if they were unwilling to compensate us financially for this, like i said, when we upped the offer it meant we won't have any spare cash so its just something that we can't afford, plus its kind of off putting thinking that the people we are buying off would try to be like this, who knows what they will try to pull next. think if it came down to it we would have to pull out, just wouldn't have the money and in the current market i think that although we would stand to lose just under 2k, i think that we would get another good deal and with people that would be more understanding that they are lucky to sell in this market.

emmamc252

adn just to supoprt my statement that houses arent selling in my area, my mother has her house up at the minute and her estate agent has just ran a promotion, they offered to do heavy publicity on anyone willing ot drop their asking price by 5% or more in order to try to improve business. they ran huge adverts of all the houses that agreed on the back page of our local newspaper for a whole month with colour pictures and even interior photos. surely that shows that the market here is at the very best getting stagnant. just want to yell at these people, wake up!!!

paddy's_mum

Don't yell! On the contrary, go very very quiet - like don't answer your phone to the estate agent for a few days. Let them get the wind up and see whether they then think a freezer and a dishwasher etc are worth losing a sale over.

Of course, you may be right that they would twist or cheat later on in the transaction should you decide to go ahead but they will at least have had fair warning that you are not pushovers/idiots either.

Good luck with this - I can't bear people who renege on deals either!

KiKi

Hi Emma

Sorry to hear all this, what a pain. You probably have been a bit naive - but as the first poster said, you live and learn and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

However, I would not play games and not answer the phone or anything like that, that won't make you look very mature or sensible as a buyer, and you need to come across as someone's who's serious, not someone who can't be trusted.

It seems you haven't exchanged yet. So, they need you more than you need them. They would be utterly mad to lose a buyer for the sake of £2/3K. It will cost them (and the Estate Agent) to go through the hassle of finding another buyer, as they will potentially lose their house.

They took advantage of your being first time buyers, and they're laughing.

I think you have to think how much you want this place. If you are desperate for it and want it, maybe £1K (you said it would cost that to replace this stuff) isn't worth it. However, if you're prepared to take a risk that you might lose the place, I would:

a) call the EA, and very *calmly* (always stay calm, don't get upset or raise your voice) say that you raised your offer based on the verbal agreement of them leaving the fittings, dishwasher, curtains etc.

b) given that they are now taking these things, you have carefully reconsidered your offer, and will reduce it by the £3K accordingly (esp as the dishwasher *was* listed and that's going to be difficult to replace - as in-built items always are)

c) leave it with the EA to speak to the buyer

d) if they don't budge, neither will you, and you will withdraw your offer on the property

What you will hopefully get is a compromise of £1.5/2K, which will allow you to add those things to the place when you move in.

If the vendors say "fine, pull out, we don't care" then to be honest, they are clearly not worried about not selling their place, and are not serious sellers. But they'd be crazy to do that.

It's a risk you'll be taking, so the question you have to ask is: it is a risk you're prepared to take?

Personally, I'd not let them screw me over. And make sure you get any re-offer in *writing* so they don't take anything else.

HTH you - let us know how you get on, Emma.

KiKi

Trollfever

Also bear in mind that for every day that the sellers mess you around it will cost them £xxx in interest on their mortgage.

SquatNow

Drag it out, let them get setup ready to move into their next place, then 24 hours before completion tell them you are dropping the price by £3k because they've decided to take stuff with them.

Light fittings and fitted kitchen appliances are part of the fabric of the house. It's like buying a house and finding the seller sneaking in comments saying they are taking the windows and bathroom fittings.

Their behaivour is unacceptable and they deserve to be punished.

Don't be afraid to walk away either... if this is their attitude who knows what other tricks they are pulling? Hidden problems maybe? Bad neighbours?

SquatNow

Also, why did you raise you offer by 3k for fittings worth 1k?

Oh, and nice looking light fittings are probably cheaper than you think!

OLS

Just a heads up as well, or sol said what people agree to leave and what they leave are 2 different things, and even if you have it on the contact form them will leaxe X, X and X, then you move in and its not there, you have to take them to court and it would probably end up costing you more than the price of the items you were expecting them to leave.

Just thinking if they are un moral sellers, they may say fine, we will leave the stuff then take it anyway!

After my sol told us this, I decided I would never pay more for a house ''if you leave this & that'' cause Im the one who always gets shaffted :rolleyes: