MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should you demand a last-minute property discount?

chrysnpaul

It has to be NO, you have agreed a deal. A number of years ago my future wife and I were selling both our houses to move into another. Two days before we were due to move in, the estate agents called to say the owners were now selling to a friend and not us. It wouldn't happen in Scotland.

harryhound

In the present market there will be lots of examples where people in a chain CAN'T stick to their word. That is what a credit crunch is all about.
Some legal entities will go bust.

rusty-storme

As someone who has today been well and truly gazundered by my buyer, I can only say that it should be made an illegal practice.

We were due to exchange contracts today and after dropping the price by over 3 grand to accommodate outstanding (imaginary) rising damp, the buyer this morning announced that he wished to have another think before exchanging.
I am angry, upset and hope I never meet this person face to face.

When I bought the house, 13 years ago, the seller left the place immaculate with a bunch of flowers and a long note telling when binmen come, how the night storage worked etc.

If the current potential buyer decides to proceed with my sale, I too will leave him a nice present. Cat poo behind the boiler and prawns in the curtain poles.:mad:

vikingaero

rusty-storme wrote: »

If the current potential buyer decides to proceed with my sale, I too will leave him a nice present. Cat poo behind the boiler and prawns in the curtain poles.:mad:

Oh come on! :mad:

Cat poo is free but expensive prawns?! Are you made of money?!:D

Incisor

scarlet_macaw wrote: »

Whose fault is it that it's taken 6 months to get to exchange?

If you've been the one holding everything up then no, but if you've been trying to complete but the seller has been delaying then it's their fault if the price has dropped in the meantime.

That really is the heart of this dilemma. If the other side have been delaying this long, then go back and ask for a reduction. Otherwise, keep your word. Actually, this is probably best used as a bargaining chip to hurry the other side up, before it gets to 6 months.

suchgreatheights

You should only chip your offer if you are happy to risk losing the property. Bear in mind, the seller is likely to be considering doing the same thing on whatever property they are moving in to.

Until you have exchanged contracts you are under no obligation to proceed with the deal, and no-one can force you to pay, nor sue you for any damages/losses incurred as a result of you backing out.

The fact there has been a genuine reason for chipping your offer (a dramatic dip in the market) I think justifies it. A lot of people will simply chip at the last minute as a cheeky way of saving money, because they know what a hassle it is for the seller to back out at a late stage. However, if the market really were to fall 10% in six months, this would cause havoc for buyers and sellers everywhere, and it really would be up to you whether to proceed with the purchase. You may find whoever is buying your house does the same, meaning you could find yourself much worse off than you originally anticipated.

So my advice would be, think about how much you love the property and if you are prepared to pay above market value for it.

geoffky

I played my seller and had no qualms about it.. I found out that they where not in a good position to be arguing about price...They still made over 100% profit from when they bought in 1994....I would never let my wife anywhere near the sellers because she used her heart and not her head and that costs money.. I ended up with a 38% reduction in asking price ..Some people just do not know how to drive a deal forward and get embarrassed when money is mentioned...You get nowhere with being a pushover..I saved our family a fortune as it was a cash buy..