Getting ****** by seller

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:50

So we made an offer on a property 4 weeks ago. 2 weeks later they accepted our offer. We got our DIP in place, mortgage on the go and paid up front some of the solicitor fees £355 and the survey fee £205. Been trying to get the survey set up for over a week but the sellers went on holiday or something so couldn't do it.

Today I get call from agents saying they want £3k more or they won't sell. Took me well by surprise as they spent 2 weeks considering the offer in the first place and then another 2 weeks to decide it's now not enough.

We could probably pay the extra £3k and add it to mortgage but I really am annoyed at why they go under offer and then turn around and **** on my corn flakes.

SMN · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:52

Sounds like a bunch of muppets. Walk away; if the house is anything like them then its probably not worth buying.

Kimi · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:54

Sucks, its positions like this when i would say tell them to do one but then youd loose your £500 you've spent so far.

It sounds like my area, houses going up so fast that if you take an offer now, by the time it comes to the sell date it would have gone up 5-10k.

See you're in Surrey so its probably a similar situation there.

It sounds like the seller has no morels, perhaps your survey will come back with a few suggestions of faults, coincidently they could come to a value of around 3k

Bickaxe · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:55

I'd flat out refuse on principal. They've already accepted your previous offer.

Rroff · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:56

Kimi said:
It sounds like the seller has no morels, perhaps your survey will come back with a few suggestions of faults, coincidently they could come to a value of around 3k

Or they could come to 6K

and walk away if they don't accept.

Unless you really really really like a place its not worth playing other people's games.

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:56

There's nothing out there though and we're on a tight timeline. Have I kissed my £355 and £205 goodbye?

Why is house buying/selling so evil !! Some real evil people out there too. They are a family with 3 kids in a 2 bedroom flat, they've clearly out grown it and need to move on but they are just being greedy and want more money.

The place was put up with guide price of £190-£200k so why bother with a lower guide price if you aren't willing to take anything less than £200k for it

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:58

Kimi said:
See you're in Surrey so its probably a similar situation there.

It sounds like the seller has no morels, perhaps your survey will come back with a few suggestions of faults, coincidently they could come to a value of around 3k

They won't let them do a survey though. If they did they might turn round and say £197k was the best offer and all it'd be worth

StevieP · 20 Mar 2015 at 13:59

The law really sucks on house buying - once a deal has been agreed, any costs incurred by either party after that point but before completion should be at the expense of the party that pulls out in my opinion! :mad:

They will know that you have incurred expenses and are using it as leverage to get more out of you! In reality you probably won't even notice the difference in your mortgage payments but it's the general principal!

Maccapacca · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:00

You're in a popular area, lots of sellers are just messing around at the moment, my fathers sale has fallen through three times because someone in the chain wants to play silly buggers and either ask for more money, ask for money off or can't find anywhere to buy so stay where they are and the chain collapses.

I've seen lots of houses come up for sale, be sold and then come up for sale again a few months later, mostly for more money. One bungalow my father was going to buy started at £285k, the sale all collapsed now has been sold for £325k in a matter of months, the market is moving so fast I'm surprised you didn't lose out thinking about it for two weeks.

Maccapacca · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:03

StevieP said:
The law really sucks on house buying - once a deal has been agreed, any costs incurred by either party after that point but before completion should be at the expense of the party that pulls out in my opinion!

It'll never happen without home buyers packs (which they cancelled), there's so much more than the price and if you like the house that tumbles out of sales that only come up once a solicitor is involved.

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:17

maccapacca said:
...the market is moving so fast I'm surprised you didn't lose out thinking about it for two weeks.

I didn't think about it for 2 weeks the sellers did. We saw it, made offer and waited 2 weeks, they accepted offer, we had DIP in place, solictors and mortage arranging and survey was meant to happen but 2 weeks they been unavailable to arrange survey and now they come back and do this.

Steveocee · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:24

That sucks quite badly. How have you gone about your mortgage? I think with mine I'm covered if the vendor pulls out that when I find another house I don't have to pay the fees again.

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:26

I think that is the same, the DIP, mortgage and searches can be transferred. It's just finding another property. Nothing out there that isn't already a guide price of £200k and with offers of more.

Think might have to suck it up and increase offer. See what survey says then rip in to them.

peterwalkley · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:26

If they took 2 weeks to reply to first time round they're playing games. Chances are if you agree to the extra 3K they'll try and see what else they can shaft you for. A workmate had a nightmare recently with vendor jacking the price up at every stage. You are at risk of this until exchange of contracts.

Depending on how teed off I was, I'd either walk away or counter with an offer 5K lower than you put in first time round - and walk away if there is no reply within 2 days.

Oh and traditional "note" through letter box of course.

sansnom · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:27

If you'd like to play by their own rules you can do this:

-Accept to increase the price and offer 5k in total extra to 'tide them over' until signing.
-Drag out the process as long as you can, tell your solicitors to take their sweet time. Don't directly nag or do anything like that, just instruct solicitor to take 3-4 days for each reply.
-Let them get anxious and very eager to sign. 1 Day before exchange is due, notify them that you will be offering 10k less or you will withdraw.

This is of course will work one of two ways, either they'll be so fed up by then they'll accept or they'll tell you to jog on. Either way you'll have wasted as much of their time as they did yours. And don't worry about the house, there's plenty of stock out there.

HeX · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:31

Had the same problem on the first house I bought. It got to the day before exchange when they suddenly decided they wanted £7k more or they were pulling out. Told them to do one and sucked up the solicitor costs.

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:32

My broker advised if we did offer more that we would get something in writing that if they tried to increase again they were responsible for my losses. Doubt that'd stand up but who knows.

Sansnom I wish we could have the time to muck around like that but we're 3 months pregnant too so we need to get in a home asap.

sansnom · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:49

Liquid_Entity said:
My broker advised if we did offer more that we would get something in writing that if they tried to increase again they were responsible for my losses. Doubt that'd stand up but who knows.

Sansnom I wish we could have the time to muck around like that but we're 3 months pregnant too so we need to get in a home asap.

I hate to say it mate but when they've behaved like that, there's no guarantee they will not do it again and if they see that you want the house badly enough that you're willing to put up with that kind of behaviour it will just encourage them to push you for every last drop.

If you really want the house get your solicitor to draft a lock-out agreement and attach it as a condition precedent to the price increase and any further dealings. To be effective the lock-out agreement needs to have a deposit from both parties held in escrow.

Liquid_Entity · 20 Mar 2015 at 14:53

Would be great if that could be arranged and it worked.

sansnom · 20 Mar 2015 at 15:02

Liquid_Entity said:
Would be great if that could be arranged and it worked.

speak to your solicitor about it then and ask him to speak with seller's counsel to guage seller's interest in the idea. Approach it gently and say that while you're disappointed that the original agreement has not been upheld you do still want the house but you need to proceed on a basis which provides you with more security (which also happens to provide them with security as well and shows that you're putting your money where your mouth is).

If they do not agree to this then they I advise you to walk away because that's pretty much an indication that they're going to **** you over again before exchange.

Getting ****** by seller

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