Getting gazundered
Discussion
We are in the process of selling our house and buying a new one as we are upsizing due to having a new baby.
We have found our dream home that needs a lot of work but has come up at a good price, the survey raised some scary things but we managed to renegotiate that would cover off some off the scariest bits after getting quotes etc to have the work done.
We accepted an offer on our house back end of the summer, the survey was carried out mid October, the buyer wanted another viewing to come and look at a couple of bits but said nothing more after that.
So far so good.
As the legal stuff progressed we started looking at dates we would like to exchange, the house we are buying is empty and our buyer is a first time buyer so we are the extent of the chain.
We decided on a date mid December to work to, with an idea of exchanging contracts a week before.
4 working days before we exchange contracts we get a call from the estate agents saying the buyer wants a viewing for a builder to get quotes for things on the survey, hes also out of the country and not able to be contacted easily but wont sign contracts without the quotes, despite sitting on the survey for approximately 6 weeks.
Luckily the builder popped round on Saturday last week.
We got forwarded the quote the day before we were due to exchange contracts, saying he wanted 3k off the house price and that he will also need a new mortgage due to the difference in borrowing.
We replied saying we would meet him half way, our conveyencor said there is an allowance if its small amounts like the 1500 and that he wouldnt need a new mortgage for that.
We said we will meet him half way if we still exchange contracts the next day as completion date is due to be the following week.
We then get a call on the day we were due to exchange saying we either drop it £2700 or he walks away and that he wants a new mortgage so we cant exchange that day.
We spoke to the estate agents who i don't feel have handled this well and said we cannot afford the reduction and that we will lose our house so they have offered to reduce their fees by 500 meaning we still need to find the 2k.
When we renegotiate the works on the property we are buying it was agreed that we would completed on the week we've been working to so I feel like we also owe it to them.
Where we stand at the moment is I shouldve exhanged contracts on tuesday and at the time of writing we are still waiting to here back about their mortgage, they will get it as its less but when is the question.
Its now friday evening so the best chance we have is Monday morning and we are due to complete on tuesday which I'm thinking is increasingly unlikely.
We have booked vans and a/l friends have also booked a/l to help move us, we're renting a storage unit and have cleared half the house and now we don't even know when we will be moving when it had been planned for months.
Our buyer has shafted us at the last-minute for 2.5k and also cost us storage unit rental, van rental, and 4 peoples precious annual leave all because he wants to save a measly amount of money, its 1% of the property value so ridicuous.
However much id like to call his bluff we are not in a position due to baby to risk losing our house, im less annoyed about the money and more how they've gone about it, this could've all been discussed post survey, some of the work i could've had done ourselves given a reasonable amount of time and not on the day of exchanging contracts
As im sure you can imagine we are absolutely seething at the situation and trying to figure out how we can cause them the most inconvenience whilst staying on the right side of the law.
Things I'm considering at the moment are- removing every single light bulb in the house, the fixtures list doesn't mention bulbs and also removing the toilet seat, im thinking of breaking all of the above and discarding them in the wheelie bins so they cannot be reused but they will see them.
I'm also considering losing a wheelie bin wheel from each bin, it will just be an ongoing inconvenience!
If you have any other light hearted but legal and most of all annoying suggestions please let me know.
We have found our dream home that needs a lot of work but has come up at a good price, the survey raised some scary things but we managed to renegotiate that would cover off some off the scariest bits after getting quotes etc to have the work done.
We accepted an offer on our house back end of the summer, the survey was carried out mid October, the buyer wanted another viewing to come and look at a couple of bits but said nothing more after that.
So far so good.
As the legal stuff progressed we started looking at dates we would like to exchange, the house we are buying is empty and our buyer is a first time buyer so we are the extent of the chain.
We decided on a date mid December to work to, with an idea of exchanging contracts a week before.
4 working days before we exchange contracts we get a call from the estate agents saying the buyer wants a viewing for a builder to get quotes for things on the survey, hes also out of the country and not able to be contacted easily but wont sign contracts without the quotes, despite sitting on the survey for approximately 6 weeks.
Luckily the builder popped round on Saturday last week.
We got forwarded the quote the day before we were due to exchange contracts, saying he wanted 3k off the house price and that he will also need a new mortgage due to the difference in borrowing.
We replied saying we would meet him half way, our conveyencor said there is an allowance if its small amounts like the 1500 and that he wouldnt need a new mortgage for that.
We said we will meet him half way if we still exchange contracts the next day as completion date is due to be the following week.
We then get a call on the day we were due to exchange saying we either drop it £2700 or he walks away and that he wants a new mortgage so we cant exchange that day.
We spoke to the estate agents who i don't feel have handled this well and said we cannot afford the reduction and that we will lose our house so they have offered to reduce their fees by 500 meaning we still need to find the 2k.
When we renegotiate the works on the property we are buying it was agreed that we would completed on the week we've been working to so I feel like we also owe it to them.
Where we stand at the moment is I shouldve exhanged contracts on tuesday and at the time of writing we are still waiting to here back about their mortgage, they will get it as its less but when is the question.
Its now friday evening so the best chance we have is Monday morning and we are due to complete on tuesday which I'm thinking is increasingly unlikely.
We have booked vans and a/l friends have also booked a/l to help move us, we're renting a storage unit and have cleared half the house and now we don't even know when we will be moving when it had been planned for months.
Our buyer has shafted us at the last-minute for 2.5k and also cost us storage unit rental, van rental, and 4 peoples precious annual leave all because he wants to save a measly amount of money, its 1% of the property value so ridicuous.
However much id like to call his bluff we are not in a position due to baby to risk losing our house, im less annoyed about the money and more how they've gone about it, this could've all been discussed post survey, some of the work i could've had done ourselves given a reasonable amount of time and not on the day of exchanging contracts
As im sure you can imagine we are absolutely seething at the situation and trying to figure out how we can cause them the most inconvenience whilst staying on the right side of the law.
Things I'm considering at the moment are- removing every single light bulb in the house, the fixtures list doesn't mention bulbs and also removing the toilet seat, im thinking of breaking all of the above and discarding them in the wheelie bins so they cannot be reused but they will see them.
I'm also considering losing a wheelie bin wheel from each bin, it will just be an ongoing inconvenience!
If you have any other light hearted but legal and most of all annoying suggestions please let me know.
If someone at the last second is quibbling about £3K and wittering about a new mortgage it's either total invention and they'll go ahead even in the face of 'no', or they're making an excuse because they can't proceed.
How the f
k are they going to proceed anyway if they're out of the country?
Not sure I'd be tolerant in either case.
How the f
k are they going to proceed anyway if they're out of the country?Not sure I'd be tolerant in either case.
How 2025 what you've gone through here with your buyer. I think people read/see and get far too much influence on these sorts of initiatives. We can all be a killer for that on PH but to be holding a sale over 3k worth of work is a joke.
What is the actual work they propose is needed?
What is the actual work they propose is needed?
We've agreed to it, it goes against absolutely everything I believe in ive allowed them to take the P*** but on the other hand if I were to send them packing and we lose our buyer we lose our house we're buying as it will just go back to the market and likely for more than we are buying it for, we're getting a pretty good deal.
I'm far from rich but am not about to risk losing the home me and my family want and need all because a chancer is pushing their luck over a couple of k's we will just have to stump it up.
Im very unhappy about the situation though and actually a bit shocked someone has the neck to try it.
I'm far from rich but am not about to risk losing the home me and my family want and need all because a chancer is pushing their luck over a couple of k's we will just have to stump it up.
Im very unhappy about the situation though and actually a bit shocked someone has the neck to try it.
fourstardan said:
How 2025 what you've gone through here with your buyer. I think people read/see and get far too much influence on these sorts of initiatives. We can all be a killer for that on PH but to be holding a sale over 3k worth of work is a joke.
What is the actual work they propose is needed?
Some flashing on the roof is letting water run down the side of the chimney on the inside, not huge amounts but its obviously not right, that was the £1500 we agreed to cover, its only fair and we wouldve had to have replaced it anyway if we had known about it.What is the actual work they propose is needed?
Its also a terraced house and theres no internal firewall between lofts, its victorian so standard practice then so another £1300 to build a block wall between the chimney and the roof tp block it off.
£200 to replace a blown window pane..... yawn
I know I shouldn’t say but…
Unless you’ve now exchanged, there’s nothing stopping your buyer playing this trick, or another, again on Monday now given you’ve demonstrated an appetite to compromise at the last minute. Your seller would likely have understood if you explained given your chain is short and they’re not long away from getting their money.
Unless you’ve now exchanged, there’s nothing stopping your buyer playing this trick, or another, again on Monday now given you’ve demonstrated an appetite to compromise at the last minute. Your seller would likely have understood if you explained given your chain is short and they’re not long away from getting their money.
Cakey_ said:
We've agreed to it, it goes against absolutely everything I believe in ive allowed them to take the P*** but on the other hand if I were to send them packing and we lose our buyer we lose our house we're buying as it will just go back to the market and likely for more than we are buying it for, we're getting a pretty good deal.
I'm far from rich but am not about to risk losing the home me and my family want and need all because a chancer is pushing their luck over a couple of k's we will just have to stump it up.
Im very unhappy about the situation though and actually a bit shocked someone has the neck to try it.
That's the sensible option. In a few short years this story will be merely an amusing anecdote. So, well done.I'm far from rich but am not about to risk losing the home me and my family want and need all because a chancer is pushing their luck over a couple of k's we will just have to stump it up.
Im very unhappy about the situation though and actually a bit shocked someone has the neck to try it.
Enjoy your new home.
(I would have murdered them all in their beds).
Off topic and mostly casual ideas....
Karma will catch up with them, as will some raw fish behind a kitchen appliance or two. Dont hide it too well or they might claim.
Or
Junk Mail Bomb: Legally sign up the property address for a huge volume of free catalogs and obscure mailing lists to flood the mailbox.
Directory Nightmare: Legally register the house number/address on multiple free, irrelevant niche business directories, causing a stream of unwanted sales calls and misdirected solicitations.
Factual Negative Review: Leave a public, rigorously factual review (if applicable) detailing the stressful, drawn-out process and financial loss caused by the vendor/agent's conduct.
Public Search Inconvenience: Repeatedly and legally download the public Title Register from HM Land Registry. If the owner has signed up for the fraud protection service, they will receive frequent, unsettling official alerts about their property being searched.
Tiny Delivery Series: Order many individual, separate, cheap, and insignificant items from online retailers to be delivered to the property, forcing them to answer the door repeatedly for trivial packages. Or dildos.
Karma will catch up with them, as will some raw fish behind a kitchen appliance or two. Dont hide it too well or they might claim.
Or
Junk Mail Bomb: Legally sign up the property address for a huge volume of free catalogs and obscure mailing lists to flood the mailbox.
Directory Nightmare: Legally register the house number/address on multiple free, irrelevant niche business directories, causing a stream of unwanted sales calls and misdirected solicitations.
Factual Negative Review: Leave a public, rigorously factual review (if applicable) detailing the stressful, drawn-out process and financial loss caused by the vendor/agent's conduct.
Public Search Inconvenience: Repeatedly and legally download the public Title Register from HM Land Registry. If the owner has signed up for the fraud protection service, they will receive frequent, unsettling official alerts about their property being searched.
Tiny Delivery Series: Order many individual, separate, cheap, and insignificant items from online retailers to be delivered to the property, forcing them to answer the door repeatedly for trivial packages. Or dildos.
I had similar when I sold my last house - buyer thought he could chip me 2K off the price
I declined his kind offer.
I was moving into a tiny rental place (was a dive but free for three months) and I was more than happy to stay in the house
He decided the original price was actually fine after all
I declined his kind offer.
I was moving into a tiny rental place (was a dive but free for three months) and I was more than happy to stay in the house
He decided the original price was actually fine after all
MOBB said:
Put the price up £3k and tell him to fk off
I would always cut my nose off to spite my face with these weasels
Me too but probably not the best course of action from a rational perspective. k offI would always cut my nose off to spite my face with these weasels
I'd actually tell anyone to jog on if they tried to renegotiate based off a survey. It's not a new house either buy it for the price agreed or walk away and that works both ways, I'd never do it.
Edited by ChocolateFrog on Friday 12th December 22:22
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