Advice please; closing the sale on a house in Eltham

PragueAddick

as a few of you know, my Mum passed away in August and us three siblings are selling her little terraced house in Eltham Park.

We'd agreed a price with the buyer of 405k, she has had the survey done and that has produced a shopping list of things the surveyor would recommend to get done asap, total on that list comes to about 6k, of which the most expensive would be to replace the boiler and immersion heater, which must be at least 25 years old. The surveyor also valued the property at 400k. The buyer has proposed that we meet her half way on the 'shopping list', i.e she would pay 402k. The agent thinks that the shopping list items were all visible when she viewed, but the problem is the surveyor's overall valuation on top of it.

Me, I would probably agree to 402k. My sister is a bit miffed that the shopping list items were already visible, but probably accepts that the risk of losing the buyer is too great in this market. My brother, on the other hand, thinks talk of a falling market is all an anti-Brexit plot concocted by the biased MSM, etc, and thinks we should stand firm. But he is currently living there, rent free...

As a kind of middle way with my siblings I thought to say 'look, we honestly don't think any of these things were not visible to you, and we agreed the price with them in sight, but as a goodwill gesture we will offer you a 1k discount"

Any thoughts, especially form those who have been involved in the market this year, would be much appreciated. One Lifer I trust has already advised me to take the 402k as it is only a 1% discount in a falling market, but given the split of views in the family it would be good for me to consult as widely as possible.

_MrDick

One Lifer I trust has already advised me to take the 402k as it is only a 1% discount in a falling market, but given the split of views in the family it would be good for me to consult as widely as possible.

This ... it’s not worth the hassle. Quick sale and all that.

ricky_otto

Having read all that - personally I’d take the £402k in a heartbeat.

clb74

Do the 3 of you really need the hassle prague your losing a grand each, must be hard enough selling the house

Hartleypete

Open the box ( one for the oldies on here).

Seriously take the dosh unless you have other people waiting to give you more.

ChiAddick

Take the £402K. 1k each lost when you split it between you. For hassle free quick sale it's worth it.

clb74

Oh and if your brother been living there rent free im sure his happy enough to take the 3 grand hit

Talal

Up it to £410k

WSS

Wait to see what division we’re in next year and put the price up if we get promoted

heckington_reds

Mate, after losing your mum in August, like we did last march, I'd say a few grand lost is nothing.Take the offer.

Manicmania

Adopt the RD strategy - put the price up to 500K plus a sell on fee for the old boiler & heater!

Seriously though it depends how much you trust the buyer not to take a mile if you give an inch - you agreed a price and they have gone back on it once, what's to stop them finding other things to cut the price down the line? Are they just testing you out to see if you guys are just looking for a quick sale in which case they may feel emboldened to try to take other liberties...

Having said all that I'd probably still accept the 402 - but making it clear I wouldn't take a penny less - but i'd take all the lightbulbs with me for the cheek!

Elthamaddick

_MrDick said:

One Lifer I trust has already advised me to take the 402k as it is only a 1% discount in a falling market, but given the split of views in the family it would be good for me to consult as widely as possible.

This ... it’s not worth the hassle. Quick sale and all that.

This all day long, take the £402k

DaveMehmet

£1k each isn’t worth bothering about but it’s a pity people don’t tell these piss takers to do one more often. Fair enough if something big shows up on the survey but buyers often offer less or sellers demand more at the last minute. If ever we move I’d make it clear to both parties that we’ll pull out if either of them try it on.

HardyAddick

I would accept the £402k. The market does appear to be slipping back a bit. Their surveyor may be correct. If you lose this sale another one may take months to get to the same position and if the market is slipping, the next offer may be £395k.

Covered End

During the last year, sold prices in Eltham were 5% up on the previous year and 23% up on 2015 when the average house price was £346,104.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/Eltham.html

Strangely, although London house prices are falling overall, according to the stats, SE London prices are still rising.

Make of that what you will, but I tend to agree, I would accept £402K. What's £1K each for all the additional aggravation ?

PS I'll no doubt have the same dilemma soon enough. How long did the probate take etc & did you put the house on the market, before you had probate ? Sorry to ask, but it's been at the back of my own mind for a while.

Addickted

Accept the £402k - it could have been a much bigger hit. It would be if I was advising the buyer.

Then sell the old boiler to Charlton for the undersoil heating.

Win, win.

PragueAddick

Thanks a lot everyone for your very quick responses, looks a pretty clear viewpoint. The buyer does not seem like an aggressive type, she apparently admitted to the agent that had the surveyor not downgraded the valuation she would have accepted that she had made an offer with all those things in plain sight.

@Covered End I'll pm you separately re your questions.

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

It seems to be the accepted thing that having negotiated a mutually agreed price at the outset, along comes a surveyor to muddy the waters with a list of "issues" of varying degrees of importance.
Half the time it is bullshit, or often at least overstated "potential" risks that previous occupants may have been living with for Donkey's years.
But of course, the surveyor has to cover his back, as does the buyer and so ensues the question of, basically, who pays.

I'd be inclined to go with the £402 if agreeable to all.
You could dig your heels in like your brother suggests, but you will face the same decision every time a subsequent buyer gets their survey done.

Fumbluff

Accept the £402 but take the boiler with you...

Riviera

PMed you. Surprised you hadn't PMed me already!!

harveys_gardener

Accept the offer but in the two months to completion, discretely (no signage, newspaper ads) leave it on the market with another agent at £410k.

Chris_from_Sidcup

Take the 402k, surprised it's even up for discussion.

And your brother is definitely offering a biased opinion given the fact he's living there rent free!

Er_Be_Ab_Pl_Wo_Wo_Ch

Take the money and run before the market falls.

LenGlover

PragueAddick said:

as a few of you know, my Mum passed away in August and us three siblings are selling her little terraced house in Eltham Park.

We'd agreed a price with the buyer of 405k, she has had the survey done and that has produced a shopping list of things the surveyor would recommend to get done asap, total on that list comes to about 6k, of which the most expensive would be to replace the boiler and immersion heater, which must be at least 25 years old. The surveyor also valued the property at 400k. The buyer has proposed that we meet her half way on the 'shopping list', i.e she would pay 402k. The agent thinks that the shopping list items were all visible when she viewed, but the problem is the surveyor's overall valuation on top of it.

Me, I would probably agree to 402k. My sister is a bit miffed that the shopping list items were already visible, but probably accepts that the risk of losing the buyer is too great in this market. My brother, on the other hand, thinks talk of a falling market is all an anti-Brexit plot concocted by the biased MSM, etc, and thinks we should stand firm. But he is currently living there, rent free...

As a kind of middle way with my siblings I thought to say 'look, we honestly don't think any of these things were not visible to you, and we agreed the price with them in sight, but as a goodwill gesture we will offer you a 1k discount"

Any thoughts, especially form those who have been involved in the market this year, would be much appreciated. One Lifer I trust has already advised me to take the 402k as it is only a 1% discount in a falling market, but given the split of views in the family it would be good for me to consult as widely as possible.

Yes the items you identify were visible and in clear sight and the expert employed by the prospective purchaser has identified them on her behalf and advised her accordingly. Hence the reduction in the offer. An offer is made subject to contract. The findings of a survey are part and parcel of what shapes that contract.

My daughter purchased just over two years ago and the boiler did not work when tested despite being marketed as such. Given that completion was scheduled for January a working boiler was essential with two children under five so they negotiated a £3K retention for replacement of the boiler which is not so different to what has been suggested in your case.

If it was me I'd take the £402K on offer in the circumstances. All indications are that the market is stagnating or even falling so, to quote the old proverb, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

It could even be argued that you are lucky she didn't try to negotiate all the way down to the surveyor's valuation of £400K.

superchrissypowell

Agree with everyone else - take the 402k. In the grand scheme of things, its not a lot of money.

LenGlover

Riviera said:

PMed you. Surprised you hadn't PMed me already!!

@PragueAddick isn't over 90!

SantaClaus

We've just exchanged on my partner's Mum's old place. I found that it was a stressful time between accepting the offer and exchanging and it doesn't help that running a second home costs so much each month. Personally I'd take the £3k hit and push the vendor to tie things up asap. Best of luck.

Riviera

LenGlover said:

Riviera said:

PMed you. Surprised you hadn't PMed me already!!

@PragueAddick isn't over 90!

You not seen him lately?

nth_london_addick

Take the £402k and walk away knowing that your mum and dad done really well out of their investment

PragueAddick

WTF?

nth_london_addick

Take the money mate , the sake of 3k ain’t worth worry about

Your mum and dad bought well I bet they would be as pleased as punch that their home on eltham sold for over 400k

How much was the purchase price when they moved in , losing a grand a piece between the siblings is not the end of the world and it’s not a great selling place