A couple who had their offer accepted on a new house has revealed how they were left ‘shaking with anger’ after the sellers asked them for an extra £50,000 one month later because they couldn’t find a property in their price range.
The frustrated British buyer, who is chain free, took to Mumsnet and explained that she and her husband had their offer of £875,000 – £25,000 above the original asking price – accepted on a four-bedroom house just outside of London.
However, the couple had to wait for the sellers to find their own place to complete the chain – and were left in shock when they received a call four weeks later asking for another £50,000 because they couldn’t find a new house within their budget.
The couple, who admitted they had stopped their search after thinking they’d found their ‘future home’,’ went on to question whether they should tell the sellers to ‘do one’ or ‘have more sympathy and try to work with them.’
A British couple who had their offer accepted on a new house has revealed how they were left ‘shaking with anger’ after the sellers asked them for an extra £50,000 one month later because they couldn’t find a property in their price range. Pictured, stock image
The controversial topic caused quite the outraged response, with many slamming the sellers for changing the offer after it had been agreed and branding it ‘poor form.’
‘Tell them to do one. You don’t want to end up paying more for the house than it’s worth,’ wrote one. ‘Plus if you’re planning an extension, you’ll need every penny. Building costs have gone up considerably.’
A second added: ‘Really poor form on their part. It’s only been a month and you’re obviously not pushing them so their decision that they need to up their price is so unreasonable.
‘I wonder if the truth is that they’ve simply decided they could just get more for theirs.’
The British buyer took to Mumsnet and explained that she and her husband had agreed to pay £875,000 for a four-bed property just outside of London – but received a call one month later asking for an additional £50,000
In the initial post, the woman explained how it sounded like the sellers were getting outbid on places in Surrey that were getting snapped up.
She penned: ‘They think if they put it back on the market now, they’d get even more for it, but wanted to give us the opportunity to stump up the cash first. How generous, right?
‘I’m practically shaking with anger. We know how nuts the market is right now – we were caught up in it and we’re already paying £25k over asking price. They just seem like unbelievable CFs to ask us this.
‘In good faith we stopped our search when the offer was accepted, thinking we’d found our future home.
Many agreed that the additional money being asked for didn’t make the house any more desirable – with one saying they’d end up paying more than the house was worth
‘And it’s quite frankly not our problem that they can’t find somewhere in budget – maybe they need to rethink their requirements.’
The woman went on to say that she and her husband couldn’t afford the extra money being asked of them, but could potentially spare half of the amount.
She continued: ‘We could probably stretch to £25,000 more if we had to, but the house isn’t worth that.
‘That’s part of our budget for doing the extension and extra work that the house will want in due course.
And many were in agreement that the additional money being asked for didn’t make the house any more desirable.
One wrote: ‘Nope. Their “need” for another £50k does not magically make their house worth an additional £50k. Cheeky f****** indeed! I’d say, no, not going to happen. They’re acting in bad faith. Tell them you’ll only proceed at the agreed price.’
Parents on the site took to the comments to express their shock at the seller, with many saying their decision to ask for more money was ‘poor form’
Another commented: ‘Tell them no. The house isn’t worth that much to you,’ while a third added: ‘If the house isn’t worth it, then tell them no, but you are happy to continue the sale at the agreed price. I’d also remind them that you are chain free!’
Elsewhere, others encouraged the woman to give the seller a taste of her own medicine and to string her along while looking for a better property.
‘No! Don’t – that’s really really cheeky. I’d start looking for new options immediately. Good luck,’ wrote one, while a second penned: ‘Tell your lawyer to formally refuse their request in writing. Then contact their estate agent and start viewing other houses on their books. This sends a clear warning which he’ll pass on to the vendors.’
Another who has experienced a similar situation penned: ‘This happened to me. I increased my offer to what they were asking.
‘Then I went straight back out searching for another house, and agreed a sale on one. Then I strung the first vendors along for months and months before telling them I was withdrawing. Petty? Yup. I regret nothing.’
Many agreed the sellers were being unreasonable and encouraged the buyers to search for a new property instead (pictured)