From: "James Hart" 
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y uk.finance
Subject: Re: House buying process
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 01:15:40 -0000

Freda wrote:
> Chris Game said
>
>>> Did you see that English programme about house chains earlier this
>>> week, where the cash buyer (a lawyer!) threatened to bring the
>>> whole chain down if he didn't get a discount?
>>
>> He seemed reasonable compared to the pair who denied knowledge of
>> the listed status of their place and it's barn conversion, in the
>> meantime demanding the place they were buying was finished to their
>> requirements!
>
> Depends on which end you are on I suppose - our first time buyer tried
> the same thing on with us. We thought long and hard but eventually
> agreed to a small discount.
>
> But of course, if he hadn't pulled this last minute stunt we would
> probably have exchanged before Christmas, which in the event would
> have been a disaster for me.

One of my employees is currently going through the process of becoming a
first time buyer. He offered 100k against an asking price of 107950, the
agents came back and said the vendors wouldn't accept less than 105, which
he agreed to. The agents then came back again and said 'sorry we meant 106,
but the vendor will definitely sell at that', so he agreed to that. They
then came back again and said 'sorry we meant 107'. My bloke told them where
to go.
There's quite a lot on the market round here between 100-110 and there's no
need for him to go chasing the price upwards when there's other properties
to investigate first.

-- 
James...
www.jameshart.co.uk