Gazundering is the slightly dubious practice of a prospective homebuyers putting an offer on a property which the seller accepts, and then reducing the offer shortly before completion of the sale. The buyer is relying upon the seller obviously keen to sell and not wanting to re-market their home all over again.
For example, the buyer puts their offer of £150,000 on the table for the property which the owner needing a quick property sale agrees to, only for the buyer to then gazunder them by offering £120,000 just prior to final contracts are exchanged. In the current state of the market, it now seems that gazundering is on the rise.There is not any acceptable justification for this reduced offer. It hasn’t been made due to any structural problems being discovered by a team of surveyors. This is a somewhat devious tactic that the buyer is applying to save themselves some money through relying on the vendor’s insecurities.
The art of guzundering is likely to happen at a time when the market is in difficulty, as is presently the case. With property values falling in many regions, building societies and the like are increasingly unable to obtain the funds to provide mortgages as we feel the effects of the credit crunch, and buyers are finding it challenging to say the least to obtain funds and are trying to reduce their spending, even if they obtain a good deal through ungallant means. If the seller rejects a gazunder offer, this can cause a chain of sales to collapse and return several parties to square one.
So, how do we avoid being gazundered?
If i need to sell my house fast the first job is to make sure the property is realistically valued and then set a genuine, acceptable price. If your property exceeds it’s correct value, that may well be the excuse that buyer needs to gazunder. Their defence is that greedy homeowners that are fuelling an over-inflated property market deserve to gain less cash than expected, property at a price that reflects a true and fair value.
Think about making it a stipulation of the sale that buyers must pay a deposit and agree to a contract that ties them into completing the sale at the agreed amount, with a deposit put into a solicitor’s account and a deadline set for the final exchange of contracts. Paying a deposit is fairly a normal practice abroad and the deposit is lost if the buyer aborts without a valid
Finally, it never hurts to be on pleasant terms with a buyer. If the buyer can see that the vendor is somebody who could be hurt by such actions, their conscience might stop them from attempting to gazunder.
Even if a buyer attempts a gazunder, there is still hope. A vendor can refuse the gazunder offer, even on principle, and perhaps the buyer will still complete the purchase at the original agreed price. The buyer has paid for a survey, perhaps developed an affection for the property and perhaps done a deal with their current home. As a last resort, it may be possible to reopen talks and try to reach an accommodation as opposed to accepting the gazunder offer.
Be Aware….!!…..!!
San Francisco Home Insurance Related Sites
- The Ultimate Credit Crunch Guide to London That Will Save You Money | Starting Out London
- Monopoly ‘Credit Crunch’ edition to Tipp-Ex repossessed properties | NewsBiscuit
- Americans urged to invest in foreclosed real estate
Related posts:
