Offer to purchase question

[APoc184]

Going to keep it as short as possible.

We are in the market for a new home.

Went looking at a few places and liked one a lot. But house does need some work and area is not exactly our preferred location.
Original listing price was way out of feeling with the market and area.

We decided to offer R130k less on the house on recommendation of the agent that took us through the property. (She actually recommended R150k drop).
Offer expires tonight at 18h00.

Husband and wife seller... Busy getting divorced. Joint owners.

1st seller immediately accepted offer and signed. 2nd seller however played for time and was actually playing hard ball for a day or two. Late last night he informed the agent verbally that he wants R30k more. She conveyed this to us via a Whatsapp Message.

We didn't respond as it was late last night. But upon sleeping on it and talking it over we decided that we might have offered too much on the property and especially with the work still needed. We would actually like the offer to expire and look at another property next week that the wife saw.
Or even offer less if the property is still available and we can't find anything else in due time.

Simply just Fear of missing out and first time buyer jitters that made us sign quicker than we actually should have.

After we never replied late last night and was too busy this morning due to a crisis at work, the agent started pushing real hard for the seller #2 to accept the first offer.
This is after she sent us the message that he wanted more. She then messaged the seller this morning saying that we will not be offering more and that is our final offer. Which we never did. We never replied to the original counter message.

According to our knowledge he rejected the offer before the expiry and made a counter offer. And now can not go back to accepting the offer again without our consent.

Can we walk away from this deal?
Especially since she now messaged my wife and said that we still have a binding contract until 18h00 tonight and seller #2 can still sign it and we can get the home.

To be honest we would really like out of this property for now. Home buyer Noob!

Thanks guys. Really appreciate.

 

[Speedster]

Going to keep it as short as possible.

We are in the market for a new home.

Went looking at a few places and liked one a lot. But house does need some work and area is not exactly our preferred location.
Original listing price was way out of feeling with the market and area.

We decided to offer R130k less on the house on recommendation of the agent that took us through the property. (She actually recommended R150k drop).
Offer expires tonight at 18h00.

1st seller immediately accepted offer and signed. 2nd seller however played for time and was actually playing hard ball for a day or two. Late last night he informed the agent verbally that he wants R30k more.

We didn't respond as it was late last night. But upon sleeping on it and talking it over we decided that we might have offered too much on the property and especially with the work still needed. We would actually like the offer to expire and look at another property next week that the wife saw.
Or even offer less if the property is still available and we can't find anything else in due time.

Simply just Fear of missing out jitters that made us sign quicker than we actually should have.

After we never replied late last night and was too busy this morning. Crisis at work, the agent is now pushing real hard for the seller #2 to accept the first offer.
This is after she sent us the message that he wanted more. She then messaged the seller this morning saying that we will not be offering more and that is our final offer. Which we never did. We never replied to the original counter message.

According to our knowledge he rejected the offer before the expiry and made a counter offer. And now can not go back to accepting the offer again without our consent.

Can we walk away from this deal?
Especially since she now messaged my wife and said that we still have a binding contract until 18h00 tonight and seller #2 can still sign it and we can get the home.

To be honest we would really like out of this property for now. Home buyer Noob!

Thanks guys. Really appreciate.

If you don't get the signed acceptance by 18h00 this evening just pop the agent an email confirming your offer has lapsed.

If they accept before the deadline you probably have to follow through, unless there are some other suspensive conditions?

 

[Lupus]

If you don't get the signed acceptance by 18h00 this evening just pop the agent an email confirming your offer has lapsed.

If they accept before the deadline you probably have to follow through, unless there are some other suspensive conditions?

This unfortunately, if they don't accept it by 6pm you're fine, if they do well you'll have to find other things to get you out, like home loan not getting sorted etc

 

[swakop_toe]

Don't allow the agent to bully you.
In writing, notify her/him/it you won't offer more, in fact, you want to reduce the offer by Rxxxk and withdraw your offer that was not accepted.

And do it ASAP.
Standing in court trying to wriggle out of a written offer because you were to busy to let all parties know you have had a change of heart will not fly.

This is to cover your butt.
You already had a taste of the agent shenanigans.

 

[Speedster]

Don't allow the agent to bully you.
In writing, notify her/him/it you won't offer more, in fact, you want to reduce the offer by Rxxxk and withdraw your offer that was not accepted.

And do it ASAP.
Standing in court trying to wriggle out of a written offer because you were to busy to let all parties know you have had a change of heart will not fly.

This is to cover your butt.
You already had a taste of the agent shenanigans.

Only thing is the original offer is still valid until 6pm.

 

[APoc184]

If we can get the seller to make a written counter offer... And then ignore it?

And? Is the whatsapp/sms counter offer and rejection not binding?

 

[swakop_toe]

If we can get the seller to make a written counter offer... And then ignore it?

And? Is the whatsapp/sms counter offer and rejection not binding?

View attachment 880865

Yes, in writing.
Your agent need to send you.

But I'd say you're safe.

 

[scudsucker]

Follow swakop_toe's advice.

Agents are full of **** and are looking for their commision, they do not care about you.

 

[APoc184]

And was it not unethical / illegal of her to reply on our behalf saying that we will not offer more and it is our final offer.

We have all the forwarded messages.

We never replied to anything. And after she forwarded us the message where she told the seller that we will not be offering anything more... she frantically started to try and call us both.

After we never answered, she quickly sent us both messages that the offer is binding until 18h00.

 

[APoc184]

Also.

Wife just reminded me that she sent a voice note and told us to be cautious of the seller trying to contact us telephonically and we should not answer his call.

This turned dodgy real quick for me. Even more reason not to go ahead with the deal.

 

[dunkyd]

Presume you have call recorder on your phone like everyone should have ?

 

[APoc184]

Presume you have call recorder on your phone like everyone should have ?

We had no telephonic conversation with her since the offer was submitted.

Everything since then is via WhatsApp

 

[Tman*]

FOMO is real right now - a lot of good deals to be had and renovations are expensive.

 

[STORMERSFAN]

Why would u sign an OTP in an area that is not your preferred location.. You gonna be there for at least 15 to 20 years.. Hope u can get out of the deal.. Agent sounds a bit dodge..

 

[APoc184]

Why would u sign an OTP in an area that is not your preferred location.. You gonna be there for at least 15 to 20 years.. Hope u can get out of the deal.. Agent sounds a bit dodge..

That might have come out wrong. It is not a terrible area at all. And we can certainly see ourselves living in the area for the next 20 years. It is certainly one of our top 3 areas and why we decided to have a look at so many properties there.

But there are of course 1 or two areas better and ultimately more pricey too.

The biggest factor for wanting to let the deal run dead is the maintenance and repairs to be done, and we think we were too kind and already offered more than we should have.
And then for seller #2 to keep us hanging for 2 days with simple replies to the agent like "I'm busy I will read the stuff later" and "You can wait for my reply", then switching off his phone for a whole day and ignoring his estranged wife's visit to his current home to discuss the offer. Now less than 24hrs before expiry saying he wants more. Just made us rethink the whole thing.

So yeah. We made noob mistakes.

 

[bokka1]

Get a lawyer, nobody can give you advise without perusing the contract first.

 

[SauRoNZA]

As I recall it has to be on paper amended to the original and other means of communications don’t count as valid.

They need to have it signed and in front of you before the time lapses.

Of course if he didn’t put this counter offer on paper and amended to the original then that is still perfectly valid as it stands.

But the man above me knows best about this stuff, it’s his job.

****

Also next time stick to your guns and pay what you want to pay and don’t flex on it.

Rather let a deal lapse than go in deeper than you planned and budgeted for.

I’d also highly recommend that you don’t buy a first home that needs any kind of major work.

Check the roof. Check all the walls for damp. Check inside cupboards that there is no hidden away ****. Check inside the roof if you can.

Don’t buy anything with a flat roof on the interior of the house, unless it’s concrete of course.

Stay the duck away from any house with wooden window frames.

Make sure the plumbing in the kitchen or elsewhere is for the appliances you think it is, don’t assume.

Pay attention to burglar bars and security gates. If those aren’t there you need to spend another 30k+ upon moving in to remedy the problem so either bargain the price down or budget for it.

Know up front what you expect to fork out for transfer fees and duties and bond registration and make sure you have this in cash outside of your deposit.

Be VERY and exactly specific about any potential amendments to contract so that there can’t be any possible confusion in interpretation.

 

[maumau]

As I recall it has to be on paper amended to the original and other means of communications don’t count as valid.

They need to have it signed and in front of you before the time lapses.

Of course if he didn’t put this counter offer on paper and amended to the original then that is still perfectly valid as it stands.

But the man above me knows best about this stuff, it’s his job.

****

Also next time stick to your guns and pay what you want to pay and don’t flex on it.

Rather let a deal lapse than go in deeper than you planned and budgeted for.

I’d also highly recommend that you don’t buy a first home that needs any kind of major work.

Check the roof. Check all the walls for damp. Check inside cupboards that there is no hidden away ****. Check inside the roof if you can.

Don’t buy anything with a flat roof on the interior of the house, unless it’s concrete of course.

Stay the duck away from any house with wooden window frames.

Make sure the plumbing in the kitchen or elsewhere is for the appliances you think it is, don’t assume.

Pay attention to burglar bars and security gates. If those aren’t there you need to spend another 30k+ upon moving in to remedy the problem so either bargain the price down or budget for it.

Know up front what you expect to fork out for transfer fees and duties and bond registration and make sure you have this in cash outside of your deposit.

Be VERY and exactly specific about any potential amendments to contract so that there can’t be any possible confusion in interpretation.

As mentioned in another thread make sure every structure is on the building plans.

 

[Sputnik100]

Offers for immovable property must be in writing (Alienation of Land Act). The WhatsApps and messages with a "counter offer" is no offer.
Most OTPs -- especially the standard pro forma ones from estate agents -- specifically state your offer is irrevocable until the expiry date/hour. If that is the case, all the stuff you talk about (counter-offers, agent who shouldn't have sent a message on your behalf, etc) becomes irrelevant, unfortunately.
If they sign by 18:00 tonight, it becomes a binding contract. If they don't, you're clear. They don't have to sign it in front of you. They just have to sign.
If you haven't received anything by 18:00, immediately put in in writing confirming that you haven't received a contract and that the offer therefore lapsed.
Good luck.

 

[SauRoNZA]

As mentioned in another thread make sure every structure is on the building plans.

Aah yes I forgot that one.

Or be willing to sacrifice it. Like my Wendy house.