More than nine out of 10 Britons would try to force down the price of a house at the last minute, even though more than half say they thought gazundering was unethical, research showed.
About 94 per cent of people admitted they would slash their offer for a property if they discovered extensive repairs were needed after a price had been agreed, according to money website Fool.co.uk
A third of people said they would gazunder if th
eir buyer reduced their offer, and 29 per cent said they would attempt to pay less if house prices fell between when they made an offer and exchanged contracts.
But 58 per cent of people said they thought gazundering was unethical and 45 per cent even said they thought it should be made illegal. One in four thought the practice was so underhand that they would refuse to sell a property to a buyer at any price if they tried to reduce their original offer.
Property expert at Fool.co.uk Donna Werbner said: "Falling house prices create a terrible moral dilemma for buyers. If they don't gazunder, they could potentially find their property has fallen in value before they have even bought it. People may think the practice of gazundering is unethical or immoral.
"But homeowners have benefited from astronomical increases in house prices over the past decade, and are trying to sell at the peak of the market. If the seller's property is no longer worth the amount that has been offered, then maybe holding the other party to the original offer is not all that honourable or admirable either."
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