Gazundering tactics by HARKALM DEVELOPMENTS LTD
1) Harkalm Developments offered me £50k above my asking price to purchase a D1 commercial property from me. It was a cash purchase.
2) I was a little dubious about the offer so I asked them to sign a reservation agreement from Gazeal. This basically means that there would be a financial penalty applicable to the buyer or seller if either party tried to engage in guzumping / gazundering tactics. They refused to sign it but assured my agent that they were an established and well respected property firm. My agent even went on a conference call with the directors to verify the authenticity of their offer.
3) Approximately 2 months later when the conveyancing process was in its final stages they produced a range of excuses (none related to any search results or the condition of the property) and subsequently offered me £250,000 less than the initial agreed price to proceed with the purchase.
Need I say more?
This review is based on facts with a full written audit trail available as evidence.
Reply from The Harkalm Group
We’re sorry to hear that your experience with us did not meet your expectations and understand your frustration with how the transaction unfolded. However, we would like to take this opportunity to provide some context around the circumstances.
At the outset of the transaction we were presented with a reservation agreement, hosted by a third party which specialises in residential transactions, prior to even viewing the property. The reservation agreement required payment of a £10,000 non-refundable deposit. After careful consideration, we felt this was not appropriate for a commercial transaction, as the agreement provided related to residential property sales and did not offer any legal recourse in the event of commercial or structural issues.
To demonstrate our commitment to the transaction, we did offer to provide a solicitor’s undertaking that would have given the seller appropriate recourse should any issues arise during the process. Unfortunately, this alternative was not accepted.
Our initial offer was made based on a deal structure we had in place with a potential tenant, which allowed us to offer in excess of the guide price. Once our operator was able to inspect the property, it became clear that significantly more work was required than originally anticipated. We worked hard to restructure the deal to make it viable, but unfortunately, this was not possible at the original price. We informed the selling agent of this and made it clear that while we could proceed at a revised figure, we completely understood if the vendor chose not to.
We are equally disappointed that a deal could not be reached on this occasion. However, such situations can occur in the property industry where unforeseen factors come to light during due diligence.
At Harkalm Developments, we have successfully completed over 500 transactions and always enter negotiations with the genuine intention to complete. At no point did we pressure the seller to accept a reduced price — we simply provided full transparency about what was achievable given the revised circumstances.
We wish the seller all the best with their property and future transactions and are always happy to discuss directly should you wish to make contact.