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selfish buyer pulls out

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2

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  • goodwithsaving
    goodwithsaving Posts: 1,311 Forumite
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    I pulled out "just before exchange", and my sellers were genuinely taking too long. They kept saying exchange was imminent, and it wasn't. It had been "imminent" for 17 weeks. We were 23 weeks in. It gets to a stage where buyers feel taken for a ride and the sellers are taking the p a bit. Mine thought I'd keep hanging on and hanging on. There comes a point where I refuse to deal with people like that because I'm not a doormat.

    I wouldn't say I was selfish for pulling out. I found somewhere else nicer and the process has been a dream. I'm glad the other one took so long that I had to pull out!

    There are two sides to every story and we are only getting yours. I apologise for being blunt, but they probably had reasons.
  • pinklady21
    pinklady21 Posts: 870 Forumite
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    In Scotland there is no difference really.
    We call exchange of contracts: "Conclusion of Missives". Up to this point, either party may withdraw without penalty. It is apparently becoming more common for buyers to delay conclusion of missives - possibly because their house had not been sold, possibly for other reasons, as their own buyer has not concluded missives with them.

    Ask me how I know - our buyer pulled out at the eleventh hour having promised us faithfully for 4 months that they were serious buyers for our house, and "were about to conclude missives". We lost out on our "dream house" as well. Infuriating!
    O/P I feel your pain. Best of luck and I hope it all works out for you in the end.
  • ViolaLass
    ViolaLass Posts: 5,764 Forumite
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    TheGame21 wrote: »
    I'm talking within 5 days of exchange/completion. All the stuff you mentioned should be covered in the survey/searches well before that and obviously no one has started moving/packing at that point. I'm talking right near the completion date, why should everyone in a long chain suffer because some one pulls out because they have 'cold feet'? They should not be able to do that without consequences.

    You seem to be mixing up completion and exchange. If they pull out between them then they will be liable for some costs.
  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 14,601 Forumite
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    Perhaps it may be related to the title of another of OP's threads...
    soliciter fees..i dont understand terminology
    People are entitled to change their minds: If you wanted certainty you've picked the wrong legal system & country.

    I've long held the view that with property purchases, the place isn't yours until you are standing in it, keys in hand, previous owners & belongings gone, your solicitor having confirmed everything sorted: And even then it's not 100%....

    Better luck next time
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    TheGame21 wrote: »
    Someone has mentioned to me that this is the case in Scotland, is this true?
    No it isn't. Either you're in a contract (with penalties being applicable if you breach it), or you're not in a contract (and either side can walk away). Basically the same.

    The main difference is that in Scotland it is generally the case that you're in a contract at an earlier stage than in England, and the whole process moves along a bit faster. But certainly not always, and in recent times less so as everyone becomes risk-averse (e.g. in the old days you'd trust your bank manager to come up with the mortgage funds when required, rather than nowadays when you make your offer conditional on your mortgage offer until the paperwork has hit your solicitor's desk).
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 13,993 Forumite
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    goodwithsaving wrote: »
    I pulled out "just before exchange", and my sellers were genuinely taking too long. They kept saying exchange was imminent, and it wasn't. It had been "imminent" for 17 weeks. We were 23 weeks in. It gets to a stage where buyers feel taken for a ride and the sellers are taking the p a bit. Mine thought I'd keep hanging on and hanging on. There comes a point where I refuse to deal with people like that because I'm not a doormat.

    I wouldn't say I was selfish for pulling out. I found somewhere else nicer and the process has been a dream. I'm glad the other one took so long that I had to pull out!

    There are two sides to every story and we are only getting yours. I apologise for being blunt, but they probably had reasons.
    I’ve done something similar. After being mucked around for ages by the vendor, I set a deadline for exchange, made sure the other parties knew of the deadline, the vendors made all the right noises about meeting it then missed it, asking for one more week. I walked away and found somewhere else.
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,172 Forumite
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    TheGame21 wrote: »
    I'm talking right near the completion date, why should everyone in a long chain suffer because some one pulls out because they have 'cold feet'? They should not be able to do that without consequences.

    Once exchanged you are committed, so backing out before completion will have consequences.
  • Margot123
    Margot123 Posts: 1,116 Forumite
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    goodwithsaving wrote: »
    I pulled out "just before exchange", and my sellers were genuinely taking too long. They kept saying exchange was imminent, and it wasn't. It had been "imminent" for 17 weeks. We were 23 weeks in. It gets to a stage where buyers feel taken for a ride and the sellers are taking the p a bit. Mine thought I'd keep hanging on and hanging on. There comes a point where I refuse to deal with people like that because I'm not a doormat.

    I wouldn't say I was selfish for pulling out. I found somewhere else nicer and the process has been a dream. I'm glad the other one took so long that I had to pull out!

    There are two sides to every story and we are only getting yours. I apologise for being blunt, but they probably had reasons.

    I am a vendor and can say it works both ways. My buyers have been delaying for various strange reasons for almost 6 months now (they even argued over the curtains for nearly a month).

    I have signed the contract and transfer and my solicitor is now waiting for the get-go after they inspected the property today (8th time). It's an unoccupied property and they even left a window wide open!

    The point has come that I will have no choice than to wave them 'bye bye' if they come up with anything else at this stage. Some buyers just seem odd beyond comprehension.
  • goodwithsaving
    goodwithsaving Posts: 1,311 Forumite
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    edited 6 January 2018 at 8:09PM
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    Margot123 wrote: »
    I am a vendor and can say it works both ways. My buyers have been delaying for various strange reasons for almost 6 months now (they even argued over the curtains for nearly a month).

    Yes, I do see the other side of it, I was a vendor too. have been a few times now, I know how horrible the process is. With my latest one, I offered to break the chain and go into rented and storage because I felt bad that my buyers were having to wait and wasn't willing to risk losing my sale because of my vendors.

    What I was saying but perhaps unsuccessfully, is that exchange is something that suddenly happens. Being "close to" exchange may mean searches are due etc, well searches can throw additional things up. Being ready to exchange is different. You can't say, 'we'll exchange in 2 weeks' because you have no idea what may come up in those two weeks.

    We were only getting one side and sometimes it is as simple as, it was taking too long.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    TheGame21 wrote: »
    I'm talking within 5 days of exchange/completion. All the stuff you mentioned should be covered in the survey/searches well before that and obviously no one has started moving/packing at that point. I'm talking right near the completion date, why should everyone in a long chain suffer because some one pulls out because they have 'cold feet'? They should not be able to do that without consequences.

    You cannot put exchange /completion as one thing, they are very different.
    And there is no set date for exchange until it happens so to determine what x days before exchange is can only be done retrospectively, which would not achieve your aims, and there are already legal safeguards in place regards completion.

    To summarise your position, “hard cases do not make good law”
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