Buying house advice - difficult sellers

gurnardnipper

Found a house which we have fallen for and had offer excepted. Went all the way but the sellers pulled out as they had another offer - they have now come back as that chain fell through. We on the other hand are chain free.

The sellers ( due to their solicitors being slack) changed the completion date to 4 months after exchange. Which has annoyed us slightly.

There is a relatively large damp area in tha garage which we were told by the owners that they would get fixed. Their solicitors said the repair had been done but on recent inspection it appears that all the owners did was repaint this area.

We have decided that it is only fair that they put this problem right, but are concerned that they will just walk away from the sale if we push the issue as they have been extremely uncooperative.

Is it possible to get a signed document before we exchange committing that they will do the work, and them be held liable if the work is not done to satisfaction by the completion date???

Any suggestions?? - this whole deal has been the worst i have ever experienced and is leaving a foul taste purely due to the sellers inability to compromise. They are the most difficult and self minded people i have come across!!

many thanks

mummytofour

So let me get this right, you want to exchange on a house that you cant live in for 4 months, during that time the sellers will be there TRASHING if they wish YOUR house as you will of signed to say that you will complete, which is leagaly binding, oh and to add to the fact that they will be living/trashing your house, you will need to be paying insurance during that time which wont be normal insurance as you wont be living there and a good change your morgage offer will expire...

WALK AWAY! they need you more than you need them, the house of your dreams is just round the corner, not the house your are buying which sounds like a nightmare.

hobo28

I agree with mummytofour. They need you more than you need them. One sale has already fallen thru because of a chain so they will be much keener to have someone chainfree. Esp. if you can show you have mortgage etc. sorted.

Stick to your guns and go through the EA so at least you don't have to deal with them directly. I would stipulate that you will not exchange until the work is done to your satisfaction or unless they knock off the asking price the cost of the repairs. Obviously they have tried to fool the last sellers by a simple repaint.

If they are buying a new build, I'd try to insist on an actual completion date as these things tend to slip. Oh and insist that the sellers pay the home buildings insurance up until the point of completion.

quatro

House buying is often all about the personalities involved. I have met some awkward and downright obnoxious ones in my time - and I will not deal with them no matter how much I love the house. I have walked away.
There are indications of how people could potentially treat you if you talk to them, ask the right questions and study them closely - sometimes though we can be taken in and misread someone - easy to do.
I steer clear of couples who don't really know where they are going, and those who don't seem to agree with each other. Their tension could be transfered onto you along the way.
I prefer to deal with just 1 vendor, and have a no chain situation - at least in front of me. It just makes life easier.

Rave

Yet another vote for walking away. It's a buyer's market and prices are falling- I personally would have laughed in their faces when they came back to me after their supposedly better offer fell through.

If they want to live there for another four months then let them. Then when they've completely failed to sell the house and are desperate, go back with a really insulting offer:).

Bossyboots

I agree you should walk away. I have my doubts about the real reason the original transaction fell through and wouldn't be surprised to find that in fact their buyers pulled out.

It is rare these days for completion to be so long after exchange and I cannot see any reason why this should be the case, even if their solicitors were dilatory.

My gut feeling is that you are not being told the whole truth.

Debras_Angel

Walk away now!

What gets me is that a seller can be so obnoxious and rude to potential buyers.
We are selling ours and if anything we are too keen to please. What is wrong with people, why can't they treat people they way tjhey would want to be treated, it's true your dealing with the personalities but would you buy anything else from these people if they had it for sale?

Also as I'm sure some of the other guys like 'Distilled' will tell you that if it's a new build they're going to it could be longer that 4 months as it depends on weather and all manner of other dependancies as to when theirs will be ready and in the meantime you might miss out on another one.

I tend to agree with bossyboots I don't think you're getting the full story.

Good Luck