To those selling in these difficult times Part Deux. AKA sellers support network!

azkaban420

PottyHouse wrote: »

Hi all, just after a bit of support / advice.

After 16 months of being on the market, 5 offers, proceeding in two chains which have fallen through 4 times between them .... we are at our wits end.

Seriously thinking about coming off the market, it is really affecting our health/relationship and everyday life.

I know that if we did take house off the market I would still want to move - yes we could throw money into it and change a few bits but we cannot change where it is or the size of the garden (2 of the reasons for moving !!).


Had a really awful day today and its the weekend !!! We did not have any viewings and had the whole day to indulge ourselves but the house business took over and ruined it.

If we could do it, we would rent this house out and buy another chain free - but there is no way financially we can. We are making sideways move and would you believe we have got nowhere and already spent £1700.

Hi PottyHouse, I really feel for you, it is agony just waiting for my one buyer to proceed to exchange and for you to have it all and it dropping several times is beyond a joke. I personally would also try to stick with it...the fact that you've had four buyers interested means the house is sell-able, it's just unfortunate that the sale has dropped for whatever reason. Don't put your life on hold for anticipated viewings etc, do what you need to do and let the viewings fall around your committments (I know it's easier said than done!)

As I say with many things, ultimately it is your decision, and if you feel it is straining your relationship, then maybe a break from the whole selling game will do you well. Take some time 'off' selling, re-gather your thoughts and put it on a few months down the line if that feels like a more suitable option to you?

Good luck whatever you decide...it's awful when trying to sell a house starts taking over our lives

Az

azkaban420

needtoearnmoremoney wrote: »

and I too have lost money by a buyer backing out at the last minute. (I've also paid for some drawings to be done ready to submit for planning permission on house I'm meant to be buying so hope I don't lose that too.)

The offer was made on my house at the end of March, my buyers survey was done around 20th April, their solictors were slow but final queries related to the survey were submitted to mine on 20th June. 3 days later the estate agent received an email saying they were backing out and not to contact them. When I spoke to my solicitor she immediately contacted theirs and they had not contacted him so backing out was nothing to do with the queries.

The surveyors report was riddled with inaccuracies as was evidenced by the queries - he suggested I have flying freehold, which both solicitors agree I don't and asked about a non-existent loft conversion! (the house is Victorian and was built this way)

We were due to exchange this coming week so half my house is in boxes as I'm downsizing to a house needing work so much is to go into storage.

My buyers have been 5 times in total including one visit with a builder.

The system really needs revamping so that no-one can pull out so late in the process without a good reason or compensating the other party. I know the phrase is caveat emptor (buyer beware) but I think that the seller needs some security too.

I agree, it is so easy for people to pull out of a sale easily without any reason/justification, or indeed any intention to rectify matters. It is sad that 'your word is your bond' doesn't apply in this country, as it does in so many others, or certainly where buying and selling laws make it harder for people to drop out on a whim.

Az

NEH

PottyHouse wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.

We were expecting to "exchange contracts" on the last day of our holiday, 11th June - thats when it all hit the fan ... needless to say it seems a lot longer than 2 weeks ago we had our annual get away !!!!! At least it only ruined the last day ... we had no mobile phone signal where we stayed.

I can sympathise with you there. We couldn't afford a holiday this year so my brother stepped in and said we could stay with him for a week in London and it was great, after such a difficult year it just gave us some breathing room, then we came home and 3 days later we were served with an eviction notice, so yes our holiday seems light years away and in a way we feel like we haven't had one at all...

not_loaded

needtoearnmoremoney wrote: »

…The surveyors report was riddled with inaccuracies as was evidenced by the queries - he suggested I have flying freehold, which both solicitors agree I don't and asked about a non-existent loft conversion! (the house is Victorian and was built this way)…

The surveyor for my buyer has missed things he should’ve seen, and seen invented things that aren’t there. At the end of the day it’s not my money being spent, and not my problem.

Currently her sol is asking stupid questions that are already answered in the myriad forms I’ve filled in.

Caveat emptor indeed!

petunia100

phillyAngtst wrote: »

I'm getting fed up with viewers saying 'Oh its got warm air central heating thats unusual! when it says it on the spec!'

Yes. Why don't they read the spec. That's what it's for.

petunia100

PottyHouse wrote: »

Hi all, just after a bit of support / advice.

After 16 months of being on the market, 5 offers, proceeding in two chains which have fallen through 4 times between them .... we are at our wits end.

Seriously thinking about coming off the market, it is really affecting our health/relationship and everyday life.

I know that if we did take house off the market I would still want to move - yes we could throw money into it and change a few bits but we cannot change where it is or the size of the garden (2 of the reasons for moving !!).

Had a really awful day today and its the weekend !!! We did not have any viewings and had the whole day to indulge ourselves but the house business took over and ruined it.

If we could do it, we would rent this house out and buy another chain free - but there is no way financially we can. We are making sideways move and would you believe we have got nowhere and already spent £1700.

I'm feeling fed up after just 3 months so I can imagine how you must feel. The thing is if you take it off you'll never sell so it's best to hang in there if you can.

Blodwen

PottyHouse wrote: »

Hi all, just after a bit of support / advice.

After 16 months of being on the market, 5 offers, proceeding in two chains which have fallen through 4 times between them .... we are at our wits end.

Seriously thinking about coming off the market, it is really affecting our health/relationship and everyday life.

I know that if we did take house off the market I would still want to move - yes we could throw money into it and change a few bits but we cannot change where it is or the size of the garden (2 of the reasons for moving !!).

Had a really awful day today and its the weekend !!! We did not have any viewings and had the whole day to indulge ourselves but the house business took over and ruined it.

If we could do it, we would rent this house out and buy another chain free - but there is no way financially we can. We are making sideways move and would you believe we have got nowhere and already spent £1700.

Just catching up on the weekend's threads. Agree with the others Pottyhouse, if I were you I'd probably keep it on the market but try and not let it rule your life - much easier said than done I know! Good luck with whathever you decide.

Whitesatin - Congratulations on your offer. To echo Azkaban, lets hope things go quickly and smoothly for us all!

Orpheo

needtoearnmoremoney wrote: »

and I too have lost money by a buyer backing out at the last minute. (I've also paid for some drawings to be done ready to submit for planning permission on house I'm meant to be buying so hope I don't lose that too.)

The offer was made on my house at the end of March, my buyers survey was done around 20th April, their solictors were slow but final queries related to the survey were submitted to mine on 20th June. 3 days later the estate agent received an email saying they were backing out and not to contact them. When I spoke to my solicitor she immediately contacted theirs and they had not contacted him so backing out was nothing to do with the queries.

The surveyors report was riddled with inaccuracies as was evidenced by the queries - he suggested I have flying freehold, which both solicitors agree I don't and asked about a non-existent loft conversion! (the house is Victorian and was built this way)

We were due to exchange this coming week so half my house is in boxes as I'm downsizing to a house needing work so much is to go into storage.

My buyers have been 5 times in total including one visit with a builder.

The system really needs revamping so that no-one can pull out so late in the process without a good reason or compensating the other party. I know the phrase is caveat emptor (buyer beware) but I think that the seller needs some security too.

I have every sympathy with your position, the heartache and financial pain caused by your buyer pulling out. But this does not justify you any change in the system to protect you. Your buyer will have also incurred financial expence, I assume they have paid for a survey and also their solicitor will still charge them for work done up until they pulled out. I know, I pulled out of the purchase of a property and in all it cost me about £800. My reasons for pulling out of the purchase were due to survey issues, but had I decided, at a whim, to pull out of the purchase at the last minute for no apparent reason, then that is my right and it is the risk that you take. If I take a product to the till in a shop and decide, at the very last minute, that I have changed my mind, provided the "contract has not been exchanged" then I can just walk away. You may think this an insulting analogy, but when a buyer buys a house, the buyer has less rights than if they buy a tin of beans.

If you pull out of the purchase of a house, you have not made the wrong decision.

"It is sad that 'your word is your bond' doesn't apply in this country"

Azkaban. For most people this is a big money transaction, not a £5 bet with a mate. It is a legal transaction. When I buy a house I am trying to get the best deal for me.

There is a point after which you cannot pull out of a purchase. It is called exchange of contracts.

azkaban420

Orpheo wrote: »

I have every sympathy with your position, the heartache and financial pain caused by your buyer pulling out. But this does not justify you any change in the system to protect you. Your buyer will have also incurred financial expence, I assume they have paid for a survey and also their solicitor will still charge them for work done up until they pulled out. I know, I pulled out of the purchase of a property and in all it cost me about £800. My reasons for pulling out of the purchase were due to survey issues, but had I decided, at a whim, to pull out of the purchase at the last minute for no apparent reason, then that is my right and it is the risk that you take. If I take a product to the till in a shop and decide, at the very last minute, that I have changed my mind, provided the "contract has not been exchanged" then I can just walk away. You may think this an insulting analogy, but when a buyer buys a house, the buyer has less rights than if they buy a tin of beans.

If you pull out of the purchase of a house, you have not made the wrong decision.

"It is sad that 'your word is your bond' doesn't apply in this country"

Azkaban. For most people this is a big money transaction, not a £5 bet with a mate. It is a legal transaction. When I buy a house I am trying to get the best deal for me.

There is a point after which you cannot pull out of a purchase. It is called exchange of contracts.

Agree and appreciate this, however, you had reasons to pull out at the last minute, fair enough, it is a massive decision/transaction. But I feel, pulling out without giving the seller any reason is just rude. At least if the reasons are related to something personal to the buyer, the seller can assume it's not their house. If the reasons are due to the house, the seller can take this on board and try to make amendments (whether to the house or to the price). I don't even cancel appointments without giving a valid reason, so I find pulling out of a house without reason very high up there on the scales of rudeness and inconsideration. Common courtesy goes a long way in my opinion.

Az

azkaban420

Orpheo wrote: »

There is a point after which you cannot pull out of a purchase. It is called exchange of contracts.

Even this is not a guarantee these days...see the long threads on here where people have had buyers pull out after exchange, albeit at a large expense. So even that is not 100%!!

Az