To those BUYING in these difficult times....

dizziblonde

...Still waiting for contract...

Chappers67

Just read through this thread....wish I hadn't...

Have just put my house on the market. We're basically looking at a valuation that will allow us to clear the current mortgage and pay off the selling fees.

We're relocating from Livingston to Worksop, I have a change of job that means I need to move. We've never missed a mortgage payment, but have other debt issues that mean I have no confidence in being able to get a mortgage for a new property, even though it would be a downsize and a much smaller mortgage we require.

No chance of renting either as we've been told everything is "no pets" these days.....my dogs are not being got rid of!!

There's no talking to the banks these days, it's all over the phone to some muppet with a script and no reasoning....I guess it's a cardboard box cos we can't get somewhere else to live or a cardboard box because I'll be jobless and repossessed!!

aaarrgghhhh

dizziblonde

I sympathise - the main reason we're finally moving to buy was the pets thing. It didn't used to be a problem, you could ask LAs to call landlords before you viewed to get a yes/no answer - now they demand you complete an application and pay the fees before even putting the question across to them. My decrepit moggy is a non-negotiable part of the family!

xtra_time

beccad wrote: »

Tell them you don't want the lights and carpet :rotfl: Sounds like they're a bit short of cash to pay the solicitor and are trying to raise funds somehow

Jenniefour wrote: »

Check whether the carpets are mentioned on the description - if they are they would normally be included unless the description states otherwise.

Seems a big chunk of the £700 was for some of the furniture (ie table and chairs) which we didnt expect or want anyway. So its not quite as bad as it was.

Grimbal

sorry for the "me" post, but after a bit of advice on how to handle a difficult telephone call. Background:
- our offer accepted 1 month ago, vendors difficult in negotiations, silent since, and not making an awful lot of effort to find somewhere to buy
- last week, we gave them a working week to secure an onward purchase. No acknowledgement from EAs worth speaking of. Friday came & went, Saturday came and went with no contact from vendors or their EAs.
- so, knowing that we're the people who stick to our words, I emailed them formally withdrawing the offer on Sunday
- no acknowledgement of that email, but another email from EA followed saying that the vendor had managed to obtain extra funds to increase his initial offer on his onward property(miraculous how these things happen isnt it?!) & whether we were still interested.
- I replied saying that the vendor had failed to obtain an onward property in a timely manner and that we have, as per Sundays email, formally withdrawn our offer.

- We have now offered on another property (which seems likely to be accepted) and this has sent the initial EAs into a frenzy of telephone calling.

I'm really not looking forward to making that call to confirm verbally what we have already said via email. We have been open and honest all along with our potential vendors, and have received back nothing from them in return. Their lack of communication and inability to understand our position as vendors ourselves with chain free buyers has lost them their sale, but I hate to be the "bad guy" in all this

shupufski_2

Grimbal wrote: »

sorry for the "me" post, but after a bit of advice on how to handle a difficult telephone call. Background:
- our offer accepted 1 month ago, vendors difficult in negotiations, silent since, and not making an awful lot of effort to find somewhere to buy
- last week, we gave them a working week to secure an onward purchase. No acknowledgement from EAs worth speaking of. Friday came & went, Saturday came and went with no contact from vendors or their EAs.
- so, knowing that we're the people who stick to our words, I emailed them formally withdrawing the offer on Sunday
- no acknowledgement of that email, but another email from EA followed saying that the vendor had managed to obtain extra funds to increase his initial offer on his onward property(miraculous how these things happen isnt it?!) & whether we were still interested.
- I replied saying that the vendor had failed to obtain an onward property in a timely manner and that we have, as per Sundays email, formally withdrawn our offer.

- We have now offered on another property (which seems likely to be accepted) and this has sent the initial EAs into a frenzy of telephone calling.

I'm really not looking forward to making that call to confirm verbally what we have already said via email. We have been open and honest all along with our potential vendors, and have received back nothing from them in return. Their lack of communication and inability to understand our position as vendors ourselves with chain free buyers has lost them their sale, but I hate to be the "bad guy" in all this

This is a serious financial transaction and you have acted reasonably. You stated your intentions and have acted upon them. You have no reason to feel bad.

Also, vendors with that attitude could have made things even worse later on and cost you money.

Power resides in the person who cares the least about the outcome.

azkaban420

Grimbal wrote: »

sorry for the "me" post, but after a bit of advice on how to handle a difficult telephone call. Background:
- our offer accepted 1 month ago, vendors difficult in negotiations, silent since, and not making an awful lot of effort to find somewhere to buy
- last week, we gave them a working week to secure an onward purchase. No acknowledgement from EAs worth speaking of. Friday came & went, Saturday came and went with no contact from vendors or their EAs.
- so, knowing that we're the people who stick to our words, I emailed them formally withdrawing the offer on Sunday
- no acknowledgement of that email, but another email from EA followed saying that the vendor had managed to obtain extra funds to increase his initial offer on his onward property(miraculous how these things happen isnt it?!) & whether we were still interested.
- I replied saying that the vendor had failed to obtain an onward property in a timely manner and that we have, as per Sundays email, formally withdrawn our offer.

- We have now offered on another property (which seems likely to be accepted) and this has sent the initial EAs into a frenzy of telephone calling.

I'm really not looking forward to making that call to confirm verbally what we have already said via email. We have been open and honest all along with our potential vendors, and have received back nothing from them in return. Their lack of communication and inability to understand our position as vendors ourselves with chain free buyers has lost them their sale, but I hate to be the "bad guy" in all this

Hi,

Sorry.for.the.fullstops.in.advance,...keyboard.spacebar.has.died!

I.think.you.have.given.the.vendors.more.than.ample.opportunity.to.
get.a.move.on.and.they've.not.bothered.until.you.gave.your.ultimatum
and.stuck.to.it.

I.would.have.done.the.same-don't.feel.guilty..you.can't.be.expected
to.wait.forever...it.is.meant.to.be.a.buyer's.market.afterall.

I.think.they.are.silly.to.let.you.walk.away.

Good.luck.with.your.other.prospective.purchase,..I.hope.it.works.out
to.be.better.for.you.in.the.long.run.

Nothing.much.to.report.from.my.end.other.than.the.fact.that.we.have
decided.to.bite.the.SD.threshold.bullet.and.are.looking.to.increase.our
budget.to.buy.a.house.

There.is.nothing.suitable.on.the.market.under.£250k.at.the.moment,and
quite.frankly.I'm.fed.up.of.waiting....If.anything,..going.up.to.the.next
bracket.should.mean.bigger.and.better.houses.than.we.were.looking.for
and.should.be.houses.we.can.live.in.for.the.next.20yrs+

I.am.in.no.hurry.to.be.playing.this.buying/selling.game.anytime.soon.again!

Az

Grimbal

thanks guys, much appreciated. Well, hubby ended up calling the EAs to confirm verbally, and they pulled out all the old tricks.

They tried financial: They asked us if there was anything that would change our mind (presumably money): we said no.
They tried emotional : saying that the vendors "really needed to move": we said "so do we, which is why we gave you that last week to sort your clients out".
They tried desperation (!): They asked us if we were proceeding on anything else, we said as of Monday (today), yes.

So, that's it. We've walked away from a lovely lovely house. It's a real shame, but as you guys have already pointed out, if they're that useless now, what on earth would they be like when time was tight and dependable people were needed?!

Azkaban420: I sympathise: it would be nice to think that if you spend more money, you necessarily get more space! we're going from a 4 bed town house to a 3 bed detached and paying 200K more for the privilege !

Shupufski: thanks for the support. Up until now, it has seemed that they felt like they held all the cards and could dictate terms. They really didn't seem to understand that we were concerned about losing our chain free buyers (who now have been waiting 6 weeks). Even after we had waited 3 weeks, with no action on their part, and given them yet another week, it still didn't seem to get through to them. I don't think for a minute that it's a coincidence that on the day after we withdraw, they suddenly find further funds! As you said, better now than later in the process when we have more invested, both financially & emotionally

satchmeister

Grimbal wrote: »

sorry for the "me" post, but after a bit of advice on how to handle a difficult telephone call. Background:
- our offer accepted 1 month ago, vendors difficult in negotiations, silent since, and not making an awful lot of effort to find somewhere to buy
- last week, we gave them a working week to secure an onward purchase. No acknowledgement from EAs worth speaking of. Friday came & went, Saturday came and went with no contact from vendors or their EAs.
- so, knowing that we're the people who stick to our words, I emailed them formally withdrawing the offer on Sunday
- no acknowledgement of that email, but another email from EA followed saying that the vendor had managed to obtain extra funds to increase his initial offer on his onward property(miraculous how these things happen isnt it?!) & whether we were still interested.
- I replied saying that the vendor had failed to obtain an onward property in a timely manner and that we have, as per Sundays email, formally withdrawn our offer.

- We have now offered on another property (which seems likely to be accepted) and this has sent the initial EAs into a frenzy of telephone calling.

I'm really not looking forward to making that call to confirm verbally what we have already said via email. We have been open and honest all along with our potential vendors, and have received back nothing from them in return. Their lack of communication and inability to understand our position as vendors ourselves with chain free buyers has lost them their sale, but I hate to be the "bad guy" in all this

They lost the sale not you. Buyers are few and they have lost one by being unreasonable. No wonder the EA is frantic; he hasn't any other buyers.

milliebear00001

Still waiting for searches. Reviewed today and have a case of buyer's remorse - why are houses never like you remember them!? OOur sellers have a boundary issue that they are saying is minor. Top of the chain have a 'probate' issue, which may or may not be serious - fab!

Anyone have any views on whether I can/should pressure my seller to exchange with us while they wait for the rest of the chain? We NEED to move and our mortgage offer expires at the end of Dec...