Think our buyer is pulling out

80schild

Well just as our sellers finally get to the point of being ready to exchange-problems with our buyers.
They are cash investors who have bought several proporties from the estate agents and were considered reliable by them.
The last anyone heard of them was Tuesday when the estate agents called them to ask if they were ready to complete on 1st March-they said yes they were keen to complete asap as they already have a tenent lined up.
However, the solicitor acting on his behalf has been unable to get in touch with their client, nor has the estate agents.
I am fuming, it looks like they are pulling out. Why drag it on so long? They have had 5 months to pull out and why can't they just put us out of our misery and return their solicitor's calls to say 'we are pulling out!!!'
Estate agent is remarketing our house at 60,000 and trying to find us another cash buyer(valued at 80,000 but we were settling on 60,000 with the current buyers).
Am truely gutted as we will now have to fork out legal fees even if we lose the sale and purchase plus losing our dream home :-(

bandofbrothers

Hi,

My heart goes out to you.

Its cruel that both parties can pull out without penalty right upto signing the contract ! (apart from solicitor and search fee's etc)

When I was selling my property I had a buyer who made all the right noises. Had 3 viewings. It got to the point where they visited their solicitor and signed their mortgage papers and the solicitor drew down the money. When it came to pay the deposit everything went quiet !

Not returning calls or replying to emails and letters from both the ea and their own solicitor. After all their outlay in solicitor fees and searches etc they went to ground. They requested a 2 week completion date so I rushed around getting everything ready and then this !

In my situation I was not selling to move on or in a chain.
Simply an empty property I was selling.
Ive now sold the property and can say im truly glad to be out of the whole process.

Your buyer will eventually come along.

timmyt

the key is getting expereinced (not cheap) conveyancers who demonstrate they are hungry for business and will get you to a pormpt exchnage, and they push the other lawyers.

too few conveyancers are that dynamic though.

so i feel for you.

80schild

I have just googled the company buying our house 'merseyside proporties limited' and it transpires they were disolved on 14/12/2010 (according to companies house). I have tried googling them before but for some reason this is the first time anything has come up on the search!!
If they had pulled out back in December we could of found another buyer easier as our sellers still hadn't produced their proof of id to their solicitors at this point!!! I am so angry they have waited until this point to pull out (and even at this point why not just say 'we are pulling out!)

Incyder

80schild wrote: »

I am so angry they have waited until this point to pull out (and even at this point why not just say 'we are pulling out!)

They don't exist anymore. There will be no phone call or letter.
If there was, they would exist, but they don't.

Annisele

The company doesn't exist, but (presumably) the directors/co secretary haven't dropped dead - they could have made a courtesy call.

OP - I know it doesn't look this way, but you might have had a lucky escape. Imagine if you'd all exchanged and *then* the company had dissolved. You'd have been committed to buy your next property, but the "committment" you had from your buyers to buy yours would likely have been worthless.

80schild

Incyder wrote: »

They don't exist anymore. There will be no phone call or letter.
If there was, they would exist, but they don't.

They signed the contract on 17th Jan-1 month after they were disolved and even on Tuesday said to the estate agents they were ready to proceed (obviously not to their solicitors though).

If I as a lay person can find out so easily they have been disolved then why don't solicitors and estate agents check these things?

Incyder

80schild wrote: »

They signed the contract on 17th Jan-1 month after they were disolved and even on Tuesday said to the estate agents they were ready to proceed (obviously not to their solicitors though).

If I as a lay person can find out so easily they have been disolved then why don't solicitors and estate agents check these things?

Well I'm baffled by that. Perhaps one of the owners/directors was carrying on the pretence all was well, trying to fraud a bank or someone for the loan of the funds to buy your house, as though all was well.
What a c**t

80schild

Incyder wrote: »

Well I'm baffled by that. Perhaps one of the owners/directors was carrying on the pretence all was well, trying to fraud a bank or someone for the loan of the funds to buy your house, as though all was well.
What a c**t

Yes I would suspect this too! They applied for bridging loans on our house so maybe they were hoping to use it as a way out fo their financial mess and got found out by the lender!
Its just ironic that this has only come out now-the seller has been drawing out the process for ages so if they had withdrew their offer weeks ago we would be under less pressure!
Hoping the estate agent can find another buyer asap

80schild

well apparently they no longer opperate as a company but purchase as individuals! They have come bakc out of the woodwork today and said, completion within a month but set no date! I need to exchange contracts or they could say the same next month! Have told the estate agents to promote the house to investors at 51k for a fast sale but not to put it on the websites at this price incase everything falls through and we have to remarket at a higher price!!

Jenniefour

As you say, immediate exchange of contracts needed here. It is possible to exchange without a named date - can't remember what it's called but it's a 'to exchange on or before'. Your solicitor will know about it.