I think our buyer is a time waster

leftieM

I'm so fed up. We agreed to sell our house to a woman with a 40k deposit last Friday week. After the weekend our EA couldn't get hold of her. She wasn't answering her mobile and her work number rang off. Finally she phoned and said she was still 'very keen' on the house. She arranged a second viewing for today and didn't show up. All of the alarm bells are ringing. I don't know if she has instructed her sol yet. I am really peed off and worried. We lost our first buyers after 9 weeks. Our vendor gave us a week to find more. Now we are under pressure.
If we dump this buyer we may still get one of the underbidders but if we leave it too long we will have to readvertise the house and may lose our vendor. I don't know what to do.

[Deleted User]

Keep your house on the market until the survey is carried out. That will teach her. I hate time wasters!

jnielow

Leftiem,

We are in exactly the same position as you, had an offer put in solicitors/mortgage in place supposedly then she vanished like Lord Lucan!.People like that do not know how they are messing with our lives we are feeling sick with it all at the moment!.

Let us know how you go!

We hopefully have another buyer and dread this whole process again !!!!!!!!!!

Jason

leftieM

Our last buyers were so super keen that it never occurred to me that they would pull out. There were three of them and I think one got cold feet at the last minute. We chose this buyer as she had a mortgage offer in place and had sale agreed on another house but the vendor pulled the plug. Now I wonder if the other vendor got sick of this kind of messing.
The immediate underbidders were another set of three guys and we didn't go with them because of the experience with the first buyers. I wonder if we've been too hasty.
It's so horribly stressful! Good luck Jason. Hopefully we'll both get some decent honest buyers!

jellyang

I sympathise with your situation.

I have had so many time wasters & that was just the viewings!
I have sold now but fingers crossed that doesn't turn into time wasters too.

Why?? Why do people do this, have they no life ??

Our house selling laws need some serious updating!



Jellyang

leftieM

Having 'sale agreed' on a house means nothing until the buyer puts some money on it (by paying for a survey). I suspect our buyer has offers on other properties and may have had another offer accepted over the weekend. Oh well it can't be helped.
When she didn't show up this afternoon it reminded me of how it felt to be stood up! Not pleasant!
Still it's just a house. It's not that important in the grand scheme of things.

terrierlady

just remember that carpet treaders or time wasters sometimes help u sell by talking about the property either in the hair dressers, at the school gates etc often they do waste your time bore u to death especially on a sunday and tread dirt and mud all over your carpets!!!!!!
best sale ever for me was a lady in and out in 5 mins no other viewings exchanged in a week and completed in 10 working days.
Same as other posters have said until people start to spend getting surveys etc your sale is just words even upto exchange people do walk away...

leftieM

I really appreciate your replys. I've been so down all afternoon worrying about what will happen but it's been a help reading your posts and having a moan! My poor husband and kids couldn't get out to the in-laws fast enough this afternoon!
I think I'll ring the EA first thing and, if the buyer hasn't an amazing excuse lined up, we'll have to pull the plug. Otherwise we'll waste more time in the long run. She'll pull out eventually.

benood

Exactly what we would do, until there is evidence of the buyer spending money survey/sols then you should feel free to pursue other options - definitely keep your for sale board up until exchange.

courtjester

No need to 'pull the plug', just keep your options open by marketing to other buyers and if the first buyer comes back and gets on with the process, you can see who reaches the finishing post first.

In fact, no matter how 'keen' or honest buyers appear to be, even the best laid plans can be cancelled at the last minute for quite justifiable reasons (and unjustificable ones), so you can never count your chickens until the contracts are signed and exchanged. That is the only time that you can rely upon anything that has been said or implied about a buyers position.

It's incredibly difficult and stressful, but if you can treat the sale as a purely commercial matter and keep objective and calm, that's better than getting your hopes up.

You have no need to treat any buyer as a 'friend' or give preference to someone merely because they have made an offer which you have accepted (neither of which are binding - forget morals). Deal honestly with buyers during negotiations but basically you must proceed in your interests not theirs (that's their look-out).

Your primary goal is to sell the property at a price that suits your interests and needs - the buyer's position is entirely secondary.

Debt_Free_Chick

I agree - you don't need to now "refuse" this offer. Leave it on the table, in case she goes ahead, but keep the property on the market and accept new viewings.