Buyer deposit

danilou21

Our buyer is mucking us around so much, she keeps changing her mind. Can we insist on her paying a deposit or something to prevent her from pulling out completely? We are right at the very start of things so haven't exchanged or anything yet. I'm just so worried that she will let us down at the last minute and we will loose the house that we love.

hcb42

she can pull out at any time prior to exchange (or even after, although that will be costly for her)

All you can do is put the pressure on and make sure things are rolling, i.e. surveys etc. If she isn't even doing that then consider it "not sold" and get it actively marketed again

What is she changing her mind on?

DVardysShadow

You can insist till you are blue in the face, it probably won't do a jot of good. It will just create an issue to argue about and another pretext for her to pull out.

If you say what she is actually doing, you might get some more practical suggestions.

KateLiana27

You can't make her do anything. You can, however, change your mind about selling her the property any time you like before exchange. You may wish to do that if there was plenty of other interest in your property and if she really is flaky.

Is your house still being actively marketed? There's no reason not to unless it was a condition of the sale agreement to take it off the market. Allowing other viewings will keep your options open and likely make her get her act together and make a decision one way or the other.

danilou21

Yeah, we've not taken it off of the market yet. The thing is she is so difficult to get hold of we have the same EA, they said that they couldn't get in contact with her for a year. Her house has been on market for almost FIVE years and she just 'disappeared' for a year and now she has come back and accepted an offer, whereas before she rejected all offers. Her buyers are also getting annoyed as they are cash buyers and are ready to move now.
There has been a little interest for our house, but she is the only one that has really gone anywhere.

hcb42

danilou21 wrote: »

There has been a little interest for our house, but she is the only one that has really gone anywhere.

hmm...has it been surveyed? It doesnt look like it has gone anywhere.

I would keep pushing her, but equally if you have same EA and they know she is not reliable, then keep pressure on them to be marketing.

G_M

I would ignore her.

Act as if there were no sale agreed. Keep marketing the property, review the price, consider switching agent, do all the things you would do if she did not exist.

If when she sends round a surveyor or takes other steps, fine, continue the sale to her, but meanwhile actively marketing will either incentivise her to do something, or find you another buyer.

Oh, and if you feel you need to drop the price to find a buyer, do so. If she then says she'll buy at the lower price, just say no, that price is not for you you've messed us around/cost us too much!