seller has pulled out at the last minute--- our house already sold

Cubbington

They may not have had their wobbly if there was a big gap bur yeah I agree, if they decided to back out then they probably wouldn't have exchanged whatever the gap regardless. It's one of those things you'll never know

BugglyB

So sorry to hear that OP. Must really have been one of those 'what the hell!?' moments!! How frustrating for you. There is so much emotional effort in buying a house and you must feel really let down.

sunshinetours

Hopefully your solicitor advised you of the risk of exchanging and completing on your sale and purchase at differemt times? If not that may be why he is sounding "shocked"

This case has nothing to do with a short exchange and completion and wouldn't have made a jot of difference

Hope you find a nicer house for less money to buy as some comfort

Ulfar

A gap between exchange and completion may have made a difference, if the vendor is having problems sorting out a move or they aren't serious sellers. It would have been a test of the sellers commitment to selling their house. Once the exchange had happened if they have a change of heart at that point then there are serious financial repercussions.

At the moment we don't know what the reasons are for the seller backing out, we don't know if the house is still on the market.

If it is on the market then I would make a guess that the OP has been gazumped. This has been facilitated by the late exchange of contracts in that the house has been actively marketed while the OP has been making arrangements.

It would certainly have made a difference for the OP in that they would have known earlier, it would be less stressful. After all the OP I assume would have already made arrangements for moving i.e. removals, utilities, post redirection. They have already moved in to live with family to enable their sale to complete.

I am not a fan of exchange being same day or close together as it is too easy for one party to abuse and ramps up the stress for no reason.

hazyjo

If the gap was the problem, surely the vendors would just have said, is it possible to have a longer gap? Would anyone really take their house off the market and lose a buyer rather than simply opening their mouths to ask for a longer gap? Still doesn't make sense to me. Nothing's definite until exchange, so it's not like the dates were fixed in stone.

Jx

sunshinetours

Not exchanging at same time on sale and purchase is the issue not a gap. this is always a risk and as I said hopefully solicitor explained this risk

sonastin

As I understand it, most people exchange as soon as both parties (or all parties in a chain) are ready to commit to the purchase. I think it is rare for someone to delay exchange when they are ready, simply to bring it closer to their completion date. That is why I think the gap between exchange and completion is a red herring - I doubt that anyone was ready to exchange before today and the vendor decided he was never going to be ready to exchange (for whatever reason).

As sunshinetours says, the problem has come about because the OP didn't tie her purchase to her sale - for which she no doubt had good reason if she has been living with family for a fortnight. If her buyer was willing to wait for the chain to complete, no doubt this would have happened. Sometimes you have to take the gamble and unfortunately for the OP, this gamble didn't pay off.

Good luck finding something better and try to keep your cool while living with family in the meantime - it will be worth it if you can hang on in there until the next place comes up. Providing you are welcome of course!

bindiboo

motherofstudents wrote: »

Oh no, that's awful for you. Did they give any reason ? You are in a great position to make offers now, there are lots of houses out there but I realise you must be feeling terrible. I'm sure you will find a nice house and when you look back you will prefer it to the one you were going to buy. Still a pain for you though.

The seller pulled out cos his 30 year old son (who lives at home) didnt have a job and couldnt find anywhere to rent as the seller wanted to move area.

I do hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel as I am feeling quite down about it. Lucky for us family have put us up for a few more weeks but think its making my kids feel down as well and is not the most ideal situation for them either as they 2 of them are sleeping on the floor and more than that is the fact my boys are in their final year at secondary school and could do with being settled.

Thanks for all the words of support from everyone on here

picardygirl

bindiboo, i have been in the position where our buyers pulled out on day of exchange so i know how gutting it can be ....... more so for you as you moved out (sold) your house 2 weeks prior though, really feel for you, but as others have said you are in an excellent position now to find a new property.

Can i ask why you completed on your sale 2 weeks prior to exchanging on your purchase? When we eventually moved a few years ago, half the chain wasnt ready so it had to be broken somewhere, we broke it by moving in with my parents, 2 adults 2 teenagers so i know how difficult it is, luckily my parents had plenty of room! But, we insisted we exchanged on sale and purchase at the same time, so the whole chain exchanged at the same time, but we had two completion dates 2 weeks apart ....... that was five years ago though, dont think i would do that now, as have too many stories of mortgages being pulled after exchange!

All the best and i hope you find your dream home very soon.

Sensible_Jess

casper_g wrote: »

I've heard a few stories like this on here in the last year or so, which makes me wonder how many more cases are out there. Solicitors really need to push home the risks that people run by allowing too little time between exchange and completion. What's wrong with allowing two or three weeks between exchange and completion to arrange the move and to make sure there are no last minute problems?

You'd think that solicitors would advise of the risks buyers / sellers take by allowing exchange and completion close together...
But, remember, they still get paid for the work they've done even if the sale falls through!! (unless you have a deal for no sale, no fee) I've had this option suggested to me by seller's solicitors during my last move and turned it down flat. But I did exchange and complete in the same day on my very first home purchase as I didn't know any better then _pale_

I've even know EAs to push for exchange / completion on the same day if it looks like no-one can agree an exchange date, just to get the sale to go through. You'd think they'd have more sense as their fee is at stake. Although in this case, I wonder if OP's seller will still have to pay the EA as they have put together a 'procedable sale' and it's the sellers who have pulled out. A small compensation OP!

OP - I agree with what others have said already on this thread - look at the positives - you are now in a great position to buy as you have no chain and it's a buyers market right now. And you will find a house that is just as good, if not better.
Fingers crossed for you - let us know how it turns out!