sold but can't find new home

gazareth

How would people approach the other side of this? My wife and I had an offer accepted on a place before Christmas but the vendors still haven't found anywhere to go. We sold our shared ownership flat (completed this week) and decided that we would not tie the transactions together as it was such a nightmare trying to sell up. So, in the interim we are at my parents' house. The EA assures us that the vendors are looking and in fact this week a house that they had lost out on came back on the market, their offer was accepted, and then they pulled out due to Japanese knotweed.

We really love the house and having viewed ~20 in quite a wide area we haven't seen anything like it within our price range. We're pretty much resigned to waiting on the vendors but our mortgage offer expires in July and that pretty much means they will need to have found somewhere in the next 4-6 weeks if they are going to be in a chain.

thegirlintheattic

OP I would move into rented ASAP - even if it isn't the perfect rented house, as long as it's clean and liveable. Whilst your buyers have said that they will wait and live with relatives - that situation is usually not tenable for long with most people and I can see them getting pretty impatient very fast. So unless you want to lose the buyer - rent.

pinkteapot

Gazareth - if there's nothing else on the market that's right for you, wait for your vendors.

If something as good comes on the market, buy the new one instead! (assuming it has vendors that are ready to go)

I'd be honest with the vendors. Let the EA know that you're waiting for the house, there's nothing else that suits you at the moment, but that if something else comes on the market that's all set then you'll take it. So long as the vendors know the situation you're doing nothing wrong.

Ultimately the process can't really start until the chain is complete and your vendors should be well aware that they could lose you in the meantime.