Should we break the chain??

Bertie_the_third

We are third up in a chain of 4, buying an empty house from a bank. We accepted a low offer on our house as our buyer said their sale had almost completed. 10 weeks later they failed to turn up to sign on the exchange day- a problem with boundaries on their sale with no sign of resolution. Should we pull out and buy with out selling, as we can just about manage? Does anyone have any experience of how long this could take to sort out? Apparently they have submitted all the land registry stuff and offered indemnity but their buyers are not satisfied. We are all packed in boxes and risk losing our purchase. Very worried and don't know what to do

DVardysShadow

Imagine that you will never see your buyers with the boundary problem again and that you must put your house back on the market. Now make your decision as if those were the facts.

AMO

There are a few key things here. We've seen a house with a boundary problem as the couple had built an extention and purchased a narrow strip of land from next door via a gentleman's agreement - not really that smart.

Anyway, definately putting your house back on the market is a problem in that you'll feel that you need to accept a lower offer than comes along because you've let go of the chain below you and now its your fault that the chain is held up.

Secondly, if you're third up on the chain, it's much more difficult to find that buyer moving up than say if you're looking for a first time buyer.

But the main thing is to get information and pass it up the chain. People have an understanding whilst communication is there. People get annoyed when they think people are just wasting their time. So make sure any information about problem of the chain are passed up to the top to keep everyone sweet.

Bertie_the_third

Thanks so much both of you, that's really helped me calm down and think about it rationally.

jackomdj

If you can afford to buy without the sale proceeding then I would do so. You can then complete the sale with the original people, remarket it or do something else like rent it out (I will get flamed for this suggestion but it is what we did, we will be using our old property as a very long term investment)

Bertie_the_third

thanks jaco- why would you get flamed for renting out the first house? Is it because it makes things harder for first time buyers?

jackomdj

Lots of people on the boards don't like "accidental landlords". However we looked into it in depth, know it is not a short term thing for us. The property is a small 3 bed, we had it pre children and until DD2 was 4, at some stage it may be ideal for our children to move into (although they are only little at the moment) which will in turn make their lives easier.

Judith_W

I really don't think you should be planning for your children to move into the house. It can be a massive tie - where they feel they should be grateful but it is not necessarily in the area they would want to/need to live, not exactly what they would chose, and they would potentially feel like you are breathing down their neck all the time. LT - sell and give them a decent deposit.

dimbo61

You have the options at least !
Now if you can afford to buy the property from the Bank and still afford the mortgage on the old property then you can either rent your old home out ( after getting Consent To Let from your current lender) or put it back on the market.
If can work out very well for some to become a Landlord and for others it can be a Total nightmare !!!!

jackomdj

Judith_W wrote: »

I really don't think you should be planning for your children to move into the house. It can be a massive tie - where they feel they should be grateful but it is not necessarily in the area they would want to/need to live, not exactly what they would chose, and they would potentially feel like you are breathing down their neck all the time. LT - sell and give them a decent deposit.

We may do just that. At the moment the eldest is only 7 so a lot can happen in the next goodness how many years. I was just trying to show that we are thinking of it as a long term thing, rather than something short term.