Seller all over the place

Sharpiejas

Thought we have found our dream home but it is going from bad to worse.

Week one : Seller's flight delayed after his holiday so valuation does not get done

Week two : Person doing valuation goes sick

Week three : Valuation done

Week four : morgagte agreement comes through

Week five : can not contact solicitor or seller

Week six : make contact with solicitor who can not contact sellers solicitor

Week seven : seller contacts to say the flat he is buying has fallen through and does not know what to do now, says he is really stressed Estate agent advises to wait for seller to 'sort out his head' and for him to find another place.

We are unsure what to do? We need to move within three weeks and have lost confidence in the seller. Should we bide our time or start looking elsewhere. Would we be able to recoup any of the fees paid so far ( valuation, solicitors ect). Does anyone know of where we could get a short term let until we buy and exchange?

G_M

Buying property always takes longer than you want, or expect. And is always stressful.

Sharpiejas wrote: »

We are unsure what to do? We need to move within three weeks and have lost confidence in the seller.
whatever you do, unlikely to move in 3 weeks. Accept it.
Should we bide our time or start looking elsewhere.
By all means start looking again, but that will take even longer. Use it as a fall-back option.
Would we be able to recoup any of the fees paid so far ( valuation, solicitors ect).
:rotfl:
Does anyone know of where we could get a short term let until we buy and exchange?

Someof the cheap hotel chains will do deals for weekly/monthly bookings.

ValHaller

There is no way to recoup your expenses so far.

If you need to move in 3 weeks, then it will be into rented. Why do you need to move so quickly? If the deadline is firm, then the only question you need to resolve is whether you are moving into short term or looking for a 6 month AST. If your solicitor is far enough ahead to exchange contracts, you need to persuade the seller to go into rented, otherwise I suggest you just take a 6 month AST.

Sharpiejas

Looks like a stressful couple of months for me then, can not see us staying in a hotel for that long. Guess the only way to not lose the fees paid so far will be to wait it out. Will definitely start looking again as a back up though

Sharpiejas

Seller has now come back to demand 5k more or he will put it back on the market. Looks like we will walk away and rent for six months.

Anyone had any luck with claiming back any fees paid through small claims court or similliar?

mjdh1957

Sharpiejas wrote: »

Anyone had any luck with claiming back any fees paid through small claims court or similliar?

As noted above, you have no basis to claim for compensation or reimbursement.

This is one of the joys of buying property in England (in Scotland the process is different).

milliemonster

How can you claim fees back? you instructed professionals to carry out conveyancing work that has been done and has to be paid for, it's not your solicitor/valuers fault that your seller has done this.

Unfortunately this is one of the (very unfair) pitfalls in buying a house in England, nothing is guaranteed until you complete.

Sharpiejas

I meant claiming back from the seller, not the valuer or solicitor.

Thanks for the advice though, it's just that the seller should of made his intentions clear rather than ignoring the attempted contact ect. I feel he has deliberately dragged his heels as the prices are rising in London all the time.

If I had another bid accepted for another property, how long would it take after valuation now that everything is in place for us if there is no ongoing chain?

zzzLazyDaisy

milliemonster wrote: »

Unfortunately this is one of the (very unfair) pitfalls in buying a house in England, nothing is guaranteed until you complete.

Just to clarify - the parties enter into a legally binding contract at exchange (not completion). Although things can go wrong between exchange and completion, this is rare, and the disadvantaged party does have avenues of legal redress.

PasturesNew

Any money you spend up to exchange is your risk.
When buying it's best to allow 2-3 months for a simple transaction and 3-4 months if there's a chain or it's a flat.

Sellers, and buyers, often change their mind over what they think they'll be doing as events unfold during the process.

Holidays are a typical big black hole, often with sellers randomly going on holidays, or solicitors doing the same. Then there's building regs that suddenly appear to not be present close to the end. And, with flats, various issues in the lease/works planned that leap out of the woodwork.

ValHaller

Sharpiejas wrote: »

Seller has now come back to demand 5k more or he will put it back on the market. Looks like we will walk away and rent for six months.

Anyone had any luck with claiming back any fees paid through small claims court or similliar?

No chance with claiming anything back.

In your position, I would carry on with renting, but tell the agent and the solicitor that I reluctantly accepted the £5k. I would also tell the solicitor not to progress while you are sorting out interim accommodation. And I would let the vendor stew.

If the vendor became insistent, I would stall them and gazunder back down by the 5k plus whatever rent to see out your 6 months. Mainly because with a new rental property I could.

I suppose the other way you could deal with it is to say that they have left it so late you are going into rented and unless they exchange on the original agreed price immediately, the deal is off, but I sort of doubt you will gain anything.

BTW, you have not explained why you are having to leave your current place - you don't want to land in the same situation in 6 months time.