Backing out of house sale

ognum

David_Aston wrote: »

It would be nice if the op would just round off this thread by stating they have agreed to contribute to the their buyers costs?

Sorry but I disagree, many many people drop out of house purchases, I have never ever heard of anyone being expected to contribute to the other parties costs.

This is a legal proccess. The OP should not have pressure put on her to contribute in any way.

avenida

Dukesy wrote: »

My goodness, I can't believe how full of bile, venom and grudges some people here are! The OP asked a question, she is clearly not looking to screw people over, and all of this abuse is just unnecessary.

Yes, it's !!!! When a vendor/buyer pulls out, for whatever reason, but it happens. We all know this when we enter into the process, and we have to suck it up and move on.

When we were buying our house, our vendor threatened to pull out as it was taking too long. Bearing in mind it was an uninhabited inheritence, this seemed highly unfair, especially as their solicitor (I'm not totally excusing ours either) was largely responsible for the delays, as questions being asked by our solicitor were not being answered, and documents were not being sent. It would have put us in a dreadful position, as when we finally got to completion, I was days from giving birth, and our mortgage offer had almost expired, but they were within their rights to do so. Albeit for a crap reason.

The OP, however, has a very good reason for pulling out. Yes, morally it's not wonderful, but she should do whatever she feels is the best option for her and her family. I feel hugely for the others in the chain, but as I say, this is the reality of the property market, and if people can't pick themselves up and move on, then they probably shouldn't be getting involved with property at all.

I totally agree with everything that you have said here. The OP is obviously annoyed about pulling out

pinkteapot

That figure of 29% has terrified me. We're currently second in a chain of five. We haven't instructed solicitors or applied for our mortgage yet as we're waiting for the chain to be complete - still waiting to hear if person 5 (current top of the chain) is going to buy something.... Then if there's any more chain from there.

Stressed about the possibility of collapse before we've even got underway!

I really do hate the legal system for house buying/selling in this country. In both Scotland and Canada, you're legally bound to go through with it as soon as your offer is accepted. Why on earth do we still have our system?

(OP - this isn't a dig at you as I fully understand your reasons for pulling out, and the simple fact is that you can do so in the current system)

AdrianC

pinkteapot wrote: »

That figure of 29% has terrified me. We're currently second in a chain of five. We haven't instructed solicitors or applied for our mortgage yet as we're waiting for the chain to be complete

Umm, I think that should terrify the others in your chain even more...

I really do hate the legal system for house buying/selling in this country. In both Scotland and Canada, you're legally bound to go through with it as soon as your offer is accepted.

By "legally bound", of course, you mean "financial penalties not to".

OK, so you've had your offer accepted, without even knowing if you can pay for it. What if your mortgage application doesn't come through? :eek: You've just supported greater financial penalties for those who don't carry through from accepted offer to completion - yet you've got four sales built on the back of a mortgage you've not even applied for yet...

martan01

AdrianC wrote: »

Umm, I think that should terrify the others in your chain even more...



By "legally bound", of course, you mean "financial penalties not to".

OK, so you've had your offer accepted, without even knowing if you can pay for it. What if your mortgage application doesn't come through? :eek: You've just supported greater financial penalties for those who don't carry through from accepted offer to completion - yet you've got four sales built on the back of a mortgage you've not even applied for yet...

Your right, you had better tell Scotland, Canada, and continental Europe it doesn't work, it's a miracle they have coped up to now.

Or perhaps a system where you are contractually obliged from the start of proceedings weeds out the people who are not committed to the transaction and not able to carry it through.

I mean imagine accepting an offer on a house and having to compete on the purchase, what a nightmare.

AdrianC

martan01 wrote: »

Your right, you had better tell Scotland, Canada, and continental Europe it doesn't work, it's a miracle they have coped up to now.

Unlike England and Wales, eh? I mean, we just don't cope at all, do we? Nobody ever manages to successfully buy or sell anything here.

Or perhaps a system where you are contractually obliged from the start of proceedings weeds out the people who are not committed to the transaction and not able to carry it through.

Because so many people frivolously throw away a grand in fees without a second thought, and with no qualms whatsoever. Like the OP...

I mean imagine accepting an offer on a house and having to compete on the purchase, what a nightmare.

If it helps prevent people from making an offer, having it accepted, then waiting for the entire chain to get put in place before they even apply for their mortgage or start the legals...

All rhetoric and tub-thumping aside, I wonder how many sales actually fall through solely because somebody gets cold feet and pulls out, rather than for actual problems and changes of situation that actively prevent the sale progressing. I suspect the real answer is very low.

martan01

AdrianC wrote: »

Unlike England and Wales, eh? I mean, we just don't cope at all, do we? Nobody ever manages to successfully buy or sell anything here.



Because so many people frivolously throw away a grand in fees without a second thought, and with no qualms whatsoever. Like the OP...



If it helps prevent people from making an offer, having it accepted, then waiting for the entire chain to get put in place before they even apply for their mortgage or start the legals...

All rhetoric and tub-thumping aside, I wonder how many sales actually fall through solely because somebody gets cold feet and pulls out, rather than for actual problems and changes of situation that actively prevent the sale progressing. I suspect the real answer is very low.

There are no fees if a seller pulls out, unless they are in an onward chain.

I can market my property, string along some buyers for a few months, allow them to commit financially paying for searches, a valuation, solicitors and mortgage fees, then for no reason at all, pull out. With no comeback and no financial penalty.

Or I can try and apply leverage before exchange to get more money, knowing a buyer is committed. This happened to a poster on here recently. The seller took so long that the market rose as they dithered and they decided they wanted more just before exchange.

The poster lost the house.

This is an acceptable state of affairs?

We are in a minority in England and Wales, and the system needs to be changed.

ash28

martan01 wrote: »

Your right, you had better tell Scotland, Canada, and continental Europe it doesn't work, it's a miracle they have coped up to now.

Or perhaps a system where you are contractually obliged from the start of proceedings weeds out the people who are not committed to the transaction and not able to carry it through.

I mean imagine accepting an offer on a house and having to compete on the purchase, what a nightmare.

Imagine making an offer on a house, you have instructed solicitors to act for you, you have had a survey done and arranged your mortgage and the offer is not accepted.....welcome to Scotland.

In Scotland you need your finances in place before you offer on a house......

Your lender may not accept the survey that's done as part of the home report, so you may have to pay for a survey before you put in an offer.....a lot of vendors won't entertain the idea of an offer subject to survey.

You can end up spending quite a lot of money and not have your offer accepted.....

Offers are often (generally) made and accepted through a solicitor - so you would have these fees to pay too.

The missives (the equivalent of exchanging contracts) can be concluded fairly early on in the process but not always...sometimes it can take weeks or months....and until the missives are concluded there is no contract. Either party can pull out.

Once the missives have been concluded you can still pull out if the solicitor finds something during the conveyancing that may threaten your security as an owner.

There might be a lot wrong with our system but it doesn't necessarily mean everyone else's is great either.