Misleading info from seller

benjenks2001

Hi,

My girlfriend and I are just going through the process of buying a house we really like in an area we know well. A great bonus attraction was that the seller told us that the house is not part of a chain (the reason give was that the owner is moving in with her partner, so they currently have two houses between them) – as we are first time buyers, this means that the whole business should go through nice and quickly.

We’ve had our initial offer accepted, had a mortgage approved and had a full buildings survey done.

The buildings survey highlighted a few issues – nothing drastic given the age of the house, but enough to go back and renegotiate the price.

However, whilst discussing the price, the Estate Agent let slip that the house is, in fact, part of a chain – which obviously changes things massively.

Clearly we are reluctant to pull the plug at this stage, as we’re already liable for a small fortune in solicitor’s fees and the survey fees – but at the same time, we do feel a little cheated here.

Where do we stand in a situation like this? Has anyone else been through something similar?

Any advice or comments gratefully received!

Ben.

PointerOO

A similar thing happened to us when we were buying the house that we are completing on this Friday. We didn't find out that there was a chain until a few days before we were supposed to exchange. The people who were living in the house our vendors are buying were supposed to be moving to Spain and had a place out there already, however they decided to buy their mother-in-laws house in this country as well. Obviously we weren't too amused about it (nor were our sellers who were also kept in the dark) but there was really nothing we could do as like you we had paid a survey fee, spent hours arranging the mortgage and we loved the house.

In the end we have only been delayed a couple of weeks (were supposed to have completed June 29th, will actually complete July 13th) and yes it was annoying but not the end of the world and we have got there in the end.

The way I see it you only have 2 choices. Number one, pull out of the sale, which you have already said you are reluctant to do. Number two, express your concerns of there being a chain and push for as quick of a completion as you can.

Catblue

Her circumstances may have genuinely changed since you spoke to her.

Maybe she initially envisioned moving in with her partner and then they jointly decided to purchase a new house between them? Maybe the partner didn't want her moving in with him in the end? :rotfl:

In any case, it is next to impossible to prove that she deliberately lied in order to mislead you.

telfordwhite

I know it's advice you wanted but I only have an example of lying buyers to give you.

We accepted a low offer on our house because the buyers had already sold their house in a private sale and the house we want is empty.

3 months down the line we discover the private sale hasn't even had solicitors instructed yet, we thought we were completing this Friday.

krispy444

Like catblue said the vendors circumstances may have changed and so therefore there is a chain. However your solicitor should have asked the vendors solicitor whether there was a related transaction, so that they knew the extent of the chain at the beginning. Unfortunately there is not a lot you can do about it except ask the agents how big the chain is now and how far advanced all the transactions are and then make a decision on what you want to do. It seems a shame to pull out just because there is a chain, as you could be in a transaction with just 2 of you in and still take a while depending on what enquiries are raised and the speed of the vendors solicitor answering them. Good luck

benjenks2001

Thanks for all your comments.

I suppose it is true that the seller's circumstances may well have changed; we may just put it down to bad luck - I'll try to find out more info on how long this chain is.

jwruk

I had a similar situation recently, where the house we decided to buy was described as 'no chain' by the vendors and they stated this in the paperwork they completed and sent through the solicitors and they also stated that they weren't using their sale money to purchase another property. It then became apparent that they were relying on the money and there was a chain.

In theory they should have informed all parties of the change in circumstances but they didn't, and they also set an unrealistic completion date for their purchase, which they missed and it cost them a lot of money (bridging loan possibly).

If your vendors have initially stated in writing that there's no chain and they're not using the money for a further purchase then get onto your solicitor. I don't know what the legal position is but if they have misled you and you've incurred unnecessary costs then you may be able to claim back from them.

Doozergirl

jwruk wrote: »

If your vendors have initially stated in writing that there's no chain and they're not using the money for a further purchase then get onto your solicitor. I don't know what the legal position is but if they have misled you and you've incurred unnecessary costs then you may be able to claim back from them.

No you can't.

Nicki

This seems to be really common. On my first sale and purchase, the vendors told us they were not in a chain as they already owned the house they were moving to, but the transaction fell through because they hadn't found a new property to move to. My buyers then said they were going to keep their existing property and rent it out but as the chain fell apart will never know if this is true.

This time round the vendor is again saying he already owns the property he is moving into and my purchasers also said they were keeping their existing property and renting out, but I heard yesterday they have now put this property on the market. They are still saying the purchase of mine is not dependent on them selling their own, but I will be amazed when it comes down to it if they don't want a linked exchange and completion on their two transactions. This is annoying, particularly as we have always played it straight and said that we will not be in a position to exchange on our sale unless our purchase goes through. I think that a lot of purchasers are spinning this line whether true or not to make themselves look more attactive, as most of the viewers through my door were saying the same thing.

seabiscuit_2

We accepted a low offer from a cash buyer.

Strangely enough, near to our "expected" completition, it turned out there was a delay in obtaining his mortgage!!

Nenen

Probably not what you want to hear but maybe it will help to know you're not alone!

Many years ago we had an offer accepted on a house where the sellers told us they were buying a new build so no chain above them. This was in October. The projected completion date for their new build to be ready to move into was the beginning of the following January but, as we had a toddler, I was pregnant (due that May), my dh had already started his new job and was commuting huge distances, we were worried about their new house being ready on time. I was desparate to be moved in by the end of January at the latest and we made our offer (full asking price) conditional upon that.

They knew our situation and kept telling us that if the new house wasn't ready they would move in with parents who lived locally.
Fast forward to MARCH :eek: and they were still waiting for new house to be ready and making all sorts of rubbish excuses about why they couldn't move in with their parents as promised. Basically they strung us along week by week, always promising that next week they would exchange and arrange to move out etc etc etc. They believed they had us over a barrel given our situation and the amount of money we'd already paid out for surveys, legal costs etc.

Finally... with massive protective and nesting pregnancy hormones kicking in we pulled out... best thing we ever did!
We actually found an empty property and managed to exchange and complete within 4 weeks... the seller even let us start decorating after exchange instead of waiting until completion. We did lose a lot of money on the aborted purchase but made up for it on the better but cheaper house we eventually bought. The sad thing is, that experience (coupled with problems with our original buyers who had also lied to us in collusion with our EA) made me very wary of ever trusting anyone when buying or selling a house ever again!