Vendors threatening 'cash buyer' gazump

cloo

So we're 5 or 6 weeks into a sale (selling to FTBs, vendor's property is vacant), not taking that long I'd say, but suddenly today the bombshell is dropped that our vendors had the place on with another agent the whole time (though evidently on the hush hush, as it's not online) and they now have a cash buyer, so we'd better confirm exchange date or else! Our buyers want/need to move in by Xmas (need to catch school applications for the area, which close mid Jan) so we have restated this.

I'm not going to ask if there's any legal action, compensation, blah blah . I know there isn't. But interested in how best to play this.

We have to assume that the cash buyer is lower than us, or else they'd just have taken it presumably. I do also know that a lot of 'cash buyers' are talking cr*p and aren't really cash buyers.

We're hoping it's a try on, and/or they just want assurance that we aren't having second thoughts or anything.

Buyers have their mortgage and survey went into ours on Friday. Our survey goes in to the house on Friday and we expect our mortgage offer confirmed in the next few days. Husband is going to talk to solicitor and ask if they can hold on til Monday; we should know by then whether survey is basically OK and will have no further queries of the house at that point.

I also think we need to tell them as soon as anything moves (eg if the mortgage offer comes in tomorrow) and maybe mention that they had better be sure their cash buyer really is one before they pull out on us, because if we lose them, we lose our buyer so they can't expect just to come back to us with their tail between their legs.

I'm just so annoyed that they never even mentioned they were looking for super fast exchange, or else we might never have committed to this. I really don't want to let our buyers down either.

Paully232000

I would ask myself if there is really another buyer? as I would imagine in this day and age that having an EA who is 'very hush-hush and not online', cant be good for business. Who told you there was?

Are they saying that because of what they know will come of the survey and preempting that? Just a thought

G_M

What can you do? Offer them more money? It's an option, but unless you're desperate.....

Call their bluff and do nothing. Even a cash buyer will take time to get to where you are, so assuming they exist, what is the vendor's motive? More cash or faster sale?

rosie383

Maybe they are worried that you haven't even had the survey done 5-6 weeks into the process. Perhaps that's why they kept it on the market.

cloo

Husband's spoken the agent we're buying from and I suspected there was no other agent. A previous cash offerer came back with a higher offer, still lower than ours. The agent doesn't think the buyers are seriously considering it and, tellingly, didn't use it as an opportunity to ask for more money from us, which suggests it's not serious competition and says she'll tell the buyers to sit tight and that all is going well with our sale. So I think it was mostly a try on to get reassurances from us.

I don't think 5 weeks in is that long for a survey... most I know of seem to happen 5 to 6 weeks in IME, and I've sold one place and bought two (the place I sold the survey didn't come in until about week 8 or 9).

rosie383

We had a survey done with provisional report received within a few days of making an offer and our previous buyers did the same. My neighbours who were on the market at the same time as us had theirs done within days too so I thought that was quite normal.

nomoneytoday

If you want the new house why has it taken over a month to do a survey?

If I was selling, i'd expect a surveyor appointment booked and proof of your mortgage in principal before taking the house off Rightmove

TheCyclingProgrammer

cloo wrote: »

Husband's spoken the agent we're buying from and I suspected there was no other agent. A previous cash offerer came back with a higher offer, still lower than ours. The agent doesn't think the buyers are seriously considering it and, tellingly, didn't use it as an opportunity to ask for more money from us, which suggests it's not serious competition and says she'll tell the buyers to sit tight and that all is going well with our sale. So I think it was mostly a try on to get reassurances from us.

I don't think 5 weeks in is that long for a survey... most I know of seem to happen 5 to 6 weeks in IME, and I've sold one place and bought two (the place I sold the survey didn't come in until about week 8 or 9).

Sounds re-assuring - everyone says EAs are working for their vendor but TBH, once a sale is agreed they are working mainly for themselves and doing everything they can to ensure a sale progresses to completion, or they don't get paid.

So it sounds to me like he still wants his clients to complete with you.

I have to agree with the above though, 5-6 weeks is a long time to get a survey sorted out. When we made an offer on a place, we had our survey turned around within 4 weeks and could have done it sooner but we wanted to wait for our mortgage valuation and offer to come through first (although we had still tentatively booked in the survey).

I would simply tell the EA that as soon as the survey is complete, if there are no serious issues to address, you'll be willing to commit to an exchange date then if your solicitors are happy with everything. Your vendor would be foolish to risk the sale over this.

cloo

It kind of puts in in perspective as we're just at that stage of having finished filling in all the property information forms which show you all the little problems with the property, and then thinking 'Oh God, our place is rubbish, what if the buyers decide to pull out?' and I suppose our vendors are probably having exactly the same worry!

I'll aim to keep them filled in on every step from hereon in I guess, that should keep them happy. Once the mortgage is cleared (which is really ought to be; we're borrowing the same as we borrowed to buy our current flat 7 years ago and are putting down a deposit of over 70%) that's the only 'physical' barrier removed.

There will be some queries from the info forms, but hopefully we'll all want to focus on what is totally essential to clear up before exchange and fix that for about 4 weeks hence.

Hoploz

Good luck. I think it's a little unfair of other people to suggest it is your fault for hanging around not booking the survey ... I assume you applied for the mortgage, they have been dng their checks, and it is only now that your lender is at survey stage. Different lenders do things at different stages - some check the property out first, others check the borrower out first, that's why it sometimes seems an age before the vendor hears anything. It's not the buyer's fault.
... Unless the buyer doesn't apply for the mortgage straightaway, or they don't get their sale going with the PIF forms etc. That would be a worry.

rosie383

Fair point about the survey taking time. I just would've been worried as a vendor. Mind you, our buyer had the survey done within days but ended up not doing anything else for over three months! Hence why we pulled out of the sale.
I really hope it goes well for you Cloo from here on in.