Sale fell through - house builder unreasonable?

jez9999

I reserved my house with Strata on the basis that I am selling my current house. My current house actually got an offer within a week of going on the market, so it is clearly able to sell quite fast. Anyway I've now paid £3,000 in nonrefundable reservation fee and extras deposits, and my buyer has pulled out so I have to put my property back on the market. Strata say they are going to put me on an "open reservation" because of this, in other words any one can immediately walk in and buy my plot.

Is this not unreasonable from them? I'd like a week or two's grace period of keeping my closed reservation to try and resell my house, especially considering I've paid £3000 so far that I can't get back!

UPDATE: They have now, after a few days, agreed to extend the reservation for a week for me to try and find a new buyer.

[Deleted User]

What were the terms surrounding the payment of the reservation fee?

Davesnave

The fact that you have had an unproceedable offer means nothing. I had 3 offers on my last house, all of which were accepted, but eventually led nowhere.

Strata understand this, which is presumably why they are invoking the terms of the contract you agreed to.

What's happening is only 'unreasonable' if Strata have broken the terms of their contract. House buying is a legal matter, unaffected by sentiment.

If I've got this wrong please put me right. I can't see a question, so is your post just a rant to diss the builder, or what?

Alter_ego

Davesnave wrote: »

I can't see a question, so is your post just a rant to diss the builder, or what?

The question was the first sentence of paragraph 2, you answered it.

Davesnave

Alter_ego wrote: »

The question was the first sentence of paragraph 2, you answered it.

You're right!

jez9999

Well Davesnave, you certainly seem to be "unaffected by sentiment". I'm not saying they don't have the legal right to be doing what they're doing, but it would seem that a slightly less callous approach would be to give me a week or two to sell my house, or to offer to refund some/all of the money I've paid. Would you be happy to be £3,000 down in my situation?

giraffe69

So if they gave you a week (or even two) and you still hadn't got a proceedable buyer?

jez9999

Then I'd say fair enough. There is a reasonable chance the house will get an offer in that time.

BoGoF

A 'reasonable chance' ?

So you are not confident you will get an offer and expect the builder to not adhere to the contract terms. Not the builder being unreasonable here.

jez9999

So just to confirm then: all you guys would be happy to be in a situation where you'd paid £3,000 towards a house, would likely sell your house (again) in a couple of weeks, but would also be likely to lose the house on which you'd spent £3,000 because it can't be reserved?

Lokolo

jez9999 wrote: »

So just to confirm then: all you guys would be happy to be in a situation where you'd paid £3,000 towards a house, would likely sell your house (again) in a couple of weeks, but would also be likely to lose the house on which you'd spent £3,000 because it can't be reserved?

You signed the contract. If you thought it was unreasonable, you shouldn't have signed it.