Seller cancelled sale

Davesnave

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

Has anyone not ever tried to take a seller to the small claims court?

On what grounds? The contract isn't enforceable till it's exchanged.


Yes, stuff does happen and it's not necessarily buyers who lose most. When prices are falling rapidly, a seller may lose much more than a thousand or two in an abortive sale.

Marvel1

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

I simply cannot believe this, at least in a casino I could have a chance of actually winning something.

Just like a casino, it's risk of it going through (winning) or not going through (losing).

sal_III

Such is the world of home buying/selling. Get used to it and in the future limit the expense before exchange as there is always the possibility of losing the money. As above - check with your solicitor whether some of their fees can be "transferred" towards your next purchase.

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

Has anyone not ever tried to take a seller to the small claims court? Essentially, damages have been caused. If I crash into your car it's no good saying well that's life$hit happens???

Even if they did, they would lose. Your analogy is poor.

A better car analogy would be that you spend £1k on repairs for your 10+ years old banger, only to be hit by someone next day and your car written off - the insurance will only reimburse you for the value of the vehicle, not the £1k you just spend on repairs.

eddddy

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

Has anyone not ever tried to take a seller to the small claims court? Essentially, damages have been caused. If I crash into your car it's no good saying well that's life$hit happens???

You need a legal basis for making a claim - typically 'breach of contract' or 'negligence'.



In the example of a car crash - the basis is usually negligence. (Somebody was negligent - e.g. they didn't look properly at a junction and caused a crash)

I guess you'd be hoping to make a 'breach of contract' claim from your seller. But unfortunately, all your negotiations will have been "Subject to Contract" - which specifically means that no binding contract has been created.

(In theory, you could have insisted on some kind of binding contract when your offer was accepted, but there are many reasons why people don't generally do that.)

AdrianC

tom9980 wrote: »

To everyone complaining write to your MP, you know actually do something about it??

Do you, y'know, ever watch the news?

foxy-stoat

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

Is there literally nothing I can do to protect myself from this?

Buy and sell in Scotland.

eddddy

flatulantyounggoat wrote: »

Is there really nothing I can do and just accept this could cost me 1000's again?

You can assess risk and look out for warning signs.

For example, was the seller also buying another house? Had they found a place? Were they instructing solicitors, applying for a mortgage, getting surveys done?

If so, that would be a good sign that they are committed - as they stand to lose £1000, if they change their minds.

If they weren't doing any of that, they have 'no skin in the game' and nothing to lose, if they change their minds. So you should proceed with caution.


What reasons did the seller give for changing their mind about selling?

babyblade41

When looking at a potential house even before viewing you can ask are they able to proceed , do they have another property , have they arranged mortgages etc.

You might not get the truth but you can minimalism this happening again, but it can't be ruled out .

It's why having some financial comfort as well as deposit in reserve before you buy

flatulantyounggoat

Basically, the reason given was that the seller was downsizing and moved in with a friend. Turns out that this place the friend lived was a homeless Shelter and the seller had a massive freak out. So based on that they've decided to move back in to the house that I was meant to be buying. Thing is, the seller runs out of cash in spring. He simply has got to move. The seller is a bit 'different' and apparently isn't entirely capable of rational decision making...Might sound implausible but it's true. When I went to view the chap literally had one pair of clothes and literally no furniture. Car was a 1990 Mini rusting and leaking oil everywhere. Mental illness seems to be a thing here. Talking to the neighbours he's been agonizing over moving out for years. All very well but I'm getting shafted because of this...

babyblade41

You aren't getting shafted , this person has decided now they aren't ready.. the reasons being are irrelevant TBH

At this moment in time ,it's now, not for sale so time to move on