Buyer holding me hostage on house sale

-taff

If it was me I would have worked out how long I could continue to pay both mortgages, by whatever means and then spoken to the solicitor [ who only gets paid after all the work is done - did you sign a no sale, no fee clause?] and then decided to tell the buyer that unfortuately, I'm sorry, I can't accede to your desires, the house is back on the market. And I would have done that anyway because I don't like being played. And if it had cost me a little bit of money, it would have cost him more. And I would have been fine wih that.

Crashy_Time

-taff said:

If it was me I would have worked out how long I could continue to pay both mortgages, by whatever means and then spoken to the solicitor [ who only gets paid after all the work is done - did you sign a no sale, no fee clause?] and then decided to tell the buyer that unfortuately, I'm sorry, I can't accede to your desires, the house is back on the market. And I would have done that anyway because I don't like being played. And if it had cost me a little bit of money, it would have cost him more. And I would have been fine wih that.

How is it going to cost him more than you paying two mortgages?

Caramac

Is there any guarantee that the electrician isn’t his mate, and the actual rewire would only cost half the price and they’re splitting the difference. Talk to your estate agent - they normally have a feel for chancers. Earlier this year I was waiting for an appointment with an estate agent and overheard a conversation where another estate agent was reassuring a seller over a similar situation.

Snooks2

Marvel1 said:

Drop him, advise agent to re-market.

Was it George Steinbrenner or Donald Trump who said sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Crashy_Time said:

-taff said:

If it was me I would have worked out how long I could continue to pay both mortgages, by whatever means and then spoken to the solicitor [ who only gets paid after all the work is done - did you sign a no sale, no fee clause?] and then decided to tell the buyer that unfortuately, I'm sorry, I can't accede to your desires, the house is back on the market. And I would have done that anyway because I don't like being played. And if it had cost me a little bit of money, it would have cost him more. And I would have been fine wih that.

How is it going to cost him more than you paying two mortgages?

The buyer has conveyancing and survey costs to pay regardless. Not the end of the world, but I bet he'd be reluctant to lose it all. 

-taff

Crashy_Time said:

-taff said:

If it was me I would have worked out how long I could continue to pay both mortgages, by whatever means and then spoken to the solicitor [ who only gets paid after all the work is done - did you sign a no sale, no fee clause?] and then decided to tell the buyer that unfortuately, I'm sorry, I can't accede to your desires, the house is back on the market. And I would have done that anyway because I don't like being played. And if it had cost me a little bit of money, it would have cost him more. And I would have been fine wih that.

How is it going to cost him more than you paying two mortgages?

As above. He will still have to pay his solicitor. And as I stated, I would have been fine with that. I learnt lessons buying three times and selling twice and hanging around on the whim of an idiot who wants me to pay for decking lights would not have been in my vocabulary.

gozaimasu

How is it possible for a buyer to move in and get works done on your property before completing? No one would ever allow this. Except maybe you...

Surely your solicitor advised against it!

jimbog

gozaimasu said:

How is it possible for a buyer to move in and get works done on your property before completing? No one would ever allow this. Except maybe you...

Surely your solicitor advised against it!

The buyer wanted the OP to pay for the electrical work to be carried out before even exchanging on the property (and before moving in)

buttonmoon

They are a chancer. I would pull out and put the house back on the market pronto. 99% of properties will not be compliant with the latest set of regulations (2019) as their electrics were installed before 2019. However, this s
doesnt mean that they aren’t safe or that they need a full rewire! 

Also, the quote sounds high (I’m presuming it’s a small house) . I had a full rewire on my 4 bed house last year and it cost me <5k for new consumer unit, full rewire, new light switches, usb plug sockets, spotlights in the kitchen, bathroom, hallway and landing, Socket and light in the loft, new tv ariel sockets, hardwire smoke alarms and a heat alarm, 2 x outdoor socket and 3 outdoor lights.   

HampshireH

Any update OP?