Buying from divorcing couple back to start of process - advice needed

safeashouses12

Hoping for some advice on our, now rather slow, house purchase. My wife and I put an offer on a house 3 months ago (just after lockdown) had it accepted and off we go all excited. We are buying from a divorcing couple and the gentleman is currently renting and has found a house to buy where the chain ends.

The lady however, had found a house, and we were due to exchange 2 weeks ago but the day before exchange, she decided to pull out of her house purchase due to seeing some undesirable activities near her new house (details are very hazy from the EA). Fast forward a few days and she asks whether we would be willing to wait for her to find somewhere else and complete on that. Having already waited 3 months to be told she’s simply ‘changed her mind’ on her house, we told her we don’t want to wait that long and we're told the husband’s vendors said the same. Just had it confirmed she won’t move into a rental and wants her and the kids to stay in the house as long as possible.

What would you do in our situation? Would you hang around for another 3 - 4 months and hope that the next purchase goes through ok or should we move on to a new purchase? Have you had a similar situation with a divorcing couple and what happened? I feel there could be a lot of risks / unknowns with this scenario, not least that she may decide at some point that she doesn't want to move out at all. We're keen not to lose out on the stamp duty holiday which is a big saving.

Further background:

• The house is great but it’s not perfect / dream home (we’re buying in London so our budget will likely never buy us our dream home)
• We went towards the bottom end of our budget on this purchase so we can potentially buy a more expensive house now, giving us more choice
• The sale of our flat is not contingent on this purchase, we will move out into a rental to become chain free
• Current costs already incurred of £2-£2.5k on survey and solicitor fees to date

What would you do? Help!

Socajam

I would start looking elsewhere.
There is no guarantee that she will not do the same thing again.

Skint_yet_Again

We waited months for a divorcing couple to agree on the sale / split of their former matrimonial home. It was vacant & needed work. 

All the time we were waiting house prices in the area where we were buying were rapidly going up. Our house was in a different county & prices were static. We finally agreed an exchange date. I arranged a transfer from my office to another office near our new home. 

On the day of exchange the husband pulled out saying he had decided to do the property up himself & did we want to pay more once he had finished. We told him where to stick it. 

We had insurance with the solicitor which covered all their fees but lost all the survey money. (structural). I had to go back to my employer & was lucky to keep my job. We couldn’t afford to buy anything else as prices in the area we wanted to move to had shot up. 

My advice ... look for something else. Divorcing couples can be a nightmare & it sounds like the wife in your case will do anything to delay the sale. 

blue_max_3

You've made a commitment to that place, so you might as well stay in the game. Meanwhile, either the wife or you will find another property first and you can review the situation at that point. 

AnotherJoe

The fact they are divorcing seems like a red herring here, the wife saw something she didn't like just befure exchange , maybe unpleasant neighbours or local yobs, so sounds as if she wouldn't have wanted to buy that place after that discovery anyway. 
As per blue max I'd say stay with it but keep looking.

GDB2222

A solicitor once told me that he had given up all his divorce work, so as to concentrate on criminal work. “You know where you are with criminals.”

This lady will doubtless have to find a much smaller house to live in. Or a similar size, but in a much, much less desirable neighbourhood. Of course, she’s never going to be satisfied, as she’ll Be searching for something that doesn’t exist, ie a house as good as the current one for half the price. 

[Deleted User]

I can see this dragging on forever. She has already said she doesnt want to move. She could do it again and drag it out until her ex gets so fed up the court take over the sale, and that is lengthy and expensive 

Scotbot

Start looking, you don't want to miss the SDLT holiday. I doubt the wife saw anything dubious, she just doesn't want to move.

MovingForwards

Keep this one on hold, look for another place. If the current one sorts itself out great, if you find something else it may even tick more boxes for you.

safeashouses12

Thanks guys, really helpful advice. I’m hearing that we shouldn’t do anything hasty and just keep the current sale going and see if we can find anything better in the meantime.

Also, does anyone find that info on the ongoing chain is hard to come by? EA is always so vague about what is actually happening up the chain which gives me even more cause for concern. Just feel that there’s something we’re not being told, is that normal? Would the solicitor know that info?

LouLou589

Very similar to our situation. Offer accepted back on 1st Feb, wife is renting husband staying in property we wish to buy and purchasing an onward one. We thought when lockdown hit we were ready to exchange, but after 2 weeks of chasing dates when restrictions lifted we were told he had decided his onward purchase wasn't suitable for his needs. He is now on house number 3 and our mortgage offer (which has already been extended due to Covid) expires in a matter of days. Told by EA we are close to exchange but found out on Fri he has decided to bring up some structural issues on his survey (which was done weeks ago).

House has potential to be our forever home and is a unique one which is the only reason we have stuck with this. Fully expecting things not to happen though.Wife is as keen as us to get things done; however we just don't think he wants to move. The frustrating part is we went into this fully expecting their to be bumps in the road; but it now feels like we have just been led on a merry dance. The move sees our kids in a different school catchment; and we need to give notice on our rental by the 6th of the month.. so all the uncertainty is starting to take its toll.

We have stuck with it with the hope and prayer that it all comes good in the end; but have also formed a plan B of keeping an eye on other properties that come to market (sadly nothing like this one at present). 

Only other point I will add is I divorced back in 2013 and when we sold the house myself and my ex owned everything ran smoothly (and at a very competitive price as we wanted out as much as the buyer wanted in).. so not all divorce sales are to be avoided. 

Hope all works out for you in the end OP!