gazundering and horrible buyers...advice please!

naomibm

our buyers and solicitors have been hardwork since they made the offer..i agreed to remove our place off the market for only 1k under asking price (we had a fair amount of interest)...they said they wanted to move in 2 weeks but then said 6 weeks more doable. 8 weeks later we were trying to get things moving a bit, having found a wonderful house. There were a few problems with the lease (i thought we had a share of the freehold and i was mistaken). He asked for money off due to this...(despite finding out you cant get a mortgage on a freehold flat and as a surveyor he would have known this i expect)...and we gave him money off and agreed to pay for work needed on the property. He seemed happy with this but also wanted to come snd do 'quick 20 min damp check'.. i was concerned they would then think there was something wrong with the property....and i dont think there is (to our knowledge anyway) if we said no to this, so let him. he came a few days ago (when we are literally about to exchange), and was pointing out lots of issues. He is now saying he may want a full survey but hasnt explicitlysaid he has or is going to book one..which to me seems really bad as we were just about to exchange and weve already given thousands off-he shouldhave organised one months ago as we did for the propertywe are buying. he is a surveyor himself and would have seen the defects he is talking about months ago. im unsure there is any truth in what hes saying or if he even plans on ever buying it or just stringing us along! its been so stressful...the place we are buying still havent found anywhere and are moving into rented for us. i think we may just say...exchange or we put it back on the market...we sold it relatively quickly...within a fortnight...and hopefully the people we arebuying from will wait for us. any advice peeps? trying to move in a  pandemic with 2 children under 5 is stressful enough, without this horrid buyer. any advice?

joshiesaunt

Sounds stressful.  Yes, give a deadline to exchange and then put it back on the market as he sounds like a time waster.

diggingdude

Yes give a deadline and no financial compromises more than maybe £1k I would have thought 

Thrugelmir

Deadline to exchange no if's or but's. Relist the property immediately if the buyers fail to do so. 

hippocrates1

I think not being a freehold is definitely grounds to reduce the offer. You don’t have to sell to an investor. Put the house back on the market if you’re not happy. 

naomibm

hippocrates1 said:

I think not being a freehold is definitely grounds to reduce the offer. You don’t have to sell to an investor. Put the house back on the market if you’re not happy. 

yes...we knew this..hence giving money off. we were a bit clueless...but he WOULD have known it was leashold from the off we think...He isnt an investor.

lookstraightahead

to be fair if you didn't even know about the freehold then I would be checking everything really carefully as a buyer, there is no reason why he would know about your freehold/leasehold situation.

They might be pulling a fast one and it's your choice whether you put it back on the market. They can pull out (as can you) any time up to exchange.

naomibm

lookstraightahead said:

to be fair if you didn't even know about the freehold then I would be checking everything really carefully as a buyer, there is no reason why he would know about your freehold/leasehold situation.

They might be pulling a fast one and it's your choice whether you put it back on the market. They can pull out (as can you) any time up to exchange.

you cant get a mortgage on a freehold flat..

Weathergirl_76

I’m not an expert, but my feeling is this is a move to secure more money off. He thinks he has you in a corner doing this so close to exchange, and that you will drop again not to lose him. 

Suseka97

Agree with others that you should set a deadline for exchange and seeing as your vendors haven't found their onward purchase I'm sure they won't have any concerns if you re-list - gives them longer to find somewhere and/or find a suitable rental.

naomibm

Suseka97 said:

Agree with others that you should set a deadline for exchange and seeing as your vendors haven't found their onward purchase I'm sure they won't have any concerns if you re-list - gives them longer to find somewhere and/or find a suitable rental.

would their estate agents allow this?