Bottom of incomplete chain - Found new property

FTB_Dan

Hi there,
I'm hoping someone can shed some light of the best way to proceed. 

We are FTBs and had an offer accepted on a property back in April.

Unfortunately, our vendors still haven't found anywhere and therefore the chain is still incomplete. We do have a mortgage offer for this property.

We have been checking RM etc and have viewed a property today which needs ALOT of work (a complete overhaul - current owner has lived there for 40/50 years and has barely touched the place). 

If we had an offer accepted on this property, what is the best way to proceed? Whilst we know the property needs complete renovation, we don't know the actual condition of the building/loft so would want a full survey. 

Can we have an offer accepted on this property and get a search done ASAP to ensure this is still viable (and no major hidden costs), before withdrawing our offer from the first property?

AdrianC

Yes, of course. You simply don't tell the EA/vendor of the April property until such time as you know you're ready to withdraw.

FTB_Dan

AdrianC said:

Yes, of course. You simply don't tell the EA/vendor of the April property until such time as you know you're ready to withdraw.

Great, thanks. In terms of our solicitor, do we just inform them that we have had an offer accepted on another property but again to hold off on any searches etc? 

AdrianC

Exactly that.

FTB_Dan

AdrianC said:

Exactly that.

Cheers Adrian, much appreciated!

badger09

I'm coming at this from your vendor's perspective: please do let know as soon as you have made a decision though.

In fact, if I were in your position, out of courtesy, I would tell the vendors that until the chain is complete, I will continue to look at other properties. It might spur them on if they know you're not prepared to wait any longer for them to find somewhere suitable. It might not, but at least everyone knows the position.

I do realise I'm probably in a minority there .

Redwino222

I absolutely agree you should be open and honest about this.

Moving is such a stressful time.  You rely on other people playing it straight and so many don’t.

there is nothing wrong with looking for another property if the chain isn’t complete - but you should be honest about that rather than suddenly pulling the rug from someone’s feet.

Justonemorecupoftea

@badger09 I totally agree! 

lookstraightahead

Your vendor is completely at fault for wanting their cake and eating it. You could either give your vendors as ultimatum which is more polite but you run the risk of them remarketing. Or you put yourselves first, like your vendors have, and keep all options open, and you pull the strings by giving yourselves a choice further down the line.
I would do the latter.

FTB_Dan

Hi all, apologies for the delayed response. 

Thanks to everyone's views on the matter. 

Our vendor has been in contact last week saying that due to the increase in prices they are struggling to find somewhere suitable. Which is understandable given the current market.

Giving them this ultimatum is probably likely going to lead to them remarketing their property based on the above. 

We don't want to mess anyone around so we will come to a decision as quickly as possible.

Falafels

FTB_Dan said:

We have been checking RM etc and have viewed a property today which needs ALOT of work (a complete overhaul - current owner has lived there for 40/50 years and has barely touched the place). 

One thing that occurs to me is that this property may not be mortgageable if it needs a huge amount of work; it's not just a question of getting an offer accepted, but getting a lender to stump up the readies on that particular property. Do you have a large deposit? 

So my advice is to get your ducks in a row before withdrawing from your current purchase.