Top Vendor no longer wants to rent

movingmad

I have been ghosting on this forum for a little while but felt like posting today finally!

We accepted an offer on our house in mid April, those below us already had an offer accepted by a FTB, we quickly had an offer accepted on a property and the chain above already had an offer accepted too. The people at the top were 'happy' to rent so it was all ready to go.
Everyone in the chain instructed solicitors then to find out that the top of their chain decided they no longer wanted to rent. 
So here we are in June, with the top of the chain still searching for a seemingly elusive property. The rest of the chain has stuck tight so far but it's beyond stressfull just waiting (viewing other properties but nothing quite hitting the mark)
Breaking the chain would cost us too much to really consider (yet)

Anyone have any good news stories of waiting out a chain? 

lookstraightahead

I suggest you break the chain - someone has to.

Then when you buy, you could possibly negotiate as you will be bottom of chain, and save some money there.

pinkteapot

No reason for OP to incur the cost and hassle of that unless it's seriously looking like someone below them will pull out... 

GDB2222

I don't recommend breaking the chain by renting, as it's a hell of a gamble. You will have to commit to a rental for at least 6 months. During that time, house prices will go up or down. If they go down, you're laughing. If they go up, you can find yourself priced out of the market. 

It's the sort of bet that hedge fund managers make, but they make it with their investors' money, not their own.

GDB2222

By the way, I say that even though I think prices may well drop when the stamp duty holiday ends. "May" being the operative word.

pinkteapot

You're doing the right thing OP - keep viewing other houses to buy, and if there's one you like as much as your original choice comes up with a more proceedable vendor, then go for that instead. Just beware of the chain above that, or you could be back to square one anyway. 

As I said above, I wouldn't break the chain unless your buyer seriously threatens to pull out. Even then, if you got a buyer easily and are confident you would again at the same price, then there's still no real reason to break the chain. On the other hand if it took a long time to get your buyer, or you feel they're paying top price for your house, might be worth it. 

NameUnavailable

I don't know why people say they will move into rented accommodation, perhaps they think it's easy to find somewhere for a few weeks but then in the cold light of day realise they have to move all their stuff twice, may need to pay for storage as well as deposits, new utilities, etc. etc., for a minimum of 6 months.

Never trust anyone who says that, it hardly ever happens.

badger09

NameUnavailable said:

I don't know why people say they will move into rented accommodation, perhaps they think it's easy to find somewhere for a few weeks but then in the cold light of day realise they have to move all their stuff twice, may need to pay for storage as well as deposits, new utilities, etc. etc., for a minimum of 6 months.

Never trust anyone who says that, it hardly ever happens.

Hardly ever? But it does happen. As I've posted elsewhere, we did it in January this year to honour our commitment. It was very expensive, incredibly stressful and took its toll on my health.

It really isn't something to be promised or undertaken lightly, especially in the middle of winter, in lockdown during a Global pandemic - but hey we survived.

saajan_12

badger09 said:

NameUnavailable said:

I don't know why people say they will move into rented accommodation, perhaps they think it's easy to find somewhere for a few weeks but then in the cold light of day realise they have to move all their stuff twice, may need to pay for storage as well as deposits, new utilities, etc. etc., for a minimum of 6 months.

Never trust anyone who says that, it hardly ever happens.

Hardly ever? But it does happen. As I've posted elsewhere, we did it in January this year to honour our commitment. It was very expensive, incredibly stressful and took its toll on my health.

It really isn't something to be promised or undertaken lightly, especially in the middle of winter, in lockdown during a Global pandemic - but hey we survived.

Hardly ever and it does happen, or one example of it happening are not mutually exclusive though. 

lookstraightahead

I've rented every single time to break the chain. 

People just seem so set against it, without even looking into it. It's like they want to sell, but not really.

it is hard for some (pets, but rarely children) but not as many as would make out 

Suseka97

badger09 said:

NameUnavailable said:

I don't know why people say they will move into rented accommodation, perhaps they think it's easy to find somewhere for a few weeks but then in the cold light of day realise they have to move all their stuff twice, may need to pay for storage as well as deposits, new utilities, etc. etc., for a minimum of 6 months.

Never trust anyone who says that, it hardly ever happens.

Hardly ever? But it does happen. As I've posted elsewhere, we did it in January this year to honour our commitment. It was very expensive, incredibly stressful and took its toll on my health.

It really isn't something to be promised or undertaken lightly, especially in the middle of winter, in lockdown during a Global pandemic - but hey we survived.

Am with you on that... we did the same.  Moved into an Airbnb because we couldn't secure a short term rental (less than 12 months).  We took a risk; it could have left us 'high and dry' if the onward purchase had fallen through.  But we made a promise to our buyers and we honoured it.  Our buyers had reached the point where their mortgage offer was running and our onward purchase was taking time, so we moved on so they could move in.