Advice required after seller pulled out of sale

breaking_free

markod76 said:

The Govt really needs to change the law. 10% fine for either buyer or seller.  

Are you for real? I've been on both sides of this and it's just an unfortunate thing that sometimes happens. My vendors changed their minds as when they went to view houses in the area of their childhood they found that it had changed for the worse so they decided to stay put.

I pulled out of a purchase after 7 weeks when I discovered foam insulation in the loft; the vendor hadn't tried to hide it, but I wasn't aware of it up till that point. Should I have paid 10% of the purchase price because I didn't want to buy a house with potentially dangerous insulation?

user1977

markod76 said:

Got the dreaded message today  that vendor pulled out due to personal reasons.  I don't think this is fair on serious buyers. I am left with solicitors bill whilst the vendor settles the estate agent and no compensation for me.  The Govt really needs to change the law. 10% fine for either buyer or seller.  

Eh? Why 10%? That's going to be far in excess of any likely costs incurred. Presumably your solicitor hasn't charged you 10% of the house value?

And at what stage in the transaction is that liability going to kick in?

TBG01

You can guarantee those championing for this, would be the same ones turning to this forum asking how to get out off it if they were at "fault". 

TripleH

How do you determine fault?

If the party that pulls out pays, you get a situation where one party changes their mind and then sits on it. Tells the other party nothing, lets them incur costs, waste time etc and get frustrated and despite being the willing party, pull out.

The current situation is not ideal (as a person who lost on 2 purchases in 4 months due to the vendors being not truthful), but the alternative suggestion of a 10% charge will only be a win for solicitors.

warwick2001

markod76 said:

Seller just pulled out, 2nd time this has happened to me.  Loss of money, time, energy , effort and missing out on other potential properties.  If i am not why sellers would advertise house for sale not fully sure  what they want. My seller was suppose to move into home assisted and changed her mind. Drove past the house one wknd to show my boy , only to see the fence had just had a fresh coat of paint, i thought that was weird but didn't  give it much thought. Asked my mate to drive down as he leaves close by, told me the STC sign is no longer there. Hmmmm.. thought maybe the vendor don't want  neighbours to know. still hopefully and prayed that it doesn't fall through. Got the dreaded message today  that vendor pulled out due to personal reasons.  I don't think this is fair on serious buyers. I am left with solicitors bill whilst the vendor settles the estate agent and no compensation for me.  The Govt really needs to change the law. 10% fine for either buyer or seller.  

A lot of EA's now work with a 'no sale, no fee' agreement, so in fact you could find that this whole process has cost the seller absolutely nothing. Enough to make your urine boil, isn't it (and I speak from someone who this has happened to).

london21

This also happens to me.
So annoying but with 10% fee many people would not have their deposit anymore. 

Hodge58

It is usual for  a seller to hold on to survey on their purchase until they have been surveyed and all good to go. If you proceed with your buyer doing this then you have been badly advised by your broker /agent or used a bank directly who haven't got a clue.

GDB2222

There's no reason why you, as a buyer, should not have some sort of side agreement with your seller about costs. Properly drawn up, it would be legally enforceable.

It's just that it would be so unusual that you might find that sellers prefer to sell to someone else. But, maybe not, if it's an even-handed agreement that works both ways. 

Clearly, 10% is way OTT, but why not £500, say, and both parties pay this to a third-party stakeholder, as soon as agreement has been reached on the price.

It's done at the moment, with new builds, where developers charge a 'reservation fee' to prevent time wasters.

TripleH

We paid a £1,000 deposit for a new build but got £800 back when the sale collapsed based on our solicitor advising us not to proceed due to issues with the lease.

They tried to argue that 'other solicitors' found no issues (which I know was true) but my counter was that I had no contract with nor sought advice from 'other solicitors' and it was the seller telling me this so their advice was biased.

fewcloudy

TripleH said:

We paid a £1,000 deposit for a new build but got £800 back when the sale collapsed based on our solicitor advising us not to proceed due to issues with the lease.

They tried to argue that 'other solicitors' found no issues (which I know was true) but my counter was that I had no contract with nor sought advice from 'other solicitors' and it was the seller telling me this so their advice was biased.

Interesting, but I'm not sure what the relevance it to this thread?

Here, the seller hasn't received any money to return. The buyer has given money to other agencies for their services in relation to house buying.