Offer accepted but vendors still havn't found a house 4 months later

rexmedorum

I'd say don't spend any more money, start looking for other properties and assume ths one won't happen. No need to formally withdraw though untill you'v got something else.

annieb64

We put an offer in on a house in the summer. It took our sellers two months to find a property then their sale fell through just before we were due to exchange contracts.  We waited three weeks then started looking again. Their estate agent kept saying they were "actively looking" but we had doubts. They were an older couple who were looking for somewhere  near their daughter.There have been very few properties  coming on the market in that area.

We'd sold to first time buyers who were eager to get in .

In the end we put a deposit down on a new build and then withdrew our offer on the first house. 

lookstraightahead

Suseka97 said:

lookstraightahead said:

This is extremely generous of you, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, it sounds like it's going to be years before they move. Irrespective of all of our discussion and debate, they've put themselves in an almost impossible position because they aren't willing or able to actually sell. Waste of time for everyone, including themselves. It's just a pipe dream to them.

Every comment on this thread I've read of yours leads me to believe you been in a similar situation and are quite bitter about the experience.

Whilst it appears it is a sellers market in current times.. its also pretty impossible to find rentals, just to break the chain for the benefit of the buyers.  We tried in 2020 to do just that and we were constantly told that there were numerous people on the list ahead of us.  Because we were looking for a shorter than 12 month rental, were told that it would be impossible to achieve. 

We took the risk and moved into an AirBnB at higher than average rental costs for a month or so and were lucky our vendors followed through with the sale.  Had they not goodness knows what would have happened next!  These are an elderly couple and they shouldn't be put in that position.  If the buyer moves on... so be it... but patience is a virtue (as has been said already).

No it's never happened to me, my comments also explain that I have always moved into rented to break chains. I choose really short chains where people are willing to do the same. 

Who says they are 'elderly'? They might be older than the vendor, but I didn't get the impression they were in their nineties? My parents are in their late seventies and bright as buttons and very able to make the same decisions as 'younger' people. 

I cannot fathom why someone wants to prolong their house buying for years, risk losing their buyers, and put buyers in a state of limbo maybe causing them to lose their opportunity of moving by not being able to extend their mortgage offer. A vendor isn't breaking the chain for the benefit of the buyers, they're breaking the chain to secure a sale, which is surely what the who point is? 

What I suppose I do understand is that some people are a bit scared or lack the confidence to move.

about the 12 month rental, I've always made the rental money back on the offer price as I have no chain. You might say that's impossible in this market, but I've done that this year. I just had an overlap. 

To be fair, you did similar in the end because you wanted to move. You moved out to secure the sale. That's the whole point of my argument. 

Whilst sellers might lose buyers and easily pick up another one because of the current climate, that's not going to be around for ever. At some point the market will turn and the vendors may find themselves stuck with no buyer at all. 

My parents are moving closer to us. They will sell, move into rented here, and then buy with their equity (if they want to). They might actually stay in rented. But that's up to them. I can't see a problem with that.

elsien

It’s not necessarily about being scared or lacking the confidence to move.
For me, I would only move for the right house. If I can’t get want I want, I’m staying put. But I have to be marketing my house to be able to look at/bid on others even though I’m not 100% committed to moving.
So there’s no way I’d be moving into rented if I’d not found somewhere. All I can do is be honest with buyers and see if they are willing to take the chance that I may change my mind.
Pragmatism, not selfishness. 

TripleH

We offered on a house that we were told was chain free (owners moving to Cyprus). A month in the Estate Agent came to us to say their onward purchase in the UK had fallen through. It turns out that apparently the home they needed for their (adult) children to live in had fallen through. We offered a compromise but they wouldn't agree to any timescale and backed out.

I think here the husband wanted to sell but his wife didn't. My sympathy was restricted by the lack of truth from the start.

If the owner is much older though, I do think moving twice isn't ideal. I know my mother intends to move to rented if she needs to but that is because she has a large house to sell and I think getting rid of that outweighs needing to find her new home.

lookstraightahead

elsien said:

It’s not necessarily about being scared or lacking the confidence to move.
For me, I would only move for the right house. If I can’t get want I want, I’m staying put. But I have to be marketing my house to be able to look at/bid on others even though I’m not 100% committed to moving.
So there’s no way I’d be moving into rented if I’d not found somewhere. All I can do is be honest with buyers and see if they are willing to take the chance that I may change my mind.
Pragmatism, not selfishness. 

I get that, but what happens if you find your one in a million house but you're not in a position to move? 

If you say exactly this to your potential buyers then that's fair enough, but it stops you getting what you really want, surely? 

At least what you are telling buyers gives them the opportunity to not spend any money and to look elsewhere as well.

lookstraightahead

TripleH said:

We offered on a house that we were told was chain free (owners moving to Cyprus). A month in the Estate Agent came to us to say their onward purchase in the UK had fallen through. It turns out that apparently the home they needed for their (adult) children to live in had fallen through. We offered a compromise but they wouldn't agree to any timescale and backed out.

I think here the husband wanted to sell but his wife didn't. My sympathy was restricted by the lack of truth from the start.

If the owner is much older though, I do think moving twice isn't ideal. I know my mother intends to move to rented if she needs to but that is because she has a large house to sell and I think getting rid of that outweighs needing to find her new home.

But your mum will move into rented, even if it's not ideal, like my parents are going to. 

I'm not saying for one moment it's ideal, but it helps to sell and buy.

Snookie12cat

lookstraightahead said:

Suseka97 said:

lookstraightahead said:

This is extremely generous of you, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, it sounds like it's going to be years before they move. Irrespective of all of our discussion and debate, they've put themselves in an almost impossible position because they aren't willing or able to actually sell. Waste of time for everyone, including themselves. It's just a pipe dream to them.

Every comment on this thread I've read of yours leads me to believe you been in a similar situation and are quite bitter about the experience.

Whilst it appears it is a sellers market in current times.. its also pretty impossible to find rentals, just to break the chain for the benefit of the buyers.  We tried in 2020 to do just that and we were constantly told that there were numerous people on the list ahead of us.  Because we were looking for a shorter than 12 month rental, were told that it would be impossible to achieve. 

We took the risk and moved into an AirBnB at higher than average rental costs for a month or so and were lucky our vendors followed through with the sale.  Had they not goodness knows what would have happened next!  These are an elderly couple and they shouldn't be put in that position.  If the buyer moves on... so be it... but patience is a virtue (as has been said already).

No it's never happened to me, my comments also explain that I have always moved into rented to break chains. I choose really short chains where people are willing to do the same. 

Who says they are 'elderly'? They might be older than the vendor, but I didn't get the impression they were in their nineties? My parents are in their late seventies and bright as buttons and very able to make the same decisions as 'younger' people. 

I cannot fathom why someone wants to prolong their house buying for years, risk losing their buyers, and put buyers in a state of limbo maybe causing them to lose their opportunity of moving by not being able to extend their mortgage offer. A vendor isn't breaking the chain for the benefit of the buyers, they're breaking the chain to secure a sale, which is surely what the who point is? 

What I suppose I do understand is that some people are a bit scared or lack the confidence to move.

about the 12 month rental, I've always made the rental money back on the offer price as I have no chain. You might say that's impossible in this market, but I've done that this year. I just had an overlap. 

To be fair, you did similar in the end because you wanted to move. You moved out to secure the sale. That's the whole point of my argument. 

Whilst sellers might lose buyers and easily pick up another one because of the current climate, that's not going to be around for ever. At some point the market will turn and the vendors may find themselves stuck with no buyer at all. 

My parents are moving closer to us. They will sell, move into rented here, and then buy with their equity (if they want to). They might actually stay in rented. But that's up to them. I can't see a problem with that.

Everyone has different situations - I would never moved from my house into rented, so If I lost 10 buyers while they waited for me to find the perfect place, then that what I would do. My son is profoundly autistic though and one move would be bad enough, so you cant really judge people for not wanting to do what you do.

I personally would prefer to find the place and then sell my house, but no one will even let you view places at the moment unless your house is on the market/SSTC. I wouldn't and would never expect anyone to start anything until the chain is complete so if that logic is followed then they wouldn't be out any money by waiting. 

Snookie12cat

To add - even if he wasn't autistic, rents are about £900 a month (if you can even find one in the borough at the moment) and my house is mortgage free. I don't think buyers should expect me to lose close to £1k a month and move into rented so they can move quicker.  

Elliott.T123

lookstraightahead said:

elsien said:

It’s not necessarily about being scared or lacking the confidence to move.
For me, I would only move for the right house. If I can’t get want I want, I’m staying put. But I have to be marketing my house to be able to look at/bid on others even though I’m not 100% committed to moving.
So there’s no way I’d be moving into rented if I’d not found somewhere. All I can do is be honest with buyers and see if they are willing to take the chance that I may change my mind.
Pragmatism, not selfishness. 

I get that, but what happens if you find your one in a million house but you're not in a position to move? 

If you say exactly this to your potential buyers then that's fair enough, but it stops you getting what you really want, surely? 

At least what you are telling buyers gives them the opportunity to not spend any money and to look elsewhere as well.

On the flip side of that if the buyers really are looking for a one in a million house what if they move into rented (that is less enjoyable than their previous house) and then 3 years later still haven't found the perfect house?

My parents are currently looking to move but know they are incredibly picky, they have been looking (admittedly fairly passively) for about 4 years now and in that time have seen 2 houses that may meet their needs. They know this is going to be a long process and there is absolutely no way they would spend that long in rented. They are totally up front with buyers on their property and if a situation arises where something they like comes on the market they are happy to sell theirs at 10% below market rate to get a fast sale and put them in a position to buy.