Exasperated FTB - Any Advice?

pretamang

I feel for you, I've been in this situation and had to pull out.

You need to pressure the EA, ultimately there's not much they can do as it's down the seller, but I'd still give them an earful for wasting your time with a seller that wasn't in a position to proceed. Ask to start looking at their other properties and ask that you're front of the queue to see them before they get listed online - the EA would sooner lean on their seller to get moving and do the deal than lose the sale and start over

HunchBunch

GoogleMeNow said:

Can you ask your solicitor where they are up to with the conveyancing process?  Knowing whether the transaction is simple or if there are issues, together with an update on what still needs to be done, will give you (and us) a much clearer picture of how far off you are.  

Every time the vendor pulls out of a purchase and then finds a new one to buy, the process of conveyancing starts again with a new solicitor acting on the sale to your vendor of the new property, so essentially you are waiting for them to catch up.

Our conveyancing is done.  There's literally nothing else to do but exchange contracts. In October we were asked to transfer the deposit to our solicitors because, we were told, exchange of contracts was imminent. It's been sat there since, rather than in my high (relative) interest savings account (sob).  I guess it might be worth asking our solicitor to see if the vendor's solicitor has any more information?

pretamang said:

I feel for you, I've been in this situation and had to pull out.

You need to pressure the EA, ultimately there's not much they can do as it's down the seller, but I'd still give them an earful for wasting your time with a seller that wasn't in a position to proceed. Ask to start looking at their other properties and ask that you're front of the queue to see them before they get listed online - the EA would sooner lean on their seller to get moving and do the deal than lose the sale and start over

Hadn't thought of that - thanks.  That is something we'll definitely say to them.

owenjt

I'd start looking for other houses but keep this purchase going. Your vendor sounds in no rush to find another house and the fact that they've threatened to pull out all together shows what kind of person they are.

I feel your pain in some ways - my wife and I had our offer accepted in May 2021 and we're still no closer to moving. Our vendor found a house but their vendor took 4 months to find somewhere and then pulled out. Our vendors seem nice enough but they're in no rush to move and I wouldn't put it past them to ask for more money or pull out and re-list to try and get more. Fortuntely we reapplied for our mortgage a couple of times as the rates went down so our offer doesn't expire until April.

We're looking out for other houses but things have gone very quiet since around November. Hoping things will pick up soon and more properties come on the market, although still expect there to be lots of demand which makes things really hard.

HunchBunch

owenjt said:

I'd start looking for other houses but keep this purchase going. Your vendor sounds in no rush to find another house and the fact that they've threatened to pull out all together shows what kind of person they are.

I feel your pain in some ways - my wife and I had our offer accepted in May 2021 and we're still no closer to moving. Our vendor found a house but their vendor took 4 months to find somewhere and then pulled out. Our vendors seem nice enough but they're in no rush to move and I wouldn't put it past them to ask for more money or pull out and re-list to try and get more. Fortuntely we reapplied for our mortgage a couple of times as the rates went down so our offer doesn't expire until April.

We're looking out for other houses but things have gone very quiet since around November. Hoping things will pick up soon and more properties come on the market, although still expect there to be lots of demand which makes things really hard.

That sounds really rough, and you have my sympathies.  I hope you can get things sorted one way or another soon.

TripleH

Op, you have my sympathies.

We had a seller who stated from the start that they were moving overseas, great a no chain purchase and wanting a quick sale (we were renting).

Should have realised something was up when (despite being on the market previously) the paperwork came through that it was half filled in and missing points that would have been raised by previous buyers.

We raised queries and got no response, then 5 weeks in, they announced that their onward purchase inthe UK had fallen through (what!!). We told them that fine, we'd give an extended deadline to sort themselves out and try to find somewhere new or put their stuff in storage. We were told they couldn't do that, as they needed somewhere for their (grown-up) children to live and we'd have to wait until they found the ideal place.

Basically our interpretation was, he wanted to move to Cyprus, she didn't but wouldn't tell him so we (third parties) got to pump our money and hopes in purchasing a property not for sale.

lookstraightahead

There needs to be more clarity for buyers. Always a good idea to ask when viewing, and if the vendors don't have a house in mind, always keep looking. You can never guarantee, but at least it weeds out those who genuinely think they can potter about for ever.

from a vendor's perspective, they will hold more 'power' if they say they have a buyer, so it's in their interest to give buyers "half truths" to get them hooked in.

As everyone knows on here, I expect vendors to go into rented (as that's what I do to break the chain). Some will say they can't do that, that is their prerogative, but I refuse to hang around, and there's always somewhere else to buy. I guess I'm a bit hard ball, so it's not necessarily advice. There is a middle ground, but waiting long term when no one else is in a rush is unfair. Maybe because it is, or was, a sellers market.

I would never have been as patient as you op.

lookstraightahead

TripleH said:

Op, you have my sympathies.

We had a seller who stated from the start that they were moving overseas, great a no chain purchase and wanting a quick sale (we were renting).

Should have realised something was up when (despite being on the market previously) the paperwork came through that it was half filled in and missing points that would have been raised by previous buyers.

We raised queries and got no response, then 5 weeks in, they announced that their onward purchase inthe UK had fallen through (what!!). We told them that fine, we'd give an extended deadline to sort themselves out and try to find somewhere new or put their stuff in storage. We were told they couldn't do that, as they needed somewhere for their (grown-up) children to live and we'd have to wait until they found the ideal place.

Basically our interpretation was, he wanted to move to Cyprus, she didn't but wouldn't tell him so we (third parties) got to pump our money and hopes in purchasing a property not for sale.

This is appalling behaviour. They also wasted their own time, no wonder they had no respect for yours.

owenjt

HunchBunch said:

That sounds really rough, and you have my sympathies.  I hope you can get things sorted one way or another soon.

Thanks. You too. Please let us know how you get on.

LouLou589

Same thing happened to us - we'd agreed a purchase pre Covid, were due to exchange just before everything shut down in March 20. When it all reopened we thought we'd be moving that summer, however the vendor pulled out of his forward purchase, then pulled out of the next one etc.. We had an extension on our mortgage offer due to Covid, so the whole thing dragged on for 9 months only for him to tell us the day before we were due to exchange and complete that he'd decided against selling. 

We were obviously mortified.

Decided to stay out in our rental over Christmas 20 and resume the search in the new year.. nothing was coming up that met our needs...we were feeling even more annoyed that we wasted 9 months on a house that we didn't get...Then in March last year our dream home came up... 15 people viewed it the first day... it went to best and final blind offers... and we go it!

Moved in in August last year and we are SO happy that the first one didn't go to plan...just wanted to give you a bit of a "light at the end of the tunnel" story in case it doesn't go to plan for you on this one.

FaceHead

Yes push the vendor to exchange by telling them you'll pull out. Keep pushing them, whilst looking for an alternative, and if you do find a good alternative then go with it.

You say the vendor has been mucked around by buyers previously? Buyers who pulled out because the vendor wouldn't move?

There is one silver lining that if you, say, complete on a purchase in March 22, which was negotiated at Jul 21 prices, you benefit from 9 months of house price growth whilst not paying the interest on the mortgage.