Not heard a thing from our buyer

No41edwardianhouse

So, we sold two weeks ago. Day after the house went on the market. There was an offer made during the viewing and estate agent told us straight after and we accepted. Buyer has instructed solicitors and our solicitor has provided the buyers solicitor with a draft contract pack…what happens now? Should we have heard from the buyer??? Surely they’re having a survey???

Mahsroh

Not everyone chooses to have a survey. That said it might be worth asking the EA to check with them whether they are or not. My buyer left it until 6/7 weeks after me accepting the offer to have his done and it raised issues which delayed exchange / completion. 

Two weeks generally is nothing though. If your solicitors have made contact with his solicitors that’s a good sign. They’ll now go through the contracts and raise any enquiries which your solicitor will then review before coming back to you. On my last house sale those initial enquiries took 3 or 4 weeks to land in my inbox.  

eddddy

The estate agent should be progressing the sale - so they should be getting status reports from the buyer, and moving the buyer along. So ask the estate agent for feedback.

What are your plans going forward? Are you buying? Have you found a place and is the purchase progressing?

Some buyers will only start the legal and mortgage stuff when the chain above them is complete. Again, the estate agent should have discussed all this with the buyer.



(This assumes you're using an estate agent who's paid on completion. They'll progress the sale because they want their fee. If it's an estate agent who is paid in advance, or paid whether you sell or not, they may not be so interested.)

No41edwardianhouse

eddddy said:

The estate agent should be progressing the sale - so they should be getting status reports from the buyer, and moving the buyer along. So ask the estate agent for feedback.

What are your plans going forward? Are you buying? Have you found a place and is the purchase progressing?

Some buyers will only start the legal and mortgage stuff when the chain above them is complete. Again, the estate agent should have discussed all this with the buyer.



(This assumes you're using an estate agent who's paid on completion. They'll progress the sale because they want their fee. If it's an estate agent who is paid in advance, or paid whether you sell or not, they may not be so interested.)

Yeah, we’ve found our onwards, offer accepted, survey booked and draft contract pact received. Our solicitor has already raised a query with the sellers solicitor. I suppose we are moving fast so it just seemed odd that our buyer doesn’t appear to have done anything - although I suppose we wouldn’t necessarily know as you said. 

We are selling our house and purchasing our new house through the same estate agent so there is extra motivation in them pushing the sale through. 

Our onwards haven’t yet found their onwards - or so we’re led to believe. However in the contract pack they did indicate that they don’t need to sell and complete on another property on the same day…

No41edwardianhouse

Thanks @Mahsroh - yes that’s helpful. We’d just assumed he would be getting a survey as we are selling a period property. Who knows? Perhaps he is just getting a valuation! 

eddddy

So definitely contact the estate agent and tell them your concerns and ask them for an update. The estate agent should then phone the buyer and find out what's happening.

If, for example, the buyer is an inexperienced ftb, the agent should be telling them it's time to instruct their solicitor, arrange a mortgage etc.

The estate agent should also be in contact with the other agents higher up the chain - so they should have feedback on the seller's seller position. (People sometimes say they don't have to sell/buy at the same time, but change their minds when they realise the complexities.)

No41edwardianhouse

eddddy said:

So definitely contact the estate agent and tell them your concerns and ask them for an update. The estate agent should then phone the buyer and find out what's happening.

If, for example, the buyer is an inexperienced ftb, the agent should be telling them it's time to instruct their solicitor, arrange a mortgage etc.

The estate agent should also be in contact with the other agents higher up the chain - so they should have feedback on the seller's seller position. (People sometimes say they don't have to sell/buy at the same time, but change their minds when they realise the complexities.)

Our sellers are going to be mortgage free, in their 70s and downsizing. I’m hoping they’ve been very honest about not needing to complete on the sale and their purchase (if they have one yet) at the same time. I think they will look for their perfect property…

TheJP

No41edwardianhouse said:

Thanks @Mahsroh - yes that’s helpful. We’d just assumed he would be getting a survey as we are selling a period property. Who knows? Perhaps he is just getting a valuation! 

Its been 2 weeks since their offer was accepted, they are likely waiting for their mortgage offer before spending money on a survey. 

eddddy

No41edwardianhouse said:

eddddy said:

So definitely contact the estate agent and tell them your concerns and ask them for an update. The estate agent should then phone the buyer and find out what's happening.

If, for example, the buyer is an inexperienced ftb, the agent should be telling them it's time to instruct their solicitor, arrange a mortgage etc.

The estate agent should also be in contact with the other agents higher up the chain - so they should have feedback on the seller's seller position. (People sometimes say they don't have to sell/buy at the same time, but change their minds when they realise the complexities.)

Our sellers are going to be mortgage free, in their 70s and downsizing. I’m hoping they’ve been very honest about not needing to complete on the sale and their purchase (if they have one yet) at the same time. I think they will look for their perfect property…

I'm not sure I understand your point.

Your sellers will need somewhere to live won't they?

So they can't sell you their property until they've found a new place to buy. If they're waiting for the 'perfect property', it may take a long time before they find somewhere and the chain is complete.

(What if they never find the perfect property?)

That may, or may not, be a reason why your buyer is holding back. They might be waiting to see how your seller gets on. I guess your buyer might decide to give-up in a couple of months, if there's no progress by your seller.

No41edwardianhouse

eddddy said:

No41edwardianhouse said:

eddddy said:

So definitely contact the estate agent and tell them your concerns and ask them for an update. The estate agent should then phone the buyer and find out what's happening.

If, for example, the buyer is an inexperienced ftb, the agent should be telling them it's time to instruct their solicitor, arrange a mortgage etc.

The estate agent should also be in contact with the other agents higher up the chain - so they should have feedback on the seller's seller position. (People sometimes say they don't have to sell/buy at the same time, but change their minds when they realise the complexities.)

Our sellers are going to be mortgage free, in their 70s and downsizing. I’m hoping they’ve been very honest about not needing to complete on the sale and their purchase (if they have one yet) at the same time. I think they will look for their perfect property…

I'm not sure I understand your point.

Your sellers will need somewhere to live won't they?

So they can't sell you their property until they've found a new place to buy. If they're waiting for the 'perfect property', it may take a long time before they find somewhere and the chain is complete.

(What if they never find the perfect property?)

That may, or may not, be a reason why your buyer is holding back. They might be waiting to see how your seller gets on. I guess your buyer might decide to give-up in a couple of months, if there's no progress by your seller.

Apologies, I wasn’t clear. They have indicated that they could move out and rent until they find an onwards. However, they aren’t set on that yet. The only thing our buyer knows is that we have got our offer on our onwards accepted. At the moment we are doubtful that the buyer will pull out as they have also been looking for a year. They are chain free and are determined about our house…I was simply saying it was odd we’ve heard nothing from them since they put the offer in. 

TripleH

I think edddy might be right and they are possibly holding off committing until the chain completes.

It could be they have been involved in failed purchases previously and are not prepared to spend (waste?) more money in case your onward purchase collapses?

Do you have a cut-off point for your sellers to decide their plans? I would be cautious that a more mature couple would want the hassle of renting when downsizing. If they have to find their perfect property they might not be in any rush when they currently have a perfectly serviceable home at present whereas if your buyers may be putting 'buying a house' as more important than finding a dream home.

I only know of my mother who has decided to go into rental (who is of a more mature age), but she has seen nothing she likes on the market and isn't 100% sure of her onward plans at present but wants to get rid of a very large house as her priority.