What would you do in this situation...

emz1625

We have been trying to sell our new build property for the past year and a half.We are looking for something more traditional with character.

Last year we accepted an offer on our house(Feb 2021), got offer accepted on our new house, we waited almost 5months to reach completion when the buyer pulled out.

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

After 5months off we tried again on March this year(2022) to sell yet again.We accepted an offer which went over the asking price,we had an offer accepted on our new dream house.Its been 4months now and we are reaching completion when our buyers throw a spanner in the works and we find out they have been declined a mortgage offer on my property!I have no idea how they were allowed to get this far without having this in place(they had house survey and searches done).

The predicament we are now in is that the seller of our dream house really want us to get the house,but they want us to change estate agents as they l have no confidence in my current ones as there have been massive failures.He is however going to put our dream house back on the market,in the hope we sell ours fast so we are kept priority to buy that house even if he gets interest from other buyers

It's an awful situation to be in but can we really be bothered to try and sell for a 4th time?Or is it just not meant to be and just pull out of everything?

It seems houses are selling but is anyone actually getting to completion and moving in....

DE_612183

From offer to completion is taking a long time at the moment 4+ months - your seller may be better off sticking with you if you can resell quickly.

I'm selling my home and if I get a cash buyer - even if it's a lower offer - I'll probably take that as an easy option.

lookstraightahead

I think you've possibly been keeping your buyers waiting too long and they moved on. Sounds like the last one was to do with the house being sold over value so the mortgage company had an issue with lending the full amount.

The longer the chain (or the longer the wait), the more risky.

TheJP

emz1625 said:

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

You reached completion? Eh? That would mean you either exchanged contracts or completed. Do you mean you were close to exchange and then pulled out?

housebuyer143

Damn! And I thought only I was this unlucky! I am on buyer 3 and still not sold after a year. Hopefully this one works out.

Unlike you I managed to move without selling and I can only feel for the position you are in as I was just thinking today how sole destroying it would be to still not be able to move after a year. 

Is there anything you can do to break the chain? Can you rent yours for a short time or get a bridging loan?

If not, can you ask your seller to give you two weeks to find a new buyer before remarketing and stress how you are literally ready to go and are not going to pull out arbitrarily like a new purchaser could? Honestly it's better the devil you know as his next buyers could be like yours previous three.

I almost lost my dream house but asked for 2 weeks to find someone and the seller agreed. Turns out that person didn't work out, but hey ho... Best laid plans and all that 🤣

housebuyer143

lookstraightahead said:

I think you've possibly been keeping your buyers waiting too long and they moved on. Sounds like the last one was to do with the house being sold over value so the mortgage company had an issue with lending the full amount.

The longer the chain (or the longer the wait), the more risky.

How did you get that from what was written? It sounds like everything was going as planned? 
The buyer could have been rejected for lots of reasons, like bad credit... Doesn't mean an issue with the house.

YoungBlueEyes

emz1625 said:

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

Am I reading this right?  As you "actually reached completion" aren't you technically living in their house?

emz1625

YoungBlueEyes said:

emz1625 said:

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

Am I reading this right?  As you "actually reached completion" aren't you technically living in their house?

We were told by our solicitors that contracts were exchanged,and the funds were due to be released from our bank hence why we thought we had reached completion.However we were clearly lied to as the buyers disappeared to Spain without signing the contract.It was not a very pleasant experience unpacking my entire house after gearing up to move in the 2days time as planned.

emz1625

lookstraightahead said:

I think you've possibly been keeping your buyers waiting too long and they moved on. Sounds like the last one was to do with the house being sold over value so the mortgage company had an issue with lending the full amount.

The longer the chain (or the longer the wait), the more risky.

Ita actually my buyers who have kept everyone waiting.We accepted their offer on my property  back in March 2022, and it hasn't been untill we are reaching the final stages that we find out they can't get a mortgage on my property.Surely this should have been found out from the very beginning and a massive failure has gone on somewhere down the line.Our onward purchase has been ready for us for the past 2months.Its all very frustrating.

emz1625

YoungBlueEyes said:

emz1625 said:

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

Am I reading this right?  As you "actually reached completion" aren't you technically living in their house?

We were told we had reached completion by our solicitors,and everyone was happy to proceed on the agreed date,and that contracts has been exchanged.However we were clearly lied to as that's why my 2nd buyers were allowed to just !!!!!! off to Spain,knowing that we had packed the whole house up ready to go.I just don't know if we are super unlucky or if these things happen a lot.very frustrating.

GixerKate

emz1625 said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

emz1625 said:

We went back on the market and sold again to another buyer(August 2021)We actually reached completion yet 2 days before we were due to move(after packing the whole house up), my buyers ran off to Spain without a care in the world.So we pulled out of everything to have a break....

Am I reading this right?  As you "actually reached completion" aren't you technically living in their house?

.It was not a very pleasant experience unpacking my entire house after gearing up to move in the 2days time as planned.

Yes, been there, it truly sucks.

So your current buyers have had their mortgage application rejected, have they pulled out or are they trying for another one?  Do you know why the mortgage application was declined?

I was in a similar situation as you, it was buyer number 3 for us but it got very close as our buyer had problems with their mortgage application at the last minute after searches, enquiries were all complete. 

You mention the house you are trying to buy is your dream house, do you really want to give up on it?  Sounds like its worth putting your house back on the market whilst seeing if your current buyers can sort themselves out, have you got anything to lose?