Properties where buyer pulled out

F37A

Hi 

I'm trying to get some proof from seller that previous buyer pulled out due to problem with mortgage. Clearly if seller is lying and previously buyer pulled out due to major problem with property then I wouldn't want to buy.

Is there any way to force them to tell the truth or get the proof. I would hate to go through whole buying process only to find out they lied about why buyer pulled out. On the flipside it looks a good property so want to buy but don't want to waste my time and energy if they lying.

Thanks

Flugelhorn

no there is no way - we have all had properties that have fallen through for a variety of reasons  - mainly they tell you it is either "decide not to move" or "job / finances change" etc etc but they will never ever tell you that it is a problem with the property 

Sunsaru

In a word no. You just have to do youur due dilligence and keep your fingers crossed.

propertyrental

The estate agent (if there is one) is slightly morelikely totell you. The seller won't tellyou there's a problem with the house.

The EA codes of practice say that the EA should tell buyers of significant relevant problems they know about. Though they rarely do....

eg TPOS

7i You must by law comply with the Consumer Protection from

Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (or the Business Protection

from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 where

applicable). The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading

Regulations 2008 require you to disclose any information of

which you are aware or should be aware of in relation to the

property in a clear, intelligible and timely fashion and to take

all reasonable steps to ensure that all statements that you

make about a property, whether oral, pictorial or written, are

accurate and are not misleading. All material information (*)

must be disclosed and there must be no material omissions

which may impact on the average consumer’s (*) transactional

decision (*). Where information is given to consumers and/or

their representatives, it must be accurate and not misleading.

AskAsk

i wouldn't worry about it.  people pull out for all sorts of reason.  the buyer would likely tell you if there is an issue as he would also be wasting money with legal fees if he lies and everyone keeps dropping out.

movilogo

Even if previous buyer pulled out due to mortgage, the seller can't provide that info due to GDPR.

Rely on your on survey report. Buyer pulling out does not necessarily indicate any problem with the housel. People can pull out of sale for various reasons. 

eddddy

As @propertyrental suggests, ask the estate agent why the previous sale fell through, and specifically if it was because of a problem with the property.


If you go ahead, and during conveyancing you start to suspect that the estate agent has mislead you - you can complain to the estate agent's redress scheme - most often that's the Property Ombudsman Scheme.

The Property Ombudsman can demand access to the estate agent's files to see what they say about previous attempted sales.

If you lose money as a result of being misled (e.g. legal fees, survey fees, mortgage application fees), the Property Ombudsman can instruct the Estate Agent to pay you compensation.



Edit to add...

movilogo said:

Even if previous buyer pulled out due to mortgage, the seller can't provide that info due to GDPR.

There are no GDPR issues if, for example, the estate agent said "the previous buyer was unable to get a mortgage due to suspected subsidence in the property".

In fact, the Estate Agent would probably be breaking the law if they didn't mention that.


(The OP wouldn't be interested to know that the previous buyer couldn't get a mortgage, if for example, they had failed to declare some CCJs)

LegallyLandlord

Adding to @eddddy’s great advice, if you want to have evidence for a complaint, a good way is to confirm what the agent said to you in the email. 

Something like, thank you for confirming that x,y,z. That was reassuring to hear. On that basis, I’ve decided to… 

That way there is a record of the conversation and the fact you were relying on it. 

lincroft1710

The problem is that a buyer who drops out may choose not to disclose the real reason for dropping out to either the EA or vendor. So a subsequent potential buyer may never know the truth.

[Deleted User]

Just because a seller pulled out or they had issues with the mortgage doesn't mean you cannot continue with the purchase, you just as you say need to find out the reason why.

When I purchased my place, there was a potential contaminated land issue, all what was needed was additional insurance for a one off fee and the bank was happy with that. Some buyers may not have been happy with even the chance and pulled out, yet there is nothing wrong with the property or the land. Note "potential", it was not defined as contaminated under the 1990 act which is all that really matters. I strongly suspect the estate agents were aware of this issue as they sold another property the previous year, but they denied it and had pushed me to use their solicitors, which I did not do. The property had been on the market for seven months when I made an offer unaware of the land issue, so I also strongly suspect a previous purchase had fallen through possibly due to this issue.

diystarter7

Hi OP

In a nuts shell, NO.

But you can ask EA and they could give you the facts as provided by the puller outter which could be true or not, or give you their take, which may be true or not.

The  about 14 years ago we sold a house and when it went on sale we still lived there and were doing up the other house. This is before block booking took of. I vivdly recall chappy with 3 year old coming to view - he was quite, looked around and i asked hime any question he said no. That night he made an offer, full asking price first to view and I had my doubts as people often look twice or come with another adult at least if they want to live there. Two days later he pulled out. On the weekend the house was viewed by 4 lots, three made offers, all up to very close to asking price and one was mortgae free and wanted to buy for cash - their offer was 2/3 k below the asking price - i said no he came back 1k short and we sold and got our money with 4 weeks of that.

So as others have said, people back out various reasons

I'd find it more worrying if the house had changed hands several times over 20 years as its easy to check these days.

Investigate when they put it up for sale, how long, has it been on the market before and ask about neighbour problems etc or troube.

Thanks