How to not get strung along...again

FlaatusGoat

Strange thing has happened. I just saw the SAME property that I tried to buy 3/4 years ago. Last time round the sale fell through as they reigned in on the transaction just completely changing their mind. Frustrated is an understatement, it costs me £300 on a lost property survey. Shame as I lost out and wasn't in a position to buy again.

Last summer I also saw it flash on (and flash off) the property market very rapidly to my amazement. And even more to my amazement, it's back again! Different agent, same vendor. Being mildly curious especially considering it was very well priced I thought I'd phone up and find out what was going on. Ended up making an offer for the hell of it. And surprise surprise, the EA has just confirmed that vendor has accepted the offer. Really?!

So now I'm in this weird position. Yes, I'll happily go through with the transaction (second time lucky?) but I did ask for the agent to query the vendors intentions. Here's what I got back (in relation to the attempted sale last summer not my original one 3/4 years ago)

" With the last sale the vendor was actually buying another property, this property had lease charges that he was told were around £2500 per year in transpired they were £3500 per year plus another £495 per year in ground rent, he was then told by that seller he had to complete buy end of January which his buyer at the time couldn’t do. The vendor has been looking at his options since the start of January and has been going through the application process for a City (redacted) charity housing, he has had his meeting with them and been verbally approved, but they cannot fully sign him off until he has a sale agreed on his house."

Does the above sound even remotely plausible? Should I be seeking any more reassurances? Or should I simply RUN.

eddddy

I don't know what City charity housing is - but I guess you could say to the estate agent something like you won't spend money on searches, surveys, mortgage applications etc, until the seller can show you some documents confirming that they have full approval for the charity housing.

You can ask for copies of documentation via the estate agent or via solicitors. It won't be a watertight guarantee that the sellers will go through with your sale, but it would be a good sign.


But the risks include:

• The sellers think you are a difficult buyer because you're making a fuss - so they think about finding a less difficult buyer
• The sellers are offended that you don't seem to trust them - so they feel inclined to 'dump' you

Jonboy_1984

It does sound plausible to me:

1) there are other threads about big jumps in service charges for flats due to energy costs and inflation.
2) Why would a charity or HA house someone who currently owns another property.

I would be careful about investing too much upfront and consider asking your solicitor to raise enquiries around it early on. Hopefully nothing major has changed since your last surveys

On the flip side at least two of the properties we offered on last summer haven’t ever completed because the older sellers changed their minds (and have a similar thing going on within the family at the moment).

lookstraightahead

I would leave an offer on the table but not think too much of it. I don't buy anything unless the seller is willing to move out (into rented etc) to try to avoid issues like this (although it's obviously always a risk whether you're buying or selling).

Lots of people get cold feet when it comes to moving. 

Flugelhorn

it does sound reasonable - maybe at a stage in life when the getting the right property is really important and they are not in a position to move out to rented or wherever regardless of how keen the buyer is and this is what happened before. If you were keen before it will be clear you are keen now but definitely need see plenty of commitment on their side too

MFWannabe

FlaatusGoat said:

Strange thing has happened. I just saw the SAME property that I tried to buy 3/4 years ago. Last time round the sale fell through as they reigned in on the transaction just completely changing their mind. Frustrated is an understatement, it costs me £300 on a lost property survey. Shame as I lost out and wasn't in a position to buy again.

Last summer I also saw it flash on (and flash off) the property market very rapidly to my amazement. And even more to my amazement, it's back again! Different agent, same vendor. Being mildly curious especially considering it was very well priced I thought I'd phone up and find out what was going on. Ended up making an offer for the hell of it. And surprise surprise, the EA has just confirmed that vendor has accepted the offer. Really?!

So now I'm in this weird position. Yes, I'll happily go through with the transaction (second time lucky?) but I did ask for the agent to query the vendors intentions. Here's what I got back (in relation to the attempted sale last summer not my original one 3/4 years ago)

" With the last sale the vendor was actually buying another property, this property had lease charges that he was told were around £2500 per year in transpired they were £3500 per year plus another £495 per year in ground rent, he was then told by that seller he had to complete buy end of January which his buyer at the time couldn’t do. The vendor has been looking at his options since the start of January and has been going through the application process for a City (redacted) charity housing, he has had his meeting with them and been verbally approved, but they cannot fully sign him off until he has a sale agreed on his house."

Does the above sound even remotely plausible? Should I be seeking any more reassurances? Or should I simply RUN.

So have you made an offer without viewing? 

I would definitely ask for a viewing; a lot could have changed since you last saw the property 

CKhalvashi

On a personal level I'd also go for a viewing and second that the onward property may be important for the vendors (it definitely was for us and we were very particular about exactly what we wanted, but had a motivated seller to work with).

It does look also like a Housing Association is involved using professional experience here. Service charges have in some cases jumped significantly due to their own costs rising.

mi-key

It sounds plausible. It seems the seller is downsizing to a flat maybe, but then had the problems with the lease and is now going for social housing instead.

In any case, I wouldn't move forward until you see proof in writing the seller has been accepted for the charity housing. Being verbally approved doesnt mean much ( and its possible they actually said the seller could apply once his house is sold, not that they are guaranteed housing ! ). 

If you have no other houses lined up, you can always leave your offer on the table and see what happens before spending out any money 

Sarahspangles

That does all sound plausible, I think the vendor would have had to authorise the estate agent to release that level of detail which shows good faith.

Has the vendor/agent acknowledged that they know you attempted to buy the property when listed with a previous agent?

Do you know any more about the vendor’s circumstances?  It can be hard for someone elderly or disabled to accept that they need to move, and the priority considerations for an ideal property for them can shift from ‘smaller’ to ‘must be on one level’ to ‘needs to be near public transport’ pretty quickly due to changes in their health.