Advice from sellers - would you put your home back on the market?

annetheman

Hi there

It's my first time selling in a chain and I'm keen on perspective from any seasoned sellers! Would you as a seller go back on the market if your only buyer in 6 months who already had mortgage secured needed a few more months to complete? 

The seller of a house I'm buying wants to complete by the "end of the financial year" i.e. end of March - their EA told me they do not think this is possible, but sharing it with me anyway and 'trying to keep their vendor as happy as possible'. It wasn't an ultimatum, or at least I didn't take it as one!

The house I am buying was on the market for 6 months - after reduction of £10k, they had a few offers before me at asking price or near, but nobody moved on with securing a mortgage. EA told me when I made my offer at -£5k that they would accept, as with other offers received, and take it off the market and stop viewings only when and if someone had a mortgage valuation done.

In an unexpectedly short timeframe from application (3 working days!) I received a mortgage offer on 17th Jan, with valuation satisfied the previous day. They've now taken it off the market and getting updates from me via EA.

Great - only problem is I am still selling my flat, so that is progressing as fast as it can (Shared Ownership *internal groaning* so a lot in the hands of a housing association...) and that will absolutely not be completed before end of financial year.

Realistically, I think we could be completed on the flat by June and the onward house by July - EA agrees but I don't know if they'll relay this to the vendor, but did say they'd mention I'm pushing as fast as possible.

 Thoughts are welcome while I sit and wait for my housing association as usual..!

horsewithnoname

It’s really hard to say, it depends on the position of the people you are buying off, if they’re under pressure from whoever (if anyone) they are buying off. 

If it was me I would wait, because any other buyer you might find is likely to take at least as long as the extra time wanted by you. 

Can’t speak for others though

annetheman

horsewithnoname said:

It’s really hard to say, it depends on the position of the people you are buying off, if they’re under pressure from whoever (if anyone) they are buying off. 

If it was me I would wait, because any other buyer you might find is likely to take at least as long as the extra time wanted by you. 

Can’t speak for others though

Ah, yes I didn't add that important info. They vendors are not in a chain and I understand this is an investment house that is ex-tenanted since it went on sale. I thought maybe they want to complete by end March because they don't want some sort of increase in BTL rates starting in April? I don't know much about the Landlord world! EA didn't tell me why end of financial year, they don't know either.

Thanks, that's reassuring though that maybe a couple months of patience might be better than starting again in many circumstances!

Martico

If it's BTL, they may be trying to squeeze in the sale this FY before the CGT allowance falls

gazfocus

At the end of the day, if your sellers pull out of the sale with you because you can't complete by the end of March, they're not going to find anyone else now that will complete that quickly (unless they find a cash buyer). 

I personally wouldn't tell them you can't complete by the end of march and just carry on as you've been doing and get things done as quick as the process allows.

badger09

Martico said:

If it's BTL, they may be trying to squeeze in the sale this FY before the CGT allowance falls

My thoughts exactly. 

It might be worth asking sellers’ EA to gently probe for the reason behind the hard deadline. If it is CGT then you’d need to know more about their tax situation to establish how significant any delay might be. 

However, if they do put it back on the market, it’s very unlikely they’ll sell before end of March. 

silvercar

They would have to be lucky to find a new buyer to complete by end of March.

my understanding of tax rules is that it is the date of exchange that counts for CGT, though people naturally assume it is completion. Maybe they should check this before panicking, though I doubt your solicitor would advise you to exchange on your purchase before your sale.

annetheman

Thanks for all of your considerations! I am inclined to think it is capital gains tax threshold increase, and I might ask EA if she knows again. Regardless, I agree an end of March sale is now impossible, even if I were a cash buyer.

I'm hoping once they come to terms with that fact, the sellers will relax and let it play out, because it should otherwise be a straightforward, short 3-person chain with no complications otherwise (I have 1 viewing of my flat on Monday, the end of my nomination period). Wish me luck, I will definitely need it....... thanks all......

Hoenir

Perhaps their fixed term mortgage product is drawing to a close. Moving onto SVR could prove extremely expensive. Due to the timescale already. Patience may be wearing thin. Spring being the best time of the year to market a property. 

annetheman

Hoenir said:

Perhaps their fixed term mortgage product is drawing to a close. Moving onto SVR could prove extremely expensive. Due to the timescale already. Patience may be wearing thin. Spring being the best time of the year to market a property. 

I considered it but now I'm not sure the fixed term ending is the issue - this was specifically "end of the financial year" not for example 31st March or some other date; the wording "end of financial year" makes me think its something regulatory or policy related. I thought BTL regulations changing but CGT sounds more likely, because this is an investment property they are offloading, not their residence. Could be anything, though!

They accepted my offer on 16 January 2024 -- exactly 1 month ago. They had been on the market since August 2023, so I can understand they must be disappointed with the several (not sure how many) previous offers that went nowhere. I think each new buyer restarts the clock though, and our transaction is only 1 month in (will be 2.5 months at "end of financial year"); if their patience is wearing thin already we're all in for a trying time!

NameUnavailable

annetheman said:

.

Realistically, I think we could be completed on the flat by June and the onward house by July - EA agrees but I don't know if they'll relay this to the vendor, but did say they'd mention I'm pushing as fast as possible.

 Thoughts are welcome while I sit and wait for my housing association as usual..!

Surely you would complete on both at the same time?