Why no law to prevent buyers pulling out

[Deleted User]

It is annoying but common, even some sellers pull out or accept other offers. 

What is unfair is when buyers waste excessive time and then pull out. 

saajan_12

YoungBlueEyes said:

From the other side of the coin - 

We were selling our big old Edwardian terrace house, all going fine, then on the morning of exchange the buyer decided that it'd be great as a pair of flats so he took the money it'd cost to do the work off his offer. On the morning of exchange. I used a lot of bad language that day

And you added the additional value of having 2 units right? 

Sapindus

YoungBlueEyes said:

From the other side of the coin - 

We were selling our big old Edwardian terrace house, all going fine, then on the morning of exchange the buyer decided that it'd be great as a pair of flats so he took the money it'd cost to do the work off his offer. On the morning of exchange. I used a lot of bad language that day

Except of course he'd decided that well before the morning of exchange...

pretamang

I feel every buyer/seller goes through this when things are agreed and you're spending money to get to exchange but it could all still fall apart, even those that have gone smoothly for me have been stressful until that point.

I know Scotland have a slightly different system; anyone know if it's the same overseas, does anyone have a solution to this that works?

Scotbot

In Australia you have to pay the full deposit within 24 hrs of making the offer. Usually 10%. A fixed completion date is agreed at the same time. The buyer has to do the survey before offering and the vendor has to prepare a draft contract before marketing the property.   So more upfront costs on both sides. Because the completion date is fixed there are no chains.

The main drawback is you either need an expensive bridging loan to cover the cost of buying before selling or you have to move into rented if you sell before buying.

Scotbot

I pulled out of my purchase when the conveyancing showed the buyer had done a substantial garage conversion without getting building regs approval.  A DIY job which the survey showed had issues.

I am now considering whether to go through with my second purchase. Survey back last week showed an issue that will cost me more to fix than I planned and conveyancing has raised an issue that is bothering me. Solicitor recommending indemnity insurance to cover it but it has made m realise I  don't love the house. I was told my buyers mortgage would expire and my EA was pressuring me to find something .

If I do pull out it is going to cost between 6k in fees. So it is not a decision I will be taking lightly 

YoungBlueEyes

saajan_12 said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

From the other side of the coin - 

We were selling our big old Edwardian terrace house, all going fine, then on the morning of exchange the buyer decided that it'd be great as a pair of flats so he took the money it'd cost to do the work off his offer. On the morning of exchange. I used a lot of bad language that day

And you added the additional value of having 2 units right? 

Que? You've lost me. It was one house that he wanted to split into 2 flats.

Sapindus said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

From the other side of the coin - 

We were selling our big old Edwardian terrace house, all going fine, then on the morning of exchange the buyer decided that it'd be great as a pair of flats so he took the money it'd cost to do the work off his offer. On the morning of exchange. I used a lot of bad language that day

Except of course he'd decided that well before the morning of exchange...

Almost certainly true  

theartfullodger

Why no law to prevent sellers from withdrawing?  

Even if there were such laws, issues over them being enforced... (See e.g. electro scooters, cabinet ministers ignoring COVID regulations etc etc etc, )

user1977

YoungBlueEyes said:

saajan_12 said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

From the other side of the coin - 

We were selling our big old Edwardian terrace house, all going fine, then on the morning of exchange the buyer decided that it'd be great as a pair of flats so he took the money it'd cost to do the work off his offer. On the morning of exchange. I used a lot of bad language that day

And you added the additional value of having 2 units right? 

Que? You've lost me. It was one house that he wanted to split into 2 flats.

Yes, but we are presuming he wanted to do so in order to make a profit.

demeggy

Disgusting isn't it? I hope you manage to resolve it.

It's just disgusting that there's no law or legal recourse that protects sellers and buyers over here. It makes my tits boil.