Seller under threat of repossession, refuses to move forward on sale

Herzlos

RHemmings said:

If the OP has already done their due diligence on the property, if it then gets repossessed and sold again, wouldn't that put the OP in a good position to buy it? As they will have superior knowledge compared to the other people bidding. 

It depends how the bank handle it. They might offer it to the OP on the original terms, since it's a quick sale with most of the work done. But they might want more money for it or just stick it through an auction.

It may also take another year to get repossessed, which will probably invalidate any existing searches and reports.

RAS

Lenders have duty to get the highest price for a repossession. So even if the OP got an offer accepted, the lender would have accept a better offer right up to exchange.

user1977

Herzlos said:

RHemmings said:

If the OP has already done their due diligence on the property, if it then gets repossessed and sold again, wouldn't that put the OP in a good position to buy it? As they will have superior knowledge compared to the other people bidding. 

It depends how the bank handle it. They might offer it to the OP on the original terms, since it's a quick sale with most of the work done. But they might want more money for it or just stick it through an auction.

It may also take another year to get repossessed, which will probably invalidate any existing searches and reports.

The bank will have to market it publicly.

saajan_12

Blue_Boston said:

user1977 said:

Blue_Boston said:

theartfullodger said:

Look up lender for £3 on gov.uk land registry and write to them confirming you are willing & able to buy.

Unlikely but they may just respond.

What obligation does the seller's solicitor actually have to the lender to update them about the sale and the vendors refusal to proceed?

None at all, it’s entirely up to their client.

So the estate agent saying the vendor's solicitor is having to update the lender every two weeks is likely nonsense?  I think the estate agent is making stuff up but I just have no idea how repossession works or mortgage arrears works.

No - the lender may well have threatened repossession but holding off as long as they hear that the sale is progressing.. so the solicitor does 'have' to because their client has instructed them to, which they have because otherwise it'll get repossessed. 

However its likely going to be irrelevant for you.. updating a lender on progress doesn't have to slow down the progress that much.. more likely the vendor themselves are just stalling.. maybe just doing the barest minimum to stay ahead of the lender's threats. 

EssexHebridean

Buying from a vendor who doesn't want to sell is a bit of a nightmare. we found ourselves in this position many years ago - in our case the vendor had already managed to put off two previous buyers via various means, and then proceeded to try to do exactly the same to us. We proved a little tougher to budge due to a combination of having already spent money on searches etc that we could not afford to lose, plus managing to get a bit of lucky information that meant we were then able to call his bluff. He was still trying to make things difficult right up to the date of exchange, though. 

Blue_Boston

EssexHebridean said:

Buying from a vendor who doesn't want to sell is a bit of a nightmare. we found ourselves in this position many years ago - in our case the vendor had already managed to put off two previous buyers via various means, and then proceeded to try to do exactly the same to us. We proved a little tougher to budge due to a combination of having already spent money on searches etc that we could not afford to lose, plus managing to get a bit of lucky information that meant we were then able to call his bluff. He was still trying to make things difficult right up to the date of exchange, though. 

This is my dilemma. If I pull my offer they're going to try and put it back on the market and rinse and repeat on someone else. If I don't pull my offer they can tell the lender they are making "progress" on the sale. At what point does the lender say, this is enough. You are stalling and we're going to repossess your house. 

Blue_Boston

saajan_12 said:

Blue_Boston said:

user1977 said:

Blue_Boston said:

theartfullodger said:

Look up lender for £3 on gov.uk land registry and write to them confirming you are willing & able to buy.

Unlikely but they may just respond.

What obligation does the seller's solicitor actually have to the lender to update them about the sale and the vendors refusal to proceed?

None at all, it’s entirely up to their client.

So the estate agent saying the vendor's solicitor is having to update the lender every two weeks is likely nonsense?  I think the estate agent is making stuff up but I just have no idea how repossession works or mortgage arrears works.

No - the lender may well have threatened repossession but holding off as long as they hear that the sale is progressing.. so the solicitor does 'have' to because their client has instructed them to, which they have because otherwise it'll get repossessed. 

However its likely going to be irrelevant for you.. updating a lender on progress doesn't have to slow down the progress that much.. more likely the vendor themselves are just stalling.. maybe just doing the barest minimum to stay ahead of the lender's threats. 

Exactly.  The sale *isn't* progressing. At what point does the lender give the seller an ultimatum because an ultimatum from me wouldn't work.

housebuyer143

Blue_Boston said:

EssexHebridean said:

Buying from a vendor who doesn't want to sell is a bit of a nightmare. we found ourselves in this position many years ago - in our case the vendor had already managed to put off two previous buyers via various means, and then proceeded to try to do exactly the same to us. We proved a little tougher to budge due to a combination of having already spent money on searches etc that we could not afford to lose, plus managing to get a bit of lucky information that meant we were then able to call his bluff. He was still trying to make things difficult right up to the date of exchange, though. 

This is my dilemma. If I pull my offer they're going to try and put it back on the market and rinse and repeat on someone else. If I don't pull my offer they can tell the lender they are making "progress" on the sale. At what point does the lender say, this is enough. You are stalling and we're going to repossess your house. 

I would be surprised if the agent markets it again. They are not going to waste their time and money finding someone else when they know it won't compete. Most agents are payment on completion only.

EssexHebridean

Blue_Boston said:

EssexHebridean said:

Buying from a vendor who doesn't want to sell is a bit of a nightmare. we found ourselves in this position many years ago - in our case the vendor had already managed to put off two previous buyers via various means, and then proceeded to try to do exactly the same to us. We proved a little tougher to budge due to a combination of having already spent money on searches etc that we could not afford to lose, plus managing to get a bit of lucky information that meant we were then able to call his bluff. He was still trying to make things difficult right up to the date of exchange, though. 

This is my dilemma. If I pull my offer they're going to try and put it back on the market and rinse and repeat on someone else. If I don't pull my offer they can tell the lender they are making "progress" on the sale. At what point does the lender say, this is enough. You are stalling and we're going to repossess your house. 

We are pretty certain that ours was on his third go-round with us - although how long it had been going on for we aren't sure. we also also pretty sure his lenders had by that stage told him that either it went through this time or they would simply repossess - as his final efforts to derail things were mostly trying to stretch things out time-wise rather than fully getting us to pull out. 

If you are already in two minds and aren't seeing any movement anyway, you have nothing to lose by issuing an ultimatum of your own through the solicitors. Something along the line of "we require to see meaningful progress on this transaction by the end of this month or we will pull out" is black & white enough that it may move things on. Alternatively, if he comes back and says "OK then, pull out" you will at least know you were being played. Usual disclaimer here though - NEVER issue an ultimatum in a conveyancing transaction that you are not willing to see through if needed - it shouldn't be seen as purely a bargaining chip. 

saajan_12

Blue_Boston said:

saajan_12 said:

Blue_Boston said:

user1977 said:

Blue_Boston said:

theartfullodger said:

Look up lender for £3 on gov.uk land registry and write to them confirming you are willing & able to buy.

Unlikely but they may just respond.

What obligation does the seller's solicitor actually have to the lender to update them about the sale and the vendors refusal to proceed?

None at all, it’s entirely up to their client.

So the estate agent saying the vendor's solicitor is having to update the lender every two weeks is likely nonsense?  I think the estate agent is making stuff up but I just have no idea how repossession works or mortgage arrears works.

No - the lender may well have threatened repossession but holding off as long as they hear that the sale is progressing.. so the solicitor does 'have' to because their client has instructed them to, which they have because otherwise it'll get repossessed. 

However its likely going to be irrelevant for you.. updating a lender on progress doesn't have to slow down the progress that much.. more likely the vendor themselves are just stalling.. maybe just doing the barest minimum to stay ahead of the lender's threats. 

Exactly.  The sale *isn't* progressing. At what point does the lender give the seller an ultimatum because an ultimatum from me wouldn't work.

You're absolutely right, but unfortunately between the significant cost of repossesssion that the lender is weighing up and the relatively limited information they're getting on the progress (they only know what they're told which can sometimes be subjective), this can take months or even a couple of years. We don't know how long its been already, but waiting for the lender to act is probably going ot be too long for most buyers. 

Don't get sucked into trying to help the lender see the light or even getting the seller to do the right thing. It won't work and it'll just frustrate you.