I am on the verge of backing out of a property sale. What are my options? [Merged]

Herzlos

Was the gate mentioned anywhere as working or not working? I believe that it's assumed that unless otherwise stated, all fixtures work.

So I'd argue that unless they explicitly advertised it with a non functional gate, their refusal to fix the gate (or reduce the price compensate) that you should be getting your deposit back.

Bookworm105

raptor2004 said:

I am a bit annoyed and I only blame myself but I think the sale misrepresented to me as I was led to believe the vendors will at least allow me to put down offers. Ultimately I agreed the offer as vacant possession so no going around that.

seems you don't really understand the legal jargon and you jumped the gun in parting with real money as a holding deposit.

"vacant possession" means that on the day you complete no one else is in occupation in the property.

It has no bearing on what may or may not be in the property in relation to fittings as the vendor must list those individually and your mortgage will not cover those costs as they may not exist if the mortgage company called in the loan and had to sell the building to recover the loan.

your 5k deposit is pretty much standard terms, the vendor has taken the property off the market and so vendor & EA want compensation if you, as buyer, fail to proceed with the purchase for all except the specific reasons listed.
Upon exchange of contract that money counts towards your exchange deposit so you won't need to pay a further 5k to reach the exchange deposit figure. 

raptor2004

Herzlos said:

Was the gate mentioned anywhere as working or not working? I believe that it's assumed that unless otherwise stated, all fixtures work.

So I'd argue that unless they explicitly advertised it with a non functional gate, their refusal to fix the gate (or reduce the price compensate) that you should be getting your deposit back.

It was not stated anywhere. I was verbally told by the estate agents that it should work and they are waiting on the vendors to find the fobs. But now seems apparent that it doesn't work at all.

MysteryMe

If this is the house you want to buy, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. It is madness to chuck away £5000 over a few second had items and a non working gate. How much is it going to cost to fix the gate or get a couple of fobs, not £5000 I would have thought.

Probate sales are always difficult because obviously the people selling the property were not the owners and likely never lived there. Sometimes you have to look beyond your own bubble and see the bigger picture. It is annoying when you are given incorrect information but it's unlikely to have been done deliberately, driveway gates that are not working is not something easily hid.

cymruchris

MysteryMe said:

If this is the house you want to buy, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. It is madness to chuck away £5000 over a few second had items and a non working gate. How much is it going to cost to fix the gate or get a couple of fobs, not £5000 I would have thought.

Probate sales are always difficult because obviously the people selling the property were not the owners and likely never lived there. Sometimes you have to look beyond your own bubble and see the bigger picture. It is annoying when you are given incorrect information but it's unlikely to have been done deliberately, driveway gates that are not working is not something easily hid.

Exactly that - you would like to lose your £5k over a fridge, a washing machine and a gate repair that all in would likely cost you a thousand pounds at most - of which the fridge and washing machine weren't part of the deal anyway. It's a probate property, and most of the time they come as they come. You've posted as though they are being really unreasonable causing you to want to pull out - but genuinely it comes across as the other way around, that maybe you need to give way a little and just secure the house which is the most important thing here, and anything else you can rectify later. Don't make a daft decision and regret it later.

raptor2004

cymruchris said:

MysteryMe said:

If this is the house you want to buy, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. It is madness to chuck away £5000 over a few second had items and a non working gate. How much is it going to cost to fix the gate or get a couple of fobs, not £5000 I would have thought.

Probate sales are always difficult because obviously the people selling the property were not the owners and likely never lived there. Sometimes you have to look beyond your own bubble and see the bigger picture. It is annoying when you are given incorrect information but it's unlikely to have been done deliberately, driveway gates that are not working is not something easily hid.

Exactly that - you would like to lose your £5k over a fridge, a washing machine and a gate repair that all in would likely cost you a thousand pounds at most - of which the fridge and washing machine weren't part of the deal anyway. It's a probate property, and most of the time they come as they come. You've posted as though they are being really unreasonable causing you to want to pull out - but genuinely it comes across as the other way around, that maybe you need to give way a little and just secure the house which is the most important thing here, and anything else you can rectify later. Don't make a daft decision and regret it later.

see your point but I have paid above asking odds and I know its a buyers market out there. I can find a property that is bigger and in a nice area for the same price if not less. The only reason I went for this property was that it was close to family but the more I think about it, the less it matters. I am going to stand my ground and if they continue to be stubborn, I will just walk away.

bobster2

raptor2004 said:

Without getting too much into the detail, I put down an offer for a probate property which was accepted as vacant possession. I also paid a £5k deposit to the estate agents to agree the sale.

One of the main selling points was that the property was fully furnished and I was hoping they will either leave things behind or at least be open to offers on the things I wanted.

There are two executors and one of them is being really difficult to the point where I'm willing to just walk away and lose a bit of my money. At this point, all I want is the washing machine and fridge freezer but they are not prepared to even look at my offer (which is very fair). There are kitchen stools that match the decor of the kitchen that I also want, but seems like the unreasonable vendors may remove that too. I'm starting to think they will also remove the window curtains and blinds too which will really fustrate me.

What has really pushed me off the edge is that the front electric gates do not seem to be working. Over the last several weeks I repeatedly told the estate agent that I want that to work but I was led to believe that they are in working order. I have told my solictor that I want the front electric gates fixed with working fobs before completion, and I also want the curtains/blinds and kitchen stools.

If they were willing to be fair, I would have let the electric gates issue go, if they had left the washing maching and freezer or at least accept my offer on them!

What are my options? It is a buyers market out there and I have been very reasonable and fair to date but feel like the estate agent and vendors are just taking advantage of me at this point.

It would extremely unsual for a buyer to walk away from a propery purchase due to issues such as washing machine, fridge freezer, kitchen stools and curtains/blinds. A buyer walking away over things like this would be the one more likely to be described as "unreasonable".

In another thread weren't you also suggesting you wanted the vendors to include some cars?

Grizebeck

I am stunned you paid a deposit.

raptor2004

bobster2 said:

raptor2004 said:

Without getting too much into the detail, I put down an offer for a probate property which was accepted as vacant possession. I also paid a £5k deposit to the estate agents to agree the sale.

One of the main selling points was that the property was fully furnished and I was hoping they will either leave things behind or at least be open to offers on the things I wanted.

There are two executors and one of them is being really difficult to the point where I'm willing to just walk away and lose a bit of my money. At this point, all I want is the washing machine and fridge freezer but they are not prepared to even look at my offer (which is very fair). There are kitchen stools that match the decor of the kitchen that I also want, but seems like the unreasonable vendors may remove that too. I'm starting to think they will also remove the window curtains and blinds too which will really fustrate me.

What has really pushed me off the edge is that the front electric gates do not seem to be working. Over the last several weeks I repeatedly told the estate agent that I want that to work but I was led to believe that they are in working order. I have told my solictor that I want the front electric gates fixed with working fobs before completion, and I also want the curtains/blinds and kitchen stools.

If they were willing to be fair, I would have let the electric gates issue go, if they had left the washing maching and freezer or at least accept my offer on them!

What are my options? It is a buyers market out there and I have been very reasonable and fair to date but feel like the estate agent and vendors are just taking advantage of me at this point.

It would extremely unsual for a buyer to walk away from a propery purchase due to issues such as washing machine, fridge freezer, kitchen stools and curtains/blinds. A buyer walking away over things like this would be the one more likely to be described as "unreasonable".

In another thread weren't you also suggesting you wanted the vendors to include some cars?

Yes, which I placed an offer for, and was rejected. Which I am fine with, as long as its removed

raptor2004

Grizebeck said:

I am stunned you paid a deposit.

Lesson learnt. Rather let it go and move on if I am not happy