Buyer pulled out

Smalltownhypocrite

I lost money on a house where it turned out the person selling it did not even own it or have any rights to sell it.

Argument made is they thought they could claim probate so listed it and they failed probate, it dragged on for a two years and it was eventually repossessed.

Apparently (according to EA who was equally irritated by the whole thing) it was a portfolio of multiple BTL houses and they manage to somehow exchange on another house in the portfolio that they didn't own but then it came out that it couldn't be completed (would love to know how that ended).

I lost a whole year on that mess and all the money on surveys etc...

Larac

I sympathise OP - 40 years ago we were buying our first house and seller pulled out - lost money on searches, conveyancing and survey.  I am in a chain of 3 at the moment - I am moving into an empty house (hopefully) - my nerves get shredded by EA calls/messages as you never know what you are going to hear.
No idea why in England we dont adopt the Scottish system - especially around having the Home Survey done before house goes on market!

ReadySteadyPop

pinkshoes said:

wittykitty24 said:

Accepted offer on our house 2 months ago. Cash buyers which was great and they were super keen to get moving. We found a perfect property and had our offer accepted, short chain as they were buying a new build which was ready in 2 months time. Our buyers did all paperwork, searches etc. on our house, we were close to exchange and we signed our contract last week for the sale side.

Yesterday our buyer pulled out due to “personal circumstances.” We are devastated and the house we are buying are not willing to wait for us so have out their house back on the market at a reduced price. 

For the house we were buying we had paid upfront fees to solicitor and around £500 for the searches. Will we lose the money for the searches if we cannot buy that house (due to it possibly selling before we get another buyer)? Luckily we have 6 months grace with our solicitor so won’t lose all of our money. 

We can’t believe there are no penalties for pulling out of buying a home in England when you’re close to exchange, it’s just wrong. 

So the race begins .

Put your house back on the market ASAP. At a reduced price too. 

As you have already had searches done and are ready to exchange then you're still in a better position to buy than others and could still be the quickest option for them.

Good advice.

ReadySteadyPop

Albermarle said:

ReadySteadyPop said: if

wittykitty24 said:

Accepted offer on our house 2 months ago. Cash buyers which was great and they were super keen to get moving. We found a perfect property and had our offer accepted, short chain as they were buying a new build which was ready in 2 months time. Our buyers did all paperwork, searches etc. on our house, we were close to exchange and we signed our contract last week for the sale side.

Yesterday our buyer pulled out due to “personal circumstances.” We are devastated and the house we are buying are not willing to wait for us so have out their house back on the market at a reduced price. 

For the house we were buying we had paid upfront fees to solicitor and around £500 for the searches. Will we lose the money for the searches if we cannot buy that house (due to it possibly selling before we get another buyer)? Luckily we have 6 months grace with our solicitor so won’t lose all of our money. 

We can’t believe there are no penalties for pulling out of buying a home in England when you’re close to exchange, it’s just wrong. 

It is also very common now

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/more-than-a-quarter-of-property-sales-collapsed-in-2024-heres-why-278309

I thought a 25% to 30% drop out rate was historically normal, so not sure 2024 was much different from any other year

I suspect drop out rate for 2025 will be much higher.

ChirpyChicken

youth_leader said:

So sorry, it is absolutely devastating and there is absolutely no come back for you at all.  Until exchange everything including the goal posts is changeable.

My EA were urging me to 'move fast' because my 'cash buyer' wanted to 'move fast'.  I sold my gigantic Tetrad sofa for peanuts to a couple (who then sold it on ebay for a huge profit).  I should let it go as a bad experience but I gave them my very favourite cushions and wolf throw, they seemed so nice!

A week later the cash buyer pulled out by email at 7 pm at night.  He didn't have the cash, his ex wife in Sweden had it and he wasn't getting any of it.  

You sound quite bitter in quite a few of your posts..

wittykitty24

ReadySteadyPop said:

wittykitty24 said:

Thanks everyone for your comments. I do feel like it has been mentioned that they may have found another property and as they have led us on before. 

They viewed our house twice and both times said they were going to buy it/put an offer in the next day etc. First time they just went AWOL after the viewing and then after the second viewing said they had found another property for the same price that was slightly bigger downstairs. They then came back with an offer on ours a week later after that seller wanted £20k extra. 

So we always had a niggling feeling that they may pull out, but as they had paid for the searches on our house and done all the paperwork we thought that they were set on buying. Gutted is definitely the feeling! 

Do you have interest from other buyers?

No other interest at the moment. We had plenty of viewings previously but only the one offer from this couple which was £10k under the asking price, which we accepted. 

jennifernil

penners324 said:

MynameisMichaelCane said:

I cannot believe that such a terrible system exists in this country. I wish Martin Lewis, or someone with similar expertise, would look into it and come up with a better system for buying and selling houses. We should all be lobbying our MPs as well to sort the system out. With all the advances in technology during the past decades surely there must be a better way.

It also takes a ridiculously long time. 

It should take a 3/4 weeks maximum not 5+ months

Why does it take so long in England?

Sapindus

This is why there is an apparent niche for the "we buy your house for cash" companies.  On the face of it, it looks like a great model.  Someone with capital buys houses and then they stand empty on a shelf and when you want a house you just go and buy one. But every way you turn there is someone who wants to make money out of the process.  Solicitors, removals, landlords, estate agents, flippers...

whizzywoo

It's very frustrating and I do feel for you opening poster.
We've had the same happen to us three times in the last 12 months.

The worst one was the 3rd time we sold it, a cash sale to a developer.
On the date when Exchange & Completion (together) should have taken place our buyer could not be found.
Not answering his phone to the Estate Agents or his solicitor.
Turned out he was in hospital with a heart attack.  Two days later our EA managed to contact him and he had decided not to proceed due to his health.

We had already moved out in temporary accommodation for the 2nd buyer.  So up for sale it went again and it was 4th time lucky for us.  Bought and sold with money in our bank in less than 3 weeks.  They decided not to do the searches which made it much quicker.

I hope you sell it quickly this next time.

Albermarle

jennifernil said:

penners324 said:

MynameisMichaelCane said:

I cannot believe that such a terrible system exists in this country. I wish Martin Lewis, or someone with similar expertise, would look into it and come up with a better system for buying and selling houses. We should all be lobbying our MPs as well to sort the system out. With all the advances in technology during the past decades surely there must be a better way.

It also takes a ridiculously long time. 

It should take a 3/4 weeks maximum not 5+ months

Why does it take so long in England?

You can speed the process up by taking risks in bypassing some procedures, like a survey, or searches.
However even then you are relying on other people.