Buy To Let or give up

LK78

We were sadly 8 weeks down the process of selling/buying and our house sale fell through, buyers personal issue.  Estate agents for the house we were purchasing have given us 2 weeks grace to get another buyer. Not been the easiest property to sell so this is highly doubtful. We are totally devastated.

What other options are there now so as not to lose the house we were buying? I know I’m grasping at straws but apart from the miracle of getting another offer in time - what else is there?

We have a large deposit in case that makes any difference.

I guess those house buying companies (dodgy as heck and low low ball offer) of course and someone else suggested moving to buy to let buy I’m not sure how they would work (or how quickly)
Please no negative comments - we are really struggling 
Thank you 

Voyager2002

It is the vendor, not the agent, who decides whether and when to put the house back on the market. Agents are very good at putting pressure on people, but they do not make decisions.

Anyway, have a chat with your agent about the best way to find another buyer. Perhaps consider changing agent if you think that might help. In a few days, once you have decided on a way forward, let your vendor and their agent know what is happening. They may decide to put the house back on the market, but of course any new buyer they find will also face issues, possibly greater than the ones you faced.

gwynlas

Why do you say it is not the easiest property to sell?

Can you do anything immediately to make it more appealing?

Did you have it on the market long, have many viewings before offer?

ReadySteadyPop

gwynlas said:

Why do you say it is not the easiest property to sell?

Can you do anything immediately to make it more appealing?

Did you have it on the market long, have many viewings before offer?

A price drop is the easiest most stress free route to a sale, BTL is not a good idea now, you will get many comments on here warning of the pitfalls of not understanding landlord legal responsibilities and how you can make more money in the stock market etc.. Has the OP been a landlord in the past though, maybe they know what they are doing?

Bigphil1474

If it's any help, the house we bought had been sold to someone else who died a week before exchange. The vendors put it back on the market and we bought it within a week. The reality is, if they put the house you want back on the market they are just as likely to be waiting as long as if they waited for you. Personally, if I was your vendor I'd be happy to wait a few weeks if I felt you were a serious buyer. 

silvercar

We had a similar situation 18 years ago. The smallest house in the chain lost their buyer, jeopardising the whole chain of 5 properties. To hold it all together we jumped in and bought the smallest house as a BTL and have been renting it out ever since. It’s been rented virtually the whole time, occasionally at a low rent just to get it occupied. Crucially it’s now worth double what we paid for it, so we certainly haven’t lost out by doing so.

Albermarle

We are totally devastated.
It might not help, but could be worth just getting some perspective on what has happened.
I think about one third of sales/purchases fall through before getting to exchange of contracts, so what has happened to you is in fact very common. It is a regular ( if rather annoying) occurrence in the house buying and selling process.

ReadySteadyPop

Albermarle said:

We are totally devastated.
It might not help, but could be worth just getting some perspective on what has happened.
I think about one third of sales/purchases fall through before getting to exchange of contracts, so what has happened to you is in fact very common. It is a regular ( if rather annoying) occurrence in the house buying and selling process.

I think it could be slightly more than that now.

TWEF

I would suggest first to read Gov.UK  'Guide to the Renters Rights Bill' which is due to pass next year

The advantages of renting properties out, have been severely diminished over the past 5 years.

When I retired ten years ago, I was recommended to downsize and buy a BTLet to supplement my pension. This was a good idea at the time, but sadly no longer the case because due to all the recent, various governmental changes, I started making a loss and selling a property with tenants in situe was quite a challenge for a number of reasons.

1: Tenants may not present your property in the best possible light to sell and if it looks like a bomb's hit it, then buyers won't be interested. Yes, you can take good photo's BEFORE your tenant moves in, but they will need to be high resolution for estate agents and any buyer will need to have a good imagination to get past the first image they see when entering your property.

2: You may have difficulty getting tenants to leave, which is what happened to me, simply because my tenants couldn't find anywhere else affordable to rent. It wasn't their fault, it is what has happened due to so many people like me selling their BTLets, but this resulted in me loosing a potential buyer and when the tenants did move out, I had to rent again to cover expenses and my mortgage. 

With the new laws covered in Gov.UK  'Guide to the Renters Rights Bill' this would not be so easy.It all takes time to sell any property, which you have found out already but selling rental properties with tenants in situe is even more problematic.

ReadySteadyPop

Not sure how BTL is an option in this scenario?

Uriziel

IF you are already considering the dodgy companies why do you not just reduce the price yourself? Someone is bound to want to buy it.
Letting property is not a stress free process. Do not see it as some kind of free money.