House Buying Vendor Problems

victory

Hi, first time buyers here,(no chain for us) found a house, put in a bid, has been accepted, in the middle of instructing the conveyers, got a mortgage etc but now the vendor has rang and said the house she set her heart on fell through so they are back to looking and will let us know.
We are in rented, it is all well and good but should we not have an agreement to move in on such and such a date, does it drag out now? How are we going to know when to move etc?
Also in the downturn of the market someone suggested to me that give her leeway of say 8 weeks and if she cannot rise to that then cut the asking price according to the length of time, the house decline etc? Surely if you have agreed an asking price that is it but what do we do now, just wait?

Nicki

I would tell them that unless they are in a position to proceed that you will continue to look, but they should come back to you when they are proceedable. Then if you find somewhere else you can go ahead, and if you don't, then you can re-negotiate on price if a long period has elapsed and the market has moved downwards in your area

PasturesNew

Let them know you are looking around at other houses as you are a serious buyer with a mortgage offer in your hand.

Then look around at other houses. You might find something better.

Debt_Free_Chick

victory wrote: »

should we not have an agreement to move in on such and such a date

You won't get this until you've exchanged contracts. In fact, neither party has any legal obligation at all until exchange.

does it drag out now?

Yes - until contracts are exchanged. Until then, you can pull of the sale or the vendor can pull out of the sale and neither of you will owe the other anything at all.

How are we going to know when to move etc?

Not until exchange takes place

Also in the downturn of the market someone suggested to me that give her leeway of say 8 weeks and if she cannot rise to that then cut the asking price according to the length of time, the house decline etc? Surely if you have agreed an asking price that is it but what do we do now, just wait?

The price is not agreed until .... wait for it ... exchange of contracts

Until then, everything is up for negotiation. Even if property prices generally fall, how will that affect the value of this particular property, in this particular condition and in this particular location?

Similarly, if property prices rise, would you offer a higher price? :rolleyes:

Nicki makes a good point ... if you want to buy and you're ready to buy, then you perhaps need to think about buying only from someone who is ready to proceed with a sale. In the meantime, you can keep looking until something suitable comes up. Ask the vendor what they want to do .... do they want to go ahead or not? If not, then keep looking.

victory

Thanks for the replies:D I agree, we will keep looking although that is the house for us but then again as has been said there are many others out there and now maybe they are a little bit cheaper, OH is going to contact vendor and let them know that we will be looking elsewhere while they decide, is it not the case though that the conveyancy fees are non refundable? We would not want to be out of pocket for their indecision.

Doozergirl

How much you have spent depends on how far down the line you are. Whatever has been spent you won't get it back. Certainly not money spent on searches. Sometimes mortgage companies will let you have a second valuation without charging you - I'm not sure how current lending restrictions will change that flexibility. Some solicitors operate on a no sale, no fee basis but if you have only just instructed them, there probably isn't much to pay for their time.

Keep looking; there isn't much being advertsied much cheaper in my area - though perhaps vendors are prepared to be more flexible on their asking prices than they might have been previously.

victory

Well the vendor did tell us that she had to come down from £198k to £195K but we never saw it advertised anywhere for £198k (internet,etc she is selling it through an independent agent rather than an estate agent) so the price was dropped according to her and then we came in, looked, liked a lot and put in an offer for £190k to which she said someone had offered her £192.500, if we could match it as we were first time buyers and ready to go we would be chosen(don't believe a word of it because she did drop herself in it and say that 'it is not as if many people are knocking my door, the viewings have been very sparse').

We said no we couldn't, £190k, held in there, she rang said yes(strange if you have been offered another £2.500

We felt we had a good deal, she was happy with us, now she does not know when she will move.

sillyvixen

it's just one of those things, by all means keep looking you may find another property where the vendor is in a better possition.
this happened to me my offer was accepted and the vendor had not found a property to buy when they did there were problems with their lender and the legal problems with their related purchase (this caused 3 months of delays) i was willing to wait as i had found the perfect property for me. i had looked at loads of properties that were awfull and more pricey and lost out on a very simular property when the vendors decided to accept a lower offer - i wasn't letting this house go!!
yes its a nightmare and the not knowing when is stressful but if the property is worth waiting for it will be worth the wait. you could find another property and find yourself in exactly the same circumstances.
good luck and i hope you find things moving along soon.