Seller hasn't found a house but is pushing us to proceed

Mareland6 · 25 April 2019 at 1:31PM

We had our offer accepted at the beginning of March but our vendor has yet to find somewhere to live. In this time I have only chased them twice which I think is more than reasonable. However the second time, their response was 'nothing yet so you can pull out if you want'. This seemed a bit hasty so I'm now concerned they aren't seriously looking though she assures me they are.

As such we have put progress on our side on hold until the chain is on place (we are FTBs). But now, the estate agent is pushing us to proceed and says that the seller wants 'commitment'. We have applied for the mortgage but this isn't progress enough apparently.

We are standing our ground and refusing to spend anything on surveys and searches until there's a proceedable chain and we are keeping an eye on the market.

However the estate agent has told me that if we don't proceed then it limits the sellers chances of having an offer accepted. Apparently some estate agents and sellers won't even accept an offer unless the offerer has a buyer who is ready to exchange. Surely, this can't be true?! They expect us to get to the point of exchange, then wait indefinitely for them to find somewhere to live and reach exchange and so on?

Has anyone ever heard of this?

Lokolo · 25 April 2019 at 1:37PM

You should stick to your guns. Until the chain is complete, progress no further. And reinforce this with the estate agent. They should understand this.

lisyloo · 25 April 2019 at 1:38PM

Have you asked if they are willing to move out into rented accommodation?

The estate agent is telling you the optimum position for the seller I.e. that you commit the max and they commit the min but that’s not a reasonable position.

I think you are right not to progress further.

So I would ask (if you haven’t already) if they will commit to going into rented. Note what they say is not actually a legally binding commitment until exchange.
Lots of people say they will and when they get to sorting the practicalities realise it’s not quite so easy.

2 months is not a massive amount of time for them to find somewhere.
If you had expectations that they would find somewhere in only a couple of weeks then is that a reasonable expectation?

pinkteapot · 25 April 2019 at 1:52PM

It's natural for the EA to be trying to get you to the point of exchange. They know you're less likely to pull out if you've spent a load of cash. However, they haven't really got a lot of bargaining power here. I'd stick to my guns if I were you.

They may threaten to put the house back on the market, at which point you can say "OK, well our offer's still on the table until your client finds a property." Depends if you're worried they'll get higher offers than yours - which depends on what the market's like in your area.

If you want to try to push the seller you could tell the EA that your offer stands, you want the house if it actually becomes available (it isn't right now unless they agree to rent), but you need to move by X date so if they don't find somewhere in the next month (say) then you will start viewing other properties and will have to pull out if you find somewhere that's actually proceedable.

p.s. The part about your seller not having offers taken seriously is absolute nonsense. They'll be taken seriously so long as they have a buyer! It won't speed things up if you're ready to exchange as all the parties above in the chain need to do the same process.

Albala · 25 April 2019 at 2:15PM

pinkteapot is right, it's true that some sellers won't have viewings or accept offers from buyers who have no offer on their property, but it's having a buyer and and having accepted that buyer's offer that makes a buyer attractive to sellers, rather then what stage the possible buyer's buyer is at, at least, until things progress beyond your sellers finding the place they want, viewing, and putting in an actual offer. As for " Apparently some estate agents and sellers won't even accept an offer unless the offerer has a buyer who is ready to exchange." I think they're pulling your leg there, and trying to take advantage of your lack of experience.

It seems it isn't you that's pushing the vendors (it may take time for them to find a place, bt it is reasonable to keep in touch and ask how that's going so long as you're not doing it every day). It's the EA that is pushing you, when their client hasn't even found a property they like yet. That's daft. I bet if you asked, 'if we have a survey and they don't find anywhere to buy within the following month, will they pay us for the survey?' the answer would be a firm 'get lost'.

cloo · 25 April 2019 at 2:22PM

I'd be wary of asking if they'll move out to rented... quite often people say they will to speed up the deal, but once you get further down the line go 'actually, no', either because that was their plan, or because they initially agreed in good faith but then realised what a pain it would be to do it (or that price rises might make life difficult).

Mareland6 · 25 April 2019 at 2:37PM

Renting was mentioned but they said only in 'extreme circumstances' whatever that means! Previous attempts at buying fell through because sellers reneged on promises to go into rented and pulled out.

I should point out that when I chased it, I wasnt pushing. Just a simple 'had any luck yet' because they told me they'd found one they were really keen on. I don't necessarily expect them to have found anywhere but I certainly didn't expect all this backlash! It seems like a massive overreaction on their part.

I was actually happy to wait until this happened, now I'm not so sure. Especially since the EA is outright lying to me about the seller not being able to find a house because of us. Thing is, it isn't just the EA. The sellers themselves have said directly to me that they 'need to keep their options open' if we aren't proceeding yet.

lisyloo · 25 April 2019 at 3:18PM

Their options are open until exchange.
That remains the position until exchange, but they are the ones who won't exchange !
You are procedable, it them holding things up.

I agree about the renting aspect.
I'd like to think people change their minds when faced with the details and practicalities rather than actually deliberately lie.

Is this your dream home?
Just wondering if you should keep your options open? i.e. carry on looking.

Albala · 25 April 2019 at 8:14PM

Sounds like they want you stuck on a hook where you have spent lots of money and are therefore fairly well committed, but they are not even putting in offers on houses. I think I'd walk, unless it was a very special house.

As for moving out into rented, from reading stories here, I'd believe that when I saw it, and not before. If they really wanted to excahnge so they had a sure sale before buying, they would be arranging to move out now.

If you wanted to be very hard-nosed about it (and I get very hard nosed if people lie to me) you could say 'you know what we would be willing to offer, come back to us if you decide to take it, in the meantime, I will keep looking. As I want to be as fair as possible, if I find somewhere before you come back to me, I'll contact you and let you know'.

Of course, if you do say that, that they really will be looking with no 'accepted offer', and some buyers won't even let them into the house for a viewing, but hey....they were the ones who stared mucking about...

'nothing yet so you can pull out if you want' sounds to me like they aren't bothered about selling, next minute they are trying to force you to spend a fortune pdq on surveys etc. It doesn't add up. I fear some sellers exploit FTBs because they think they can keep them on a hook at their leisure as the FTBs don't need to sell.

diggingdude · 25 April 2019 at 8:34PM

The longer between your offer being accepted and exchange on all houses in the chain makes it more likely you will drop out so rather than you being the problem it's then tell them to shove it unless it's the house of your dreams

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Seller hasn't found a house but is pushing us to proceed

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