Buyers keep pulling out of sale

secondbuyer100 · 23 July 2019 at 1:40PM

Hi Everyone

New to the forum and just wanted to vent my feelings and write down my story about what has happened when trying to sell my flat this year.
My flat went on the market in March of this year, I was lucky to receive an offer from the first person who viewed, and was very happy with the offer.
Things started to progress and just over a month later I was informed that the buyer no longer wished to proceed. I was of course gutted, as I had found the perfect house to move on to and ended up losing it. The estate agent tried their best to get a better understanding from the buyer as to why they've pulled out of the sale, but they never responded to calls or emails.
I put the flat back up for sale again at the beginning of May, had a good steady stream of viewings every week, had another offer which I declined as it was too low, and then received a third offer in mid June which I ended up accepting.
The buyer seemed really keen and was showing all positive signs, sending information back to the agents, applying for a mortgage etc all very quickly. The valuation for her mortgage on my flat only went ahead yesterday morning.
Today I received a call from the estate agent saying the buyer had sent them an email last night saying she was no longer going ahead with the purchase. No explanation ... nothing. The agent has tried to contact her a few times this morning by phone but she keeps rejecting their calls. Again, I have no idea why this second buyer has pulled out as well.
I know they have no obligation to give me a reason, and that they are well within their rights to change their mind, it's just incredibly frustrating and maybe a little rude? If I was to pull out of a sale I would at least give an honest reason why.
Now I am unsure of what to do, I have spent money on solicitors, mortgage valuations, and had put down a reservation fee on a new build, which I will probably lose once they get wind of my buyer pulling out.
I know it's all part and parcel of buying and selling, it is just exhausting and frustrating that this has happened twice now, and I have no reason as to why. Both buyers seemed incredibly keen to start with which puzzles me.
My flat will only really appeal to first time buyers, which in itself limits the amount of potential buyers out there. The agent has listed my flat for sale again, but I don't know whether to just withdraw it completely now as I keep failing, and keep spending money only for the sales to keep falling through.
Gutted is an understatement!

specialhat · 23 July 2019 at 2:09PM

I had three pull out last year (none gave a solid reason) - unfortunately it seems to be part and parcel of the English property market. If people can, they will.

secondbuyer100 · 23 July 2019 at 2:14PM

specialhat wrote: »

I had three pull out last year (none gave a solid reason) - unfortunately it seems to be part and parcel of the English property market. If people can, they will.

I agree ... it does seem a bit unfair though that someone can spend so much money on the process only for the other person to walk away with no commitment or repercussions from it. Fortunately I was buying a new build, I dread to think about what happens when there is a much bigger chain. One person pulling out could spell out disaster for 3 or 4 other people.

HanPop · 23 July 2019 at 2:17PM

It’s horrible isn’t it, this is the first time I’ve sold and I hate it. It must be so frustrating not to know why they have pulled out and yes I find it so rude, I would always give an explanation. However that might not make you any feel better as I had a buyer pull out in June on day of exchange and they told me why (they didn’t want to pay £10 a month service charge to cut the communal grass areas, which they already knew about) and I think maybe I’m more angry at the stupid reason they pulled out!
You might not lose your new build property, my developer is giving us time to sell. Good luck

secondbuyer100 · 23 July 2019 at 2:33PM

HanPop wrote: »

It’s horrible isn’t it, this is the first time I’ve sold and I hate it. It must be so frustrating not to know why they have pulled out and yes I find it so rude, I would always give an explanation. However that might not make you any feel better as I had a buyer pull out in June on day of exchange and they told me why (they didn’t want to pay £10 a month service charge to cut the communal grass areas, which they already knew about) and I think maybe I’m more angry at the stupid reason they pulled out!
You might not lose your new build property, my developer is giving us time to sell. Good luck

Thanks for the reply. It is my first time selling too and I'm not sure I could go through all this again If I ever do end up moving out of where I am now. I've saved up for a long time to make this happen as well so it's very frustrating to lose all the money I have spent on this so far!
That is a really stupid reason RE the service charge. Especially as they knew about it when they made the offer. I suppose people dwell on things sometimes then change their mind.
I'm hoping they will allow me to keep my plot but it doesn't seem very likely as there was interest in my plot from other people around the time I reserved it

OldMusicGuy · 23 July 2019 at 2:38PM

It's frustrating, we have had similar issues. The simple answer is you should not commit to buying anything until you have sold yours (ie exchanged). As soon as you are committed to buying somewhere, it puts you in a difficult situation because buyers can pull out at anytime for no good reason which causes you undue stress.

We said we were not going to do that this time round. We said we would sell and then find somewhere. Sadly we did not follow our own advice and we have been in a similar situation to you. It does seem like we are making progress but if this sale falls through my wife and I have agreed we will give up and take the house off the market.

secondbuyer100 · 23 July 2019 at 2:48PM

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

It's frustrating, we have had similar issues. The simple answer is you should not commit to buying anything until you have sold yours (ie exchanged). As soon as you are committed to buying somewhere, it puts you in a difficult situation because buyers can pull out at anytime for no good reason which causes you undue stress.

We said we were not going to do that this time round. We said we would sell and then find somewhere. Sadly we did not follow our own advice and we have been in a similar situation to you. It does seem like we are making progress but if this sale falls through my wife and I have agreed we will give up and take the house off the market.

I'm sorry to hear this. I hope it works out for you this time round. I'm thinking now whether I should just cut my losses and take it off the market and try again next year. I have already wasted a fair bit of money both times, if it happens a third time it's going to be soul destroying.

cloo · 23 July 2019 at 4:11PM

Yes, we had buyers pull out and not tell us why - they were FTB and we think they just got cold feet and thought they'd over-offered but it is intensely frustrating if there might be some problem that's put them off, but they won't let you know so that you can address it. If I had to pull out, I'd always give a reason - for one thing you'll only get lots of calls back if you don't, but most of all it's the right thing to do.

TBagpuss · 23 July 2019 at 4:39PM

It does happen, unfortuantely. The only thing I would query is if both sales fell through just after the buyers survey was done it may be that there is something which came up in the survey which is putting people off. It might be worth getting a surveyor out, or making enquiries about whether the most recent buyer would be willing to let you see their survey (or even sell it to you)

I had a buyer pull out when I was selling my last house - in that case, they made all sorts of excuses but we evntually found out that it was becuae they had gone on a spending spress with their credit cards and their mortgage offer had been pulled as a result, so nothibng at all to do with my house!

I also had to pull out of a sale (separately) and in my case it was because the survey showed some really major issues with the house and the seller was unwilling to negotiatate at all on price (I was veryopen with them about why I was pulling out)

bertiewhite · 23 July 2019 at 6:14PM

and this is why I moved into rented when I last sold. Yes, I had to move twice but it took a lot of the stress out of the process and meant I could take my time looking for the next property.

secondbuyer100 · 23 July 2019 at 6:17PM

Thanks for your replies.
If it was something about the property that has changed their mind then I wish they would tell me, the agent has phoned her a few times today and each time she has rejected the call.
I bought my flat from new in 2017, it is only 2 and a half years old so there shouldn't be any issues that would have cropped up on a survey. The only thing I can think of is that she didn't like the service charge fees - I was upfront about these from the beginning and they are in line with other flats in the area. Or she had found something else she liked and decided to go for that instead. The builders have said they will keep the plot reserved for a little while, the house will be ready in September though and I can't imagine they will wait until then incase they end up with a finished and empty plot.

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Buyers keep pulling out of sale

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