To forcibly ask why you pulled out?

I'd be furious at the estate agent.

We put in a bid on a flat (needed work) and we’re told buyer didn’t accept & won’t negotiate. We were told Seller lived in Hong Kong. We knew his name from pile of post in flat that we picked up off of the floor at viewing because it was getting stuck under the door. We googled him, sent an email. He told us he hadn’t been told of our offer - said there hadn’t been ANY interest in his flat (odd). We agreed price w him & then he contacted the agent who was pretty shitty w us after.
We wondered if EA was going to do some dirty low deal w someone else.

They are supposed to, but don’t necessarily. Know this from experience, they CAN & DO all kinds of stuff they aren’t supposed to.

When I bought my house last year my conveyancing solicitor ( who was amazing) said that the English system was not fit for purpose.
When I moved in, the house was dirty, there was dog shit left in the garden, the carpets so badly pissed on by the dogs that I had to pull them all up( the small had been disguised on viewing) and the vendor had removed things- like curtain poles that she said she would leave in the fixtures and fitting contract.

When i asked my solicitor what I could do she said basically nothing unless I wished to pay a different solicitor to take the vendor to court- which would cost me alot more than cleaning up and replacing the things taken.
I asked her what on earth the point of the contract was and the said it was mainly to do big structural issues like a hole being made in a wall etc. She agreed that the contract was a joke. She said she had similar issues when she last moved house.
Other countries , I believe, hold the vendor responsible for the state of the house that they sell if it is different to expected.

YANU to be upset. But I'd be more upset at the EA stringing you along when they knew the sellers had dropped out.

Unique and really badly put together and open to abuse. Worst system ever.

I think the EA has received a generous tip from someone to secure the sale. EAs are only concerned about money they don’t even have the decency to let you know anything in my experience.

Ouch. That is so odd, considering they have already moved. I hope they are on here and see this and can let us know the goss. Why did they do it?????

Although, I would recommend next time holding off the kitchen and carpet measuring. It's really useful to live in a house for a bit before you make any big decisions about decor and moving stuff around. You need to see how you use the rooms, where the light is, etc.

Don't be so bitter

Sadly, the seller doesn’t owe you an explanation as frustrating as this may be for you. However, I think turning up on their doorstep and demanding one may be considered harrassment.

You should do this OP😂

I'd get back on to the Estate Agent, they want cash buyers to lure in genuine sellers. If they've pulled out it could be they had multiple agents OR they've taken it off the market. Worth someone digging. But why do that yourself.

If you want to look batshit cray cray then yeah turn up.

Maybe they've had a traumatic life event? How silly would you look then?

forcibly 🙄

You don’t know what has happened behind closed doors. People don’t usually pull out for no reason so last minute, they could be dealing with a number of stressful things and you think it’s ok to turn up at their door asking for an explanation?! This is part of the risk you take buying a house so just swallow it and move on.

No, OP can't. They hadn't exchanged contracts.

You going to use your widdle eyes to read the OP's posts?

You can definitely sue them for legal costs. But I’d just leave it at that

you gonna stomp your widdle foot too?

I haven't read every post on the thread, it is nine pages long, so I don't know but you and I are not pleased. It's beyond me why anybody would be pleased!

It is very stressful for the op and I feel sorry for her. She will move on from it, especially when another house is found and secure, but just now it hurts and she needs our support.

If she knocked on the door of the house she has lost, she might not get an answer and if she does, it may not be the truth. I don't think that would be a good idea. She could write them a letter and hope for a reply. Best to move on, though, cut her losses.

It is frustrating OP...who knows why, maybe decided not to sell, maybe someone else offered more. Off to greener pastures. Keep an eye on right move / zoopla to satisfy your curiosity in the coming months.

I get the feeling quite a lot of posters are pleased you've lost time, money and energy on this deal. They feel you've been chopped down a peg or two.

If it would make you feel better I'd knock on the door and politely ask for a reason. You never have to see them again after that.

Happened to my uncle over 20 years ago - house prices in the area surged and in the weeks before he was due to move in sellers cancelled. He took it to court - took about 2 years to be settled, in the meantime house prices were twice the price, judge found it was a breach of contract and it had to be sold at the price he was buying it for so the sellers took a big hit for being greedy and having the house stuck in litigation for so long (they were property developers so the place was empty in that time). Deposits etc had already been paid and it was the 11th hour the owners tried to pull out.

Similar thing happened to a friend a few years back - she was buying a lovely big apartment and the sellers kept delaying things and then pulled out just before she was due to move in - they put in on the market again a month later and sold for much more. They cost her 6 months at a time prices were going up at speed so she ended up having to buy a much smaller place in a less nice location - she didn’t go the legal route as she just wanted to have a place to move into quickly.

YABVU, this was a business transaction and the decided not to go ahead, that's it. No one owes you an explanation as to why they decided not to sell you the house, it is their property and they decided not to, its that simple.

Typing errors - the full stop was left out and extra character added. Should have been £9.00. 😉 They'd emptied the 5p jar in the kitchen.🙄