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Original poster

House for sale keeps returning to market

48 replies

Rockbird · 15/12/2020 11:45

We're looking to move, or at least were before I was threatened with redundancy . Anyway, there's a house we've liked for the last year or so but we weren't in a position to move. In that time it's been under offer/sold stc and then back on the market about 4 times, it's just reappeared again!

Obviously no one here can tell me exactly why, but does anyone more knowledgable have any thoughts on whether we should avoid this house or what? It's become almost comical waiting for it to keep coming back!

OP posts:

sproutsnbacon · 15/12/2020 12:44

Could be structural? Where I live most agents will say to avoid wasting more time. Or it could be bad luck with buyers. I know someone who has had three lots pull out. The potential buyers were second home buyers and didn’t have to provide the same evidence of funds as in the normal process. So you can guess what happened. None actually had enough money and they even wasted money on surveys!

awwkkwwaard · 15/12/2020 12:50

Sorry for hijacking your thread - but there is a house near us that has been on the market for over 3 years. It is so stupidly overpriced as to be laughable - it is about 75k over priced but I can see why they "think" it might be worth more - it is a (small) 2 bed bungalow BUT it has, in the roof, a self contained 'flat', which is currently rented out which brings in an income. They have priced it to cover that, assuming the buyer wants an income. It would be OK for us as my son would live up there and we would sort out the downstairs for us, but it is up for about 50k more than our 4 bed extended semi would be worth! Surely after 3 years you would realise there was something wrong?

LizziesTwin · 15/12/2020 12:56

With our house it was because they couldn’t agree on a house to move into. Went on the market 3 years in a row.

EmbarrassingMama · 15/12/2020 13:03

The agent should tell you. We're about to buy a house that someone pulled out of and I was told why - with evidence - when I asked.

SpaceOp · 15/12/2020 13:09

In the case of our neighbour's house, the issue that it was very very appealing so people were putting in offers which were getting accepted, happiness all round... but then the buyers weren't able to actually get the mortgage or whatever. So back it would go on the market, only to be sold 2 weeks later again. I think it happened 4 times and the people who bought it were first time buyers so no chain etc.

My BF has had multiple sales fall through. Some because the buyers of her house have pulled out at the last minute - in two cases because a house they'd liked even more came back on the market so they ditched her house in favour of the other one - one because of a survey issue (which they fixed before putting back on market) and one because the house they wanted to buy didn't pass the survey and they couldn't get a mortgage on it even with the discounted price to fix the problem. Lenders were just flatly refusing. She's been in bits about it.

So I do think things are confusing and difficult right now and it's not necessarily anything sinister.

mumwon · 15/12/2020 13:11

2 buyers couldn't get the amount of mortgage with their income
1 changed mind & went after a house in different area
final one straightforward
Its not always a problem with the house it can be the buyers or the chain

CityDweller · 15/12/2020 13:19

When we sold our house last year we had two (twat) sets of buyers pull out. They just changed their mind. The people we sold it to then sold it again 9 months later (no idea why, but they never actually moved in and we always got the sense there was something a bit dodgy/off)
In any case, nothing wrong with the house (in fact, it was a gorgeous house!) just flakey buyers.

SkepticalCat · 15/12/2020 13:26

Agree with others to definitely speak to the estate agent. Is it the same one each time it has come on the market, or different?

In our situation, we had three buyers pull out when we sold our flat, but for three completely unrelated reasons - (1) first time buyer who got cold feet, (2) buy to let person who quibbled over something in the lease, despite being reassured by her own solicitor that it was fine, (3) a buyer who only realised after putting an offer in that his commute to work would be a nightmare.

So, nothing to do with there being anything "wrong" with the flat, just several flakey buyers.

janaus50s · 15/12/2020 13:29

A ghost

WhatAreWordsWorth · 15/12/2020 13:38

We had a very similar situation to @CityDweller. We had two sets of buyers pull out - one after a few weeks as they’d found a different house, and the others right before exchange (apparently due to a leasehold agreement they knew about from day one)

Otherwise I would guess a survey issue, chain problems, financial issues due to COVID, or just flakey vendors.

Sometimes it really can be bad luck. It’s definitely worth speaking to the agent.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 15/12/2020 13:41

Does the price reduce each time? If so I would expect that some problem is uncovered during the sales process.

CottonSock · 15/12/2020 13:44

There was a thread recently where to op discovered no building regs for a large extension and dispute with builders. Or could be survey, or just bad luck

Voyager54 · 15/12/2020 13:45

Having moved more times than we care to recall what we would do is ask the agent if the any purchaser has had a survey or the property an d if so could you have their name and enquire if you could purchase a copy! This may give you a clue or more bargaining power if you proceed.

PattyPan · 15/12/2020 13:47

I agree, ask the agent. We viewed a house that had had several potential buyers pull out as they couldn’t get a mortgage on it. In that case it was due to single skin walls. At the viewing, the agent informed us of the issue and which bank the current owner’s mortgage was with, as they were obviously happy to lend on it.

Original poster

Rockbird · 15/12/2020 13:48

It's been on with two different agents. Been back twice with one and now is back for the second time with the other.

It's about 20 years old so newish, backs onto woodland, no plans for further development that I know of, of course that's no guarantee.

OP posts:

Original poster

Rockbird · 15/12/2020 13:50

Oh and pricewise, it started I think at £525k, went down to £500k where it was for most of the time, and is now back at £525k. Riddle me that!

OP posts:

MyCatShopsAtAldi · 15/12/2020 15:17

Survey issues aside (and if it happens within a few weeks of each offer being accepted, that’s what I’d suspect), it could be buyer-related rather than property-related. Especially if it’s the kind of house that is a natural step-up from a flat.

My friend is selling one of those and they keep losing buyers because they can’t sell their flats due to the cladding issue (a lot of flats have become virtually un-mortgageable overnight, is my understanding). So it’s nothing to do with their house, simply the kind of buyer who would normally be able to buy their house currently isn’t.

mindutopia · 15/12/2020 16:45

I expect there is either something wrong with it that is only coming up down the line in conveyancing, or it's people over offering given the current market.

People are making mad offers at the moment, especially if you live in a desirable out of London area, and then I think sales are falling through at valuation. We just lost out on a house that must have gone for easily 100K over the guide price (which was 600). It had no central heating, needed a new kitchen, well, needed new everything, damp everywhere, wallpaper peeling off. We offered 80K over, so I know it must have gone for a lot more as there were many offers. I suspect it won't get valued at that and the sale could fall through eventually.

Or just something wrong with it. We viewed another property, which had massive flooding and standing water issues. It was obvious to us because we've been looking to buy an agricultural property for a long time, so know what to look for (we didn't make an offer as a result). But apparently agent had already sold it 3 times and had the sale fall through. Apparently, because of chains collapsing, but I suspect it because of the poor drainage and the generally falling down house. It just sold STC a couple weeks ago for the 4th time! So curious to see what happens.

There's no reason not to pursue it, if you can afford the conveyancing. You could always pull out too if it turns out to be a wreck.

Voyager54 · 15/12/2020 16:52

It would appear from the pricing that the vendor thinks they can still sell and is happy to settle at £500k below the SD threshold! This happened next door to us.

smashedspuds · 15/12/2020 17:13

It could all be innocent. Our previous house sale fell through multiple times, each time nothing to do with the house, just bad luck.

First time around the couple split up.
Second time around buyers tried to pull a fast one by over offering to secure the house initially (there were multiple offers on the table) and then tried to reduce their offer later on once it was "theirs" - No reason for this, surveys all came back clear.

Third time buyers mortgage offer was withdrawn late in the day because one of the buyers had only been working in her job for less than 6 months

Fourth time our buyers mortgage offer was lowered (again, later in the process) as lenders wouldn't take into account buyers cash in hand work any longer.

Our agents told us that if anything untoward came up in a survey they would have a duty to declare it. Whether that is true or not I don't know, but worth asking just in case?

2bazookas · 15/12/2020 17:17

Just ring the agent and ask for the person who is the main contact for that property . Ask that person why the sale keeps stalling. Be polite and businesslike, just say you don't want to waste your time if the place is unmortgageable, or the owners keep changing their minds.

There could be reasons unconedcted to the property; like an inheritance or divorce dispute, or illness.

crosshatching · 15/12/2020 17:38

When we were looking earlier this year we saw a place that looked exactly what we were hoping for and the agent basically told us not to bother. Apparently the house came on the market every year, while the vendors searched for their dream home in the next (more expensive) town. They could never find exactly what they wanted and kept pulling out of the sale. So it could be a vendor issue, if you ask the agent to be frank with you they might help. Good luck.🏡

GabsAlot · 16/12/2020 11:33

the estate agents wont tell you why especially if its been up with others

i would have a look but be prepar4ed for something to come up in the survey and dont pay more than 500k

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