Seller lied about being ready to move - I'm stressed and scared.

[HouseNightmarePanic]

This is my first house purchase. I think I allowed my stress and panic at being evicted to cloud my judgement? I've been foolish. I don't need a kicking though...

I currently rent a house. Landlord is selling it. My section 21 runs out mid April.

I managed to scrape together enough for a deposit to buy a small home of my own. House prices around here are very high so to be able to find one in my budget was a small miracle. I cannot rent anymore - not only because I can't deal with a LL ever again but if I do it will take everything I've saved. I think it's my only option though. I know that I am very fortunate to be able to private rent and save for a house deposit and people have it a lot tougher than me but I was so close to being free from renting.

From the beginning I was very up front with everyone involved that I was on a tight timeline, that I was being evicted and I wanted to move fast. I viewed the house the day after it went on the market and I put an offer in during the viewing. I explained the situation and I was told the seller was ready to move and was very motivated to get everything done quickly as well. The chain was me at the bottom, seller, and 1 more person. Seller accepted my offer the next day.

It's been 7 weeks and everything on my part was completed last week. I asked my (brilliant) solicitor if there was an update on seller's progress and she emailed me this morning that actually the seller has not found anywhere to live and is still looking but is taking the time to find the right house.

I'm going to have to pull out of the sale, aren't I? But this will mean I will lose all fees etc. that I've already paid? There's no way the seller is going to move within 4 weeks.

What happens when I pull out?

Would it be possible to try and put an offer in a definitely empty/chain free house and get it done quickly?

I've fucked up and I don't know what to do.

viewed the house the day after it went on the market and I put an offer in during the viewing.

this was the first and only property you viewed? wasn’t it op?

I had expected the move to happen by June, not 8 weeks. I was just saying that's how long it's been and I am done on my end.

when you say “done” what do you mean? have you had a survey done OP?

My section 21 runs out mid April.

😕

Yes, the house is suitable for my child's needs.

No, I didn't view this one house, I actually viewed 19 of them. This was the only suitable one.

Of course I have survery results. Everything on my end is done and completed.

Of course I factored in all of the fees and costs. I did not include them in my deposit.

so you thought you’d be in by mid june

your section 21 runs out mid april

where had you been planning to go?

As others have stated, I do not have to leave mid April. I can stay until the courts order possession.

your solicitor isn’t brilliant

she has failed to even remotely manage her clients expectations

yep

but you didn’t know that until this thread

until this thread you would you had to be out by mid april

but when you made your offer I had expected the move to happen by June,

so i’m curious what your plan had been for the period mid april to june?

When the seller said they were ready to move what they meant is that they were looking.

Some people put their property on the market and only when they get an offer do they start looking, some then take their property off the market again if they don't find something they want,

What she meant was that she is definitely moving. Not that she already had a house.

I'm sorry for your situation.
Buying houses is full of hitches like this unfortunately.

Of course I knew that! I have read everything I can about s21 and I am well informed of my rights regarding that.

I just did not want to deal with the stress of going to court and possibly dealing with bailiffs.

Very unrealistic, if you’re at the bottom of a chain I’d expect a move to take 6-9 months tbh.

I think there some confusion about dates. Did you go ahead from day one on the assumption that the landlord would go to court in mid-April and it would take 8 weeks for the court to ok an eviction, meaning you had until mid-June?

Have you spoken to the landlord?

Well that's a bit ridiculous as well! I think 3-4 months is more standard at the moment.

While I didn't type out the conversation I had with the seller, she did indeed tell us she had an offer accepted on a house and was waiting for the survey results.

So to be told that she hasn't even found anywhere yet is jarring! I could understand if her purchase has fallen through for whatever reason but to find out she hasn't found anywhere at all is frustrating and not what she told me.

I have to say where we are, even if the seller had already had a house ready to go into, you’d still not have been in in time.

2 of my friends have bought houses in the last year, both first time buyers so no chain below them and both were buying houses which had just been project houses so no upward chain either, literally an empty house and a first time buyer, in theory the perfect quick scenario you’d think would be comfortably done in a couple of months max. One of them took 7 months and the other took 6. And that was literally as simple a transaction as you could ask for really!

I think when you consider your seller needs to find a home to buy, and then THAT seller needs to find a home to buy, you are easily looking at 6-9 months unless some part of your chain doesn’t need an onward home or is happy to complete on their sale sooner and live with family/friends.

If you know about your rights, why is your OP portraying panic that the seller won't move out within 4 weeks?

but you must have accepted that you’d have to go through the courts/bailiffs given you thought that was the inevitable consequence of not being out until mid april (until this thread advised you otherwise) but you still decided to put an offer in not expecting to move until “mid june”!

exactly

it’s all gone a bit wooly

I appreciate it’s irritating but really, what would you have done differently if you knew?

You’ve already said it was a miracle to find this one within your budget, and you viewed 19 homes and this was the ONLY one suitable. So really as annoying as it is, what else would you have done if you’d known she was still looking?

Buying a house is a really frustrating game and all you can do really is try to roll with the punches as best you can.

so… she had the survey results, wasn’t happy, and pulled out. happens regularly

the seller has not done anything wrong at all

Because I still have to factor in the time it would take to complete and any other waiting.

If she's not ready with her own purchase then even waiting until bailiffs won't be enough time.