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.

House buying is sooooo stressful, and what I have learned is take your hoped for time length and then as a minimum double it.

I purchased a house with no chain, seller was going into rented and mortgage was in place etc and it still took 9 months.

I just bought in 2021, offered mid march and moved in late June and that was a miracle as our buyer asked endless questions and we had to get indemnity after indemnity due to an old 150 year old clause on the house where we had to pay rent to a farm that no longer existed, hasn't existed since the turn of the century and have never paid any ground rent to!

We managed to exchange and complete on the same day.

Realistically 3-6 months I would say is the norm if all runs very smoothly.

Even if she had an offer accepted on an onward purchase it still wouldn’t have been enough time, because then you’d be waiting for her onward purchase to find an onward purchase and so on and so on. A house buying chain does take time, it almost doesn’t really matter how quickly you act unless the house you’re buying is vacant because there will always be the knock on effect of the chain.

I understand how stressful this all is!
So to summarise, you knew it would take until maybe June but hoped it would be much quicker. But now it seems like it might take even longer because the seller hasn't even found a house yet, which is different to what you were told initially. (Sounds like the house they liked fell through).
So even if they find a house next week it could be another 3 months from then, eg July so later than you hoped.

Given that you have found a place that is suitable and in your budget, and that wasn't easy to find, I would hang in there no matter what.

Talk to your landlord (their sale might even be delayed) and talk to your solicitor as maybe the people you are buying from might be able to move out. You could explain the difficulty of renting short term with a child with complex needs. That could be an advantage to your seller as they will then not be in a downward chain.

It is really stressful buying a d can take quite some time, but hang in there. It is worth it in the end.

Have you looked at your local auction site? Houses complete within 28 days mostly. They’re not all renovation jobs, lots are decent just have circumstances of needing a quick sale.

This is just house buying.

Firstly - has your landlord ACTUALLY sold the house? If not, they may be happy to have you staying a little longer- have a chat with them (directly, not through a letting agent).

Average purchase timeline is 12 weeks, but that's massively skewed by auction purchases which have to complete in 28 days, removing those and the average is 4.5 months, which you are on time for.

Realistically, if you pull out now, you just go back to square one and have lost money to boot.

Sit tight, talk to your landlord. And breathe. Buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do!

You haven’t messed up or done anything wrong OP. This happens all the time. This is why houses that have no chain are advertised as such and might demand a premium. Realistically there’s no guarantee the seller will actually move anyway.

In your shoes I would speak to my landlord first as they might let you stay if you explain. Secondly speak to the estate agent or letting agent to see if they can help with a short term let. Is staying with family an option? We had to do this as our sellers pulled out on the day of exchange but we really didn’t want to lose our buyer.

When you’ve secured somewhere to live in the meantime I would start looking again until the seller has found somewhere or the chain is complete. You don’t have to pull out of the current house but you could look in the meantime and focus on empty properties/no chain. I always quiz the sellers on their situation and intentions. Some still lie but some have genuine reasons to sell.

I think you were naive to think it would all take 7 weeks. Your solicitor should’ve advised you not to start searches and the conveyancing until the chain was complete.

If the house is as rare a find as you say then just hang in there. It’s annoying but it’s the reality of house buying. Our most recent purchase took 6 months and that was small chain. House buying takes time and isn’t instant.

I’d stay in your current house as long as you legally can. And in the mean time look for a short term rental. Look on air bnb and then messages hosts direct to see if you can get it cheaper if you stay longer.

Tell the landlord you’ve had an issue with your house purchase and while it’s still in progress it won’t be complete by the leave date. They won’t be happy but they’ll also know that it’ll be easier if you leave of your own accord rather than having to pay the costs of eviction. I was in your position 15 years ago and basically had no option other than to stick it out. I think I was about 2 months over the s21 date in the end. Hated doing it but really had no other choices

The property she was interested in may have had a problem so she hasn't found anywhere yet. No one would say 'I haven't found anywhere yet.... other than the places I found that were not right....'

yes she did
but now changing story

It's clear the OP is stressed and very worried, I don't think trying to pick holes in her story is very helpful to her right now. OP you are 7 weeks into the process and thought your sellers would be closer to the same stage on their end. It's disappointing when you find out that you aren't all working to the same schedule. Your Seller really should have kept you informed of what was happening on their end once it became clear that they had no house to move to. I wouldn't pull out, but I would speak with your landlord and make it clear you are definitely moving out but can you do a rolling rental for the next couple of months. They may prefer that if they don't have plans for the house yet.

If you have to pay rent you might want to say your offer will go didn't by £200 a week after 1st April until they confirm she has had an offer accepted chain free to get her to hurry up and keep looking for other places to buy in the mean time

This is normal. We stayed ina Premier inn for 3 weeks when it happened to us. They will sometimes negotiate a good weekly rate.

It is going to be ok!

I would tell your solicitor to tell their EA that you have to move by x date. Tell your solicitor that they can choose to go into rented accommodation or stay with family etc to not lose their buyer otherwise you are going to have to consider your options. Get a fixed exchange date out of them. I would also say (kind of jokingly), "I know first time buyers with no chain are like gold dust particularly in this economy!" (Which you are).

Once you have this you can determine your options. Maybe an airbandb, staying with friends or family or pulling out of the purchase.

Let us know how you get on. It is so stressful.

I think you were naive to think it would all take 7 weeks.

First house buying took 3 months with paper work - us in rented her moving into rented.

Next us selling there some some scheme we could get everything ready to go from off - so did and then our buyers were motivated not to lose their sale as their buyers were threatening to walk -they had due date and our sellers had still been looking. We were think 8 to 12 weeks it was 6 weeks.

We got phone called and DH insisted I 'd got it wrong - rang back and then hit panic stations trying to get removal firm - couldn't so had to push back 2 weeks making it 8- which helped with kids school events as well.

We found communication in both situations utterly dire.

If you are willing to walk away pressure may speed them up a bit - or someone long chain will uncouple the selling and buying not to lose the sale. AS PP mentioned auctions have quicker timelines - but given the restriction's around accommodation you face maybe another rental may be best.

I mean they can't just stay there indefinitely until they decide they fancy moving. Get your solicitor to put some pressure on for an exchange date. Meanwhile speak to your estate agent and see if they've got anywhere you can rent on a short term basis.

OP is 7 weeks into the buying process. She has had her survey and her solicitor has acted quickly with the conveyancing. She has 4 weeks until the section 21, which would give 11 weeks from putting an offer in to completion. Tight timeline but potentially doable with a small chain, which OP thought she had because the seller said they had somewhere and an offer accepted and survey done. If not, she could still have 8 weeks with the S21 which would take the process to 19 weeks, which is a reasonable amount of time.

OP, your seller is not going to be ready in four weeks. I think, given they told you they had somewhere and they’d had a survey they need to explain what has gone wrong or why they outright lied to you. I’d also contact the estate agent and express how disappointed you are that this was not communicated to you as you could have been making plans.

Your options are threaten to pull out if they don’t go chain free. This might work but it depends a bit on the area and what the market is doing. If house prices are falling or the market is slow, I would make the case to the estate agent that the seller stands to get a good deal when they find somewhere being chain free and in a position to move quickly. They might not do this though, so you need to be prepared to pull out. The process of pulling out and finding somewhere new is not going to be quick. You’ll want chain free places and to check they aren’t in probate. Start looking at temporary accommodation and storage. The costs are going to mount up so it’s going to be better if the seller takes your threat to pull out seriously and goes chain free. If you need to start the process again, you will need to repay for survey fees, searches but your conveyancers might not charge the full amount for this process, it depends on your contract with them.

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

That's why I'd scrap this purchase and do whatever I could to find somewhere else

Even without the deceit, someone who's "taking time to find the right place" clearly isn't in any hurry and that's unlikely to change when from their POV there'll always be another buyer out there

I mean they can't just stay there indefinitely until they decide they fancy moving

Actually they can do that quite easily since it is after all their house - it just means it probably isn't the right one for OP

there was no deceit!

As a last resort, approach your local Council. They will advise you to hang on until an actual eviction date. With a child with additional needs they will have a duty to place you in temporary accommodation but this could be anywhere or a hotel/b n b or they might be able to source a private rental for you.

Have you actually asked your LL if you can stay longer? Maybe get your solicitor to call them and confirm that you are in a position to move but in a chain so it's taking longer than expected.

7 weeks would be exceptionally fast for anyone buying/ selling. It took us six months from making the offer to getting the keys. We were one up from the bottom
of the chain. It’s an impossibly slow system that has so many people involved.

The seller hasn’t lied, but I don’t recommend you pull out. You wouldn’t really achieve anything by doing that.

That’s pretty shit for your landlord. I hope you still intend to pay rent? Obviously you don’t need a reference, unless your seller pulls out and you have to find another rental, but staying til the bailiffs kick you out is not great, is it? Costs a fair bit to go to court for the landlord, I imagine and I assume you’ve told him you’ve bought/are moving?

Why wouldn't she continue to pay rent? And it might be inconvenient for the landlord but that's nothing compared to being temporarily homeless so landlords just need to suck it up. Most are aware this is possible/likely and view it as part of the job.

In fact there is no guarantee the landlord will get an eviction order if she carries on paying rent and has a plan to move out with a timeframe. Especially as she has children with SEN.

I've seen too many of those horrible 'Nightmare tenants, slum landlords' programmes, clearly.