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Original poster

To be ABSOLUTELY FUMING

161 replies

NYC23 · 30/08/2017 10:54

Due to exchange contracts on a house sale and purchase on Friday and our buyer, in the last 10 mins, has pulled out!

I know they are within their rights to do so, but my god I am disappointed!!!!!

OP posts:
Peachyking000 · 30/08/2017 12:13

Sorry to hear that and annoyed on your behalf Angry

I know how stressful it can be - I moved house last year and swore never again! Our buyer made me jump through hoops including getting my lovely garage/study conversion demolished, which I had to agree to as houses in my area were difficult to sell

PeaFaceMcgee · 30/08/2017 12:15

Yes it's very disappointing but they are completely within their rights.

Advise using a fixed fee no completion no fee (apart from disbursements) solicitor to limit money wasted.

MissHavishamsleftdaffodil · 30/08/2017 12:19

So sorry, how very frustrating Flowers

The 'we're pulling out' call, followed a few hours later by the 'we wont pull out IF you do x' (the if costing thousands) card was pulled on a family member a few weeks back. They told the buyer to get knotted. The buyer caved and exchanged by the end of the day. It was a pure CF gambit.

starsorwater · 30/08/2017 12:19

Here too, equally furious, been off the market all summer while they dithered around. Sympathy.

PandorasXbox · 30/08/2017 12:21

I'm sorry it's happened OP. Hope you get another offer asap so as not to lose the house you want to buy.

Just a thought for those wishing " bad karma " etc there are many reasons why people pull out. Some out of their control.

Many moons ago I had to pull out of a sale due to my lovely exH having an affair and we were splitting up. The sellers came round demanding why we were pulling out.

ImMissHannigan · 30/08/2017 12:28

This has just happened to me. My tenants were buying my house so took it off the open market. Messed around for months and eventually told me not going ahead. I thought we were completing at the end of the month. She said it's because her partner has left her. But forgot that she told me a couple of weeks ago that in order to avoid paying the full amount of CSA to his ex, they were going to have to stage a split and therefore halve the amount he pays. I'm furious and have put the house back on the market. Now I have the stress of making sure they pay the rent on time and move out when I give them notice. I'm not feeling too good about it all. Bad karma for them I think.

vanityallisvanity · 30/08/2017 12:33

Do your purchasers still have a buyer? Are they interested in your potential new house? By dropping the contract on your present house they would cut you out and have a chance at your new house.

It was abroad admittedly but this happened to DB recently.

Mammyloveswine · 30/08/2017 12:45

This has just happened to my parents-they are relocating to where we live and had their buyer consistently present them with a list of demands. I.e. Decorating jobs, boiler service before it was due...among other things. Anyway as they wanted a quick sale they agreed...still it was dragging on! They were all set to exchange thinking every possible query had been sorted, it had been 3 months...and the bitch pulled out because she didn't like the solar panels on the roof! My poor parents!! I used to work as a conveyancer and it is rare for this to happen so late on but it is an absolute heartbreak for people and always always makes me sad.

Luckily my parents house sold again with days of being back on the market, their sellers are moving into rented and are happy to wait.

Shit for them though! Hopefully you will have a quick re-sale OP and as you are buying a new-build won't lose the house! Hugs xx

LuLuuuuuuu · 30/08/2017 12:55

Never bought a house, or likely too, but it sounds shitty . Horrible thing to happen to you

Slightly different but when my DPs bought their current house the builder/owner was going to live in it but due to proximity of a road and his wife falling pregnant decided to sell it totally .

DPs were cash buyers (its not a stealth boast, truly, we are from working class background and few of us own in our family) and he kept pushing the price up till in the end DM told him if he won't take the offer made first, with cash, they will pull out . He backed down.

Does that happen often too ? Seems its a thing full of pitfulls .

LuLuuuuuuu · 30/08/2017 12:55

Think the furthest I'd ever buy would be a caravan Grin

Jux · 30/08/2017 13:04

Ah, how frustrating. Hope you get the house you want nevertheless.

Venusflytwat · 30/08/2017 13:06

How shit of them.
Our conveyancing system is horrible.

I'm really sorry, I hope you find another buyer asap.

Benedikte2 · 30/08/2017 13:14

No idea why English law allows this or rather why contracts for sale and purchase are not more watertight. Any conditions in the contract eg approval of title by solicitors, survey etc etc should be satisfied long before this. In NZ one rarely experiences this. Years ago a close friend got cold feet after accepting an unconditional offer and 2 days later withdrew. She ended up paying damages to the buyer even down to the school uniforms they had supposedly bought for their children to attend the local school.
The while process is needlessly fraught I feel for you OP buying a new home is stressful enough without this. Do hope you'll look back on this as a blessing in disguise. Maybe a new sinkhole will appear overnight in the new house's front garden
Good luck

Whathaveilost · 30/08/2017 13:19

This is a very popular tactic where I live and people have wised up as a few hours later the potential buy has come back wanting ( literally, not joking, )thousands of the price for no reason at all. Many of my friends have learned not to blink first and the deal has gone ahead without them having to lose money in the final hours.

I have thought for a long time that if I need to move I would maybe rent somewhere then look rather than being potentially upset at the thought of losing a dream house.

scallopsrgreat · 30/08/2017 13:24

I was expecting that this would be one of those threads where the OP is overreacting. But no, you're not NYC23. That is really shitty Flowers

Pouncival · 30/08/2017 13:25

This is a very popular tactic where I live and people have wised up as a few hours later the potential buy has come back wanting ( literally, not joking, )thousands of the price for no reason at all. Many of my friends have learned not to blink first and the deal has gone ahead without them having to lose money in the final hours

yes, this is exactly what crossed my mind when I read OP - hope it works out for you OP

McTufty · 30/08/2017 13:26

Subject to some emergency having arisen, this is absolute cunttwattery on your buyers' part.

Whathaveilost · 30/08/2017 13:27

Sorry, my grammar and spelling wasn't very good in my last post, I'm sure you got the jist though. So many chancers out there it's difficult to tell a scammer from a genuine case.

BellaNoche · 30/08/2017 13:27

I'm really sorry, it is really horrible to have this happen. Flowers

prh47bridge · 30/08/2017 13:30

But forgot that she told me a couple of weeks ago that in order to avoid paying the full amount of CSA to his ex, they were going to have to stage a split and therefore halve the amount he pays

Off topic but no idea how they think this will work. CSA is based on his earnings only. If she has children, separating will increase his assessment, not reduce it.

No idea why English law allows this -- or rather why contracts for sale and purchase are not more watertight

Contracts are watertight but, until contracts have been exchanged, there is no contract.

NYC23

Sorry this has happened to you. Agree with others there is a good chance the buyers will come back with a reduced offer shortly. Personally I would tell them they can have your house at the agreed price or not at all.

loveka · 30/08/2017 13:35

Oue seller pulled out literally at the moment of exchange.

3 months later they have changed their minds again and are pitting ot back on the market and have asked us if we want to buy it! The huge amount of stress and money they cost us and they just expect us to take that on the chin?

Their solicitor was shit and we had ended up only having 2 working days between exchange and completion due to delays.

The system is just awful.

Mittens1969 · 30/08/2017 13:54

That's an awful thing to happen, I'm so sorry. Conveyancing is stressful enough without being messed around like that. I hope you don't lose your dream home.

TormundsGingerBeard · 30/08/2017 13:59

Sorry to hear you've had such disappointing news Sad Yes it's possible they'll try a CF lower offer but stand firm with the original price. The thing is, even if they still bought at the original price it would sour the deal for you due to sneaky tactics.

It could be that they are being messed around by their mortgage company. This happened to my son and his gf; original mortgage offer kept being reduced to the point where we could find no more money to increase the deposit. They lost a flat they'd offered/agreed on due to the bastard mortgage lenders. I felt sorry for the sellers too as they were a lovely couple and had put an offer in on their dream home Sad

TormundsGingerBeard · 30/08/2017 14:02

I'm pretty sure in some countries you have to put a deposit down at the point when your offer is accepted. If you pull out then the seller keeps it to cover their costs.

LuLuuuuuuu · 30/08/2017 14:12

loveka . the cheek of them .

Hope you told them where to put their offer ?