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AIBU?

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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:
Original poster
NYC23 · 30/08/2017 14:17

Thank you everyone. I knew you'd all make me feel better with your well wishes!

Sorry to everyone who has also been through this.

Just had a call from estate agents who had contacted her...

She was selling a bungalow at the same time as buying and did not think about how much stress it would be....

Really? If it was illness/divorce etc I could be sympathetic and I know everyone will have their own reasons, but of course buying/selling isn't a walk in the park...

OP posts:
Yogagirl123 · 30/08/2017 14:21

Gutted for you OP, how disappointing and not to mention costly, people can be idiots at times. The last property we sold, went through like a dream, we exchanged, then the buyers decided they wanted to pull out, they were quickly advised by both our and their lawyers that that wasn't an option, but I remember the stress it caused. They did complete and then put the property back on the market very quickly, all very odd. Of course, if we had not exchanged they could have just walked away. Such a stupid system, been going on for years causing upset, about time it was changed. No one can blame you for being angry. Flowers

placemark123 · 30/08/2017 14:22

Went through this recently, it's SO awful!!! Brew

RaspberryOverload · 30/08/2017 14:26

OP, regardless of the reason given, I'd still be aware that the buyer could come back with a lower offer. Seems to be something happening a lot round my area, too.

SheSaidHeSaid · 30/08/2017 14:27

F sake. I really feel for you, OP.

I wish we would adopt the Scottish system whereby offers are done via solicitors and are binding.

FrustrationStation · 30/08/2017 14:32

This happened to us in July. Thankfully the man we want to buy a house from is waiting for us and we sold our house again within a few days, phew! But my my what a PITA! I feel for you.

afrikat · 30/08/2017 14:33

I'm so sorry this happened to us back in February and I was devastated for weeks. We were 3 days from exchange and it had been going on for months. They had been pushing us to exchange quicker and we had jumped through so many hoops then suddenly they had a 'change of circumstance' and it was all off. We did end up finding a new buyer 2 months later and the house we are buying waited for us but it still annoys me that they waited so long to tell us 😤

nonetcurtains · 30/08/2017 14:36

so sorry NYC23.

I've been on the other side of this - we had to withdraw our house from sale a week before exchange, not by choice though.

My husband had a bad accident at work and broke his back, was in hospital for 6 weeks flat on his back. His 'employer' was worse than useless, and we had no wages coming in for 6 months. He was subcontracting at the time, the accident happened at 10.45am, and employer graciously paid him till 12 noon and expected gushing thanks from me.

Anyway, we had to pull out, lost the house we were buying which in hindsight wouldn't have been great anyway. Our buyers had paid for the surveys etc so I felt awful.

I asked our estate agent to let them know what had happened. Next day they turned up at the house to measure up - no-one had told them anything. I stood on the doorstep trying to explain in between sobs. Awful, awful time.

Anyway, I hope you find a new buyer soon.

Sunnyshores · 30/08/2017 14:40

Now is the time your EA needs to work hard for you - to go back to all other people who viewed and tell them its reavailable and to go to other buyers who may have lost out on a purchase recently. You may have to reduce the price for a quick sale, so decide if thats a possibility and fix a figure.

Go back to your developer and ask if theres anything they can do. Theyll have sales targets to meet and be reliying on your purchase.

Get mad, but get proactive too!

Abra1d · 30/08/2017 14:42

This makes me furious!

lborgia · 30/08/2017 14:48

This has just happened to us this morning. I would cry if I wasn't so knackered. We too kept it off the market all summer..

TBF, they went back to check something last week, and realise that there's a problem (we're not there to see it), so suddenly trying to get professional opinions etc.

However, if they try and tell us that we need to take any kind of drop in price (over and above the minimum needed to fix it), they can sod off.

The whole thing has been smoke and mirrors at every stage.I'm sick of it.

Major commiserations OP.

Canklesofglitter · 30/08/2017 14:49

Definitely go back to the developer. Tell them what you are planning to do to get your house sold again and see if they will give you some time. They wouldn't get a completion very quickly if they sold it to someone else so, if they can see that you're serious, they may well wait a while for you.

Sorry this has happened to you. Our vendors pulled out on the day of exchange last year. They were splitting up and Mrs Vendor moved out in anticipation of the exchange going through. As soon as she'd gone Mr Vendor changed the locks and took the house off the market. Their son and our DS were in the same class so it was somewhat awkward!

We have just completed on another house and to be honest I now think they did us a favour - although it felt awful at the time.

Hope you get a buyer really soon.

JemmyBloocher · 30/08/2017 14:49

I'm Scotland there is some legal redress from the time an offer has been accepted, son before the conclusion of missives (exchange of contracts) and it would seem fairer if in English law it was this way too. It's so fraught and upsetting. I'm putting an offer on my dream house today (if the solicitor bothers to get back to me!) and that's in the knowledge that if my offer is accepted then I need to go through with the purchase unless I want charges. I'm so sorry that you are having this experience. Fingers crossed it's got a silver lining. Do contact the new build builders and see if they can wait.

JemmyBloocher · 30/08/2017 14:50

I'm not Scotland by the way. I'm in Scotland. Groan.

ImMissHannigan · 30/08/2017 14:54

Prh74
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.
*

I think he has many children and has reached the maximum.* Her thinking is that that max will be shared between her and his ex, therefore reducing his obligation. And then not actually be broken up. It's a terrible way to behave for all parties. She knew I was relying on the sale but led me on for several months. However she clearly has a low moral level if she is prepared to fake a split to reduce his kids money.

grannytomine · 30/08/2017 15:07

I feel for you, it happened to me just before the property crash, was it 2008? We live on the coast and were completing at beginning of September and the market here goes sort of dead after the summer season, then property crashed and it took us over 2 years to sell for £20k less than the original price.

I hate buying and selling houses. Why do we do it to ourselves!

ShotsFired · 30/08/2017 15:23

Second the advice not to give in if the buyer "suddenly" makes a different offer despite the "stress".

There was a pp here some months ago who had exactly that and she told him to get to fuck. I think he tried to come back several times and she stood firm. Serves him right. Mess you about once, shame on them etc.

TronaldDumpy · 30/08/2017 15:25

It's obscene that this is allowed to happen in a "civilised" country. Why can't England get its act together? The Government really needs to sort this out.

Scotland's system is so much easier and less stressful. Don't know about Wales or N Ireland's systems.

wink1970 · 30/08/2017 15:32

I also suspect a tactical move by your buyer, OP, don't give in.

And what I learned from selling our last house is always keep it on the market, unless the buyer is prepared to give a non-refundable sum to remove it from continued 'for sale' status.......

loveka · 30/08/2017 16:02

Lu, we have told them where to go!

I loved the house though. It was perfect in lots of ways. It cost us so much money though. We had both given up jobs ! The irony was that we allowed exchange and completion to be so close because our buyer threatened to pull out if we didn't complete on the day she wanted. She ended up homeless because she had given notice on her rented house.

Bluntness100 · 30/08/2017 16:06

She pulled out because it was just too stressful Hmm. I doubt that's true. It's shit behavuour and I doubt she will give you the real reason and if they know you the decent thing would have been to tell you and not wait for ten mins before exchange.

MiraiDevant · 30/08/2017 16:08

It is shit when this happens - but it is the process. You need time to do your research before you make a binding contract.

It happened to us. I waited until 5pm on the day of exchange and finally the lawyer said that since the buyers still hadn't been in touch and were not answering their phones we could assume they were not going ahead. Awful.

I have also pulled out though. Offer was accepted, all agreed, I did my research prior to exchange and what I discovered was worrying. I didn't want to proceed so I pulled out before exchange. You have to, (unless you want to buy a pig in a poke!)

Other places have different systems but there are simply different winners and losers.

Hope it works out for you OP

Pigface1 · 30/08/2017 16:14

Utter, utter shits. Really feel for you OP. Flowers

Btw the Scottish system isn't perfect. Sure people can't pull stunts like this - but as a buyer you have to incur costs without even knowing whether your offer will be accepted.

Everything has its downsides!

thebear1 · 30/08/2017 16:54

YANBU, what a rubbish reason.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 30/08/2017 17:25

Flaming time waster, so sorry OP, bang it back on the market, and keep your fingers crossed.🍷🍷🍷