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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

Maireadplastic · 31/08/2017 18:00

Awful awful awful.
We were meant to exchange and complete on same day and our buy said he wanted 20k off the price that morning. Our estate agent offered to drop commission on both our sale and purchase but I said no and lost house we wanted to buy.
Of course it ended up that we found better house and we lived happily ever after (apart from the next move 7 years later where our buyers money didn't move get to our solicitors on time so we were homeless for a weekend).
Never moving again.

Dramalady52 · 31/08/2017 18:08

I hate this whole process, have been trying to move for the last 9 months due to divorce but our buyers have constantly been dragging their feet. I have lost 2 properties and loads of solicitors fees because of them. Today was our deadline for exchange and surprise, surprise it didn't happen! So we have told them to sling their hook. House is back on market so hopefully will have new buyer soon. Good luck op!

valeview · 31/08/2017 18:11

Please be aware that some scum actually do this as a negotiating move.... they will get to within smelling distance of completion, then suddenly 'find a problem' and will make a reduced offer... of course, the seller can be tempted to snatch at this lifeline. So, just a word of warning.

Tapandgo · 31/08/2017 18:12

Happened to me 24 hours before exchange. I was 2 weeks off giving birth and whole house was packed into boxes and key furniture items sold! I cannot describe the horror.
Two days later buyer came back and wanted to proceed - asking for several 'extras' to be included in the sale.
Ranks as one of the nastiest experiences I've had done to me.
Good luck OP

SocksRock · 31/08/2017 18:13

I pulled out of a house purchase on the day of exchange because their next door neighbour decided to reopen a long settled (10 years) boundary dispute. I did feel for the vendors, but sadly the neighbour wanted £30k and no way was that happening. And I didn't want to live next door to her anyway after that.

Tapandgo · 31/08/2017 18:14

It's time England moved to the Scottish system

Grilledaubergines · 31/08/2017 18:14

mairead this is exactly why solicitors generally aren't keen on a simultaneous exchange and completion - very risky, no certainty about the move and open to unscrupulous people trying to get reductions on the day and putting sellers in a shitty position of walking away (with their belongings half packed up in a van already) or having to accept a reduction which if the seller cannot do, means it can't happen anyway. That circumstance is a horrid immoral scam.

KnitFastDieWarm · 31/08/2017 18:14

We're supposed to be exchanging on Friday but that's been delayed so I'm sat here chewing my nails - feel your pain OP

Grilledaubergines · 31/08/2017 18:15

tapandgo which isn't without its own issues.

2017SoFarSoGood · 31/08/2017 18:17

so very sorry OP. What a horrid thing to happen. It really shouldn't be allowed without large financial punishment, except for specific emergency situations.

Onwards and upwards. Let's hope they are moving out of the way for something even better to come along

Tapandgo · 31/08/2017 18:20

grilled yes / but I know which I'd prefer.

londonista · 31/08/2017 18:20

OP i believe strongly in what goes around comes around, especially when it comes to buying and selling a home.

Never was there an industry in more need of complete reform. Just weird and wrong that someone could pull out right at the end of a process where 1000s of pounds have been spent.

pinkingshears · 31/08/2017 18:25

I had someone (a local) drop their offer by 35% on Christmas Eve, with a 3 hour window to accept.
We did, unhappily. Desperate to move due to disability.
Then had to pull out of where we were moving to and look for somewhere cheaper. After 4 weeks we found a place.
We offered. It was accepted. Then our buyer pulled out completely.
Found out he had offered on our 'new' house and they accepted. 5k more. Gutted.

Holidayhooray · 31/08/2017 19:01

All the hate for something that is completely legal and she too wouldnjave incurred expenses, more than the OP.

Irritating and upsetting but all the hate is OTT

Holidayhooray · 31/08/2017 19:03

Pls we are talking about biggest purchase of or lives.

Are you seriously saying that if you've had serious second thoufhtnr you should plough on regardless to avoid the vendor getting upset and being inconvenienced in the short term.

KC11 · 31/08/2017 19:08

OP as a Conveyancer I hate it when a buyer pulls out so late in the process. Definitely recommend you talk to developer of the new build as they could part exchange with you.

KC11 · 31/08/2017 19:13

I personally had two separate sellers both withdraw from selling to us. Also awful and extremely upsetting and expensive for us. We went on to the third house which was actually the superior house in a superior road and location. It won't help how you feel now but in our case it worked out for the best. Even the property people get left high and dry in property transactions. Sorry for your experience though.

hesterton · 31/08/2017 19:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ruthieruthuk · 31/08/2017 19:13

Once had to do that to someone n it also broke my heart as I had set my heart in buying that house, but financial circumstances had changed and my husband had lost his job so it was a gamble at the time we weren't prepared to take.

Looking back we would of been absolutely fine but at the time we didn't know how soon he would find another job. Explained the reasons to the vender and don't think they were happy but weren't prepared to gamble everything and if he hadn't found another job then we didn't have a lot to fall back on / pay the mortgage.

Hope u manage to find another buyer soon. Are they going to pay your legal fees as compensation?

bangingmyheadoffabrickwall · 31/08/2017 19:16

We were that purchaser who threatened to pull out.

But we found out about a month before exchanging that the extensions had no planning permission and/or buildings on it. They were old extensions (1980s and this was 2007) but our solicitor advised us to insist on them buying some sort of Insurance on it to prevent problems for us (I also did this in the same sale chain in my own home for the windows) and it cost £35 or thereabouts. The family who were buying from refused! Our solicitor then told there's that no sale would happen without it and there was a week of no communication and we wer on the verge of pulling out (paid nearly a grand for survey by this point) when they finally accepted.

A friend bought a house recently. In moving day the chain was held up because 2 houses down were moving to Jamaica and due to time difference everyone couldn't move in and stood outside houses waiting for the Jamaican solicitors to wake and get things moving. Well, friends buyer shouted and screamed that her money had moved, friend said it was in cyber space at then money because her solicitor said he didn't have it yet and the buyer threatened to pull out. However friend said there was a clause that if buyer pulled out in exchange day, she would have had a hefty fine for it! Luckily everyone moved! Said buyer is my mum's neighbour and she doesn't speak to ANYONE!

YellowFlower201 · 31/08/2017 19:19

We had a similar thing happen to us earlier this year. So upsetting!! They even admitted they still loved the place but it 'wasn't a good financial climate tobuy'. No shit Sherlock- why did they not notice this before they viewed!!

Maireadplastic · 31/08/2017 19:31

Grilledaubergine- I totally get that. It was a long, drawn out process- 8 months- and everything was totally settled. Or not.

ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay · 31/08/2017 19:33

It blows my mind that this is still allowed in England.

agedknees · 31/08/2017 19:36

If you are buying a new build will the developer not do a part exchange on your property.

SocksRock · 31/08/2017 19:52

For those who are saying this shouldn't be allowed, there has to be a point of no return. In Scotland this is earlier (as I understand) than in England. But you can't have a system that says that as soon as you make an offer, you must buy that house. Unless all the due diligence and surveys are done before offer. There has to be a cut off point at some point in the process. In England, that is the exchange of contracts. If there is a move to make that earlier, it will just move the whole thing around, surveys done before offering etc. I can't see anyway of resolving the issue, because there has to be a point where things become fixed.

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