Buying a house

[helenjp91]

Hi, just looking for some advice. Had an offer accepted an the end of January, after speaking the estate agent we got the impression they had found somewhere to move so instructed our solicitor. Nearly two months later, I have found out they haven't actually found anywhere. We are first time buyers so are ready to move, I'm also pregnant and really need to be moved in before late May/early June. Do we see if the sellers would be willing to rent and say we may have to pull out if we can't get a date before June?

You can try but unless you give them a really good reason to rent in the form of £££ I wouldn't expect many sellers would be willing to do that. You'll be lucky to be in somewhere by May!

It’s pretty poor of the agent to mislead you in that way, unless they have been misled by the vendor. If they haven’t found anywhere, it’s unlikely you’ll be moved by June. Equally, if you look elsewhere, you’ll need someone who can move quickly, which is also unlikely because they may well not look until their own is under offer.

If you’ve fallen in love with the house, you might just have to suck it up, but you could try a bit of pressure to get them to shift more quickly and possibly rent. It depends how much they want to sell.

As first time buyers you are in a great position. I don't think the estate agents have been fair by leading you to believe their vendors were suited and it would all go through smoothly.

If I were you I would look for another house asap where the owners are in a position to move quickly, ie no chain / going into renting.

There's no guarantee the vendors of the house you offered on will find somewhere chain-free this side of Christmas. If they do find another house they are quite likely to be in a chain which could (and often does) fall through at any time.

Get the house back on the market tomorrow. When you get an offer, make sure they do surveys in the first few weeks. You need to be on top of it - do t rely on estate agents as they are typically useless.

Op is the buyer

Angrybird345 They are first time buyers. They had an offer accepted on a house that doesn't appear to be moving 'cos the vendors have not found anywhere.

Keep looking, something you like better may have come along, cheaper.

Good point, Jay, prices around here are dropping.

It’s not unreasonable to ask the question to see if the vendor move out before they secure a property. But be prepared for a no. You could say to the estate agent that you need to set a completion date otherwise you will start for another property. I don’t know where you live but generally house prices are predicted to fall, so you could end up with more for your money.

Also check when your mortgage offer expires!!

Thank you all for your comments, I will ask the question the worst they can say is no. The mortgage offer expires in July, so if we did wait around the rate may increase

I would keep looking, you may find something better.

I'd also tell the estate agents that unless you get an exchange date given to you, you will be looking at other properties with the intention of pulling out if you find one that can move more quickly.

I'll definitely call them tomorrow and see what they say

Just wanted to echo what others have said. It really is a buyers market at the minute.
In reality, even if they find a place tomorrow, you won’t be in before June. We got our offer accepted at start of feb and we aren’t in a chain but we still haven’t exchanged

I'd contact the estate agent to ask for a completion date and state clearly that if they aren't willing to set a date you'll start looking for another property, and if you find one you'll be pulling out of their sale. The estate agent has an incentive (commission) for wanting the sale to progress, and so does the seller (if you pull out they might struggle to get another offer). The longer the house has been on the market, the more incentive the seller has to not want to lose your sale.

Also just wanted to add that it doesn't always take a long time. As FTB you're in an excellent position to move quickly if you can find a property that's either chain-free or the owners are ready to move. When I was FTB I offered, exchanged contracts and picked up the keys within 30 days on a chain-free property.

I would be wary of a situation like this, having been stung very recently. We put an offer in on house, seller assured us they were moving to Cyprus and had found a place to stay. 10 weeks later, 4 hours before exchange, they back out of the sale. Turns out they hadn’t found anywhere to live, and now they had properly looked they didn’t want to move. We’re back to square one now and it’s just so frustrating.

Best of look OP. Hope that they pull their finger out.

I'd be looking at what else is on the market - there could be sth chain free ( probably the only option that could be quick enough).

And yes, do ring the agent and say you're pregnant and need to get a move on. However, I'm not sure if your sellers are being serious if they haven't found a place for 2 months...