AIBU to message my deceitful buyers directly?

[beanbag19]

Someone please talk me down from contacting my buyers directly to tell them what I think of them!

We agreed a sale in June. At the time we knew we wanted a new build but there were none of the one we wanted available so we planned to move in with parents. Our buyers said their buyer wanted to complete by 20 August so we agreed that date. They then came back and asked for 10 August due to a holiday. I said no as we needed more time to sort things out.

From the second the offer was accepted she chased and chased. I did everything on my side as quickly as possible. When I came to booking removals, I had to book in advance as we need storage too. Before I booked I asked the EA to confirm that we were still working towards 20 August, our buyer said yes. After me chasing again on 9 August, their solicitor advised that their buyer was awaiting a revised mortgage offer and some docs from the LA. They also advised that 20 August was not possible as our buyers were actually on holiday then, despite the fact that the buyers themselves had previously requested and confirmed this date. They agreed 31 August instead.

They went on holiday on 13 August and I/my solicitor have been chasing theirs for an update. Finally they confirmed today that their sale had fallen through. Their solicitor said that they weren't even sure if our buyer knew as they had advised that they would be uncontactable on holiday and weren't back until 25 August. I told my EA who then had a call from the buyer directly to confirm the situation, apparently they got back last night, so another lie. I then searched for their house on rightmove to see that they had advertised on open house to take place on 11 August, which was two days after they agreed to 31 August completion, so they presumably knew at that time that 31 August was impossible.

In the meantime, we have moved out (because we didn't want to lose the £90 deposit we paid to the removals for the sake of two weeks) and reserved a new build that we have to exchange on in 28 days or lose. Obviously we're not going to be able to exchange.

I am livid. I need our buyers to know what absolute arseholes they are. Apparently they still want our house, which would explain why they lied about everything. But how can you do that to to people? We're losing money as we should have been saving money at my parents but instead we're paying a mortgage for a house we don't live in. We're probably going to lose the house we've been waiting 9 months for. Who is so selfish and dishonest that they would treat people like that?

Obviously I won't message them, but I needed to get that off my chest so thanks if you got to the end!

Central London was only a couple of properties down from Jan to May than last year. One particular postcode sold 15 properties compared to 18 during the same time last year. What it’s done since then, I dont know as I haven’t been looking.

Do you know why the buyers of your buyers property pulled out?

I knew someone that when their chain collapsed due to the first one in the chain losing their buyer - they bought that property as it was easier than the whole chain collapsing - they then sold it at a later date -obviously minus any chain.

RedToothBrush

As Homescapes said, not everyone uses RM. Agents often have lists of people who have left their details and asked for a call if a property comes on the books that meets their requirements. RM is only one marketing tool, albeit a major one. Going dual agent incentivises both to pull their fingers out and get it sold, as long as you have agreed a mirror contract with both that you will only pay one set of commission and it is on a 'winner takes all' basis. Therefore you get two firms working for you at no additional cost.

I sympathise OP. From going live with our advert on RM to walking in the door of our new house, took 8.5 months.

We accepted an offer on our old place within 5 weeks of being on the market. Buying a house took considerably longer. We were involved in two separate chains that collapsed before we got everything through. First house was significantly under-valued by the mortgage surveyor and vendor would not budge on asking price. EAs for the second house lied to us about the asking price. Opening offer rejected and they countered back with a figure, which we agreed. EA lied about the chain, letting us get all the way to exchange date before disclosing that there was another person at the top who was in the middle of legal wrangling with the Land Registry that would take a minimum of 6 months to sort out.

Finally found this house and our vendor was lovely, his solicitor was brilliant (mine wasn't, but that's another story) and our EA was superb in keeping our buyer placated. It rankled like hell at the time that we'd had to waste so much money on surveys and fees for houses that didn't go through because the chains fell apart. All in all we lost over £3k.

The house buying system in England and Wales is horrendously shit.

What part of the country are you RedToothBrush?

I bought the house I was living in from my then soon to be ex husband. No chain etc involved. Started the proceedings in the April and it completed in December!
It was the solicitors fault. Their conveyancing officer had left around July and no-one followed on with my 'case' so laid dormant until I kicked up a fuss! Disgusting really as I nearly lost it as my mortgage offer was only valid for a few more days.

Hello
Sorry to hear about your situation but can you try to turn this to your advantage? If they want your house and you need a quick sell, but they have messed you around causing you to lose money. Can you tell them this in a polite way (try not to get emotional - I know it’s difficult) and offer to still sell them your house but at an increased price (to cover your expenses). Explain if they don’t agree to this you will have to put the house on the market again as you will need to increase the price. That could be a win win! Appeal to their better nature (if they have one) and you be the bigger person. If they say no you are in no worse position than you are now, they will know how they have treated you and you can hold your head up high. If they say yes your problems are solved. Good luck! I’d be keen to find out what happens....

Your buyers Estate Agents were also clearly acting very badly... they MUST have known about the "open house" arrangement for the sale of their house, and they must have known about the sale of their house falling through and as such should have informed both sets of solicitors. I am so, so sorry for you. But as others have written, NEVER do anything before exchange. Whole "chains" can go down the pipe due to one "dodgy buyer" who messes everything up before exchange. I sold our family home of 31 years last year, and it was horrendous - a very, very stressful life experience with a very dodgy young couple bullying and badgering to buy my home for very much less than the asking price... (seriously less) and they would not give up. In the end I told my agents NOT to take any further calls from them, unless they could pay the asking price. (They were trying to get £50k off the price). But take heart, it does, eventually somehow all work out. In the end, a fabulous family bought my home for only £4k under the asking price, and I SO wanted to send the "sold" advert to that awful young couple! Really good luck, and don't trust that couple, or their estate agents again. Start anew, I would think, and make sure that your agent is VERY on the ball. xxx

Sarahdon all well and good unless the buyers need a mortgage. If the valuation survey comes back substantially different to the asking price then it could put OP in a very tricky situation.

In future, tell your agents to speak to the buyer's agents who should keep them appraised of the sale.

If your house is now vacant why not look at online auction selling. You choose minimum you want to reach and it usually completes with about 50 days x

No do not contact them directly. They may well be a*holes but you don't need to stoop to their level.

You need to take your solicitotor's advice on this, but as I see it they have broken the arrangements and you don't have a sale. In which case you are free to re-advertise it.

I hope yu have better luck next time x

Sorry that you are having stress at this time.
Firstly I think you need to check that your buyers definitely can't proceed- most National housebuilders would have checked your chain was complete before letting you reserve so the open house you saw may have been an error.
Although a letter to your buyers may make you feel better don't send it as it may later suit you to take their money.
If your buyers really can't proceed my next move would be to speak to your builder to see if part exchange is available.
My next step would be to get a plan together for selling yours quickly- does it view well absent of furniture- does the absence of furniture highlight the need for maintenance? Compared to the latest house to be listed in your street is the price of your right? Could yours go up in price? Does the agent need to change how it is marketed?
Best of luck- I hope it works out for the best

Our buyers' house has just been changed to SSTC in rightmove. My EA called them and they lied about it. How can they mess with people's lives like this?! They are terrible people. I can only assume that they're trying to get the other house that's up on my estate for cheaper than ours, otherwise why not just be honest?

Can anyone advise whether there is actually any benefit in getting a second EA?

Just to update, our buyers house went SSTC last week. When our EA called them up they denied it. Their solicitor had refused to give any update but after an ultimatum finally confirmed earlier this week that they've withdrawn.

We've had two viewings on ours and I really thought once we got people in then we'd get an offer, because 3/5 of the last viewers offered asking price.

Our reservation period for our house is up so we could lose it any day now.

We stand to lose so much money in reservation and solicitor's fees.

Would I still be unreasonable to message this pair of horrible selfish bastards and tell them exactly what I think of them?

So sorry that it has come to this.

I can understand why you want to contact them and give them a piece of your mind. If I were you I wouldn't though.

They won't care that they've caused you issues. Contacting them will just let them know how you feel, and I wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction of hearing your woes and somehow twisting things to make themselves blameless.