To hope their chain collapses

[Berimbolo]

I know I'm being childish, but so furious and I guess sad that we've been gazumped. I know whilst not fair, it is perfectly legal and naff all I can do about it apart from keep trying to outbid the others - but it is just so frustrating.

We're FTB, 15% deposit, solicitors and broker in place after a previous purchase fell through. House has been on for 3 months, reducing to OIEO as having to move asap as relocating.
We offered 5k over the base asking price, had to prove we were good for the money by sending bank statements and paying a £200 commitment fee to the estate agent before they'd even put our offer through. We get a call re people that had seen it twice but not offered until now, have stumped up 5k more than us but have nothing in place and are in a chain. Our vendors wanted us to match it, we told them no. Even the estate agent were saying they were mad for the sake of 5k.

So yes I'm petty and BU but part of me does hope their chain collapses or takes them an age to complete

Don't agents have to legally pass on any offers made?

@Berimbolo - it's a really crappy situation and I really feel for you.

Not exactly the same but we had found what we thought was our dream home, we had a FTB for our house and the owners of the dream house were emigrating so end of chain. Everything going swimmingly and then the day of exchange our buyer pulled out. No reason just changed his mind. The sellers of our house were lovely but on a deadline and managed to resell before we did. I was devastated. I cried on and off for weeks. I had planned our life in that home and imagined silly things like bringing our baby home for the first time etc.

Everyone kept saying to me "it wasn't meant to be, you will find something better" and honestly I wanted to slap them. It has been the most stressful 18 months of my life, lots of tears and house purchases not going anywhere, and we had to move into rented but we have now found a new house, and you know what? It is better than the "dream house". I always thought I'd mourn for the house we lost and for a good while avoided driving past it, but despite my new one being round the corner and passing the road nearly everyday I haven't given it a second thought since moving in. I love love the house we ended up in! You will find something better!

OP I am with you!!!! Solidarity here!

My husband and I were gazumped on the purchase of our home. Sale was agreed, we’d incurred solicitor’s fees and I was also about to have a baby! We had to find temporary rental accommodation when we were gazumped by cash buyers and it was incredibly stressful. I even emailed the seller directly and asked her if she’d reconsider and let us match the new offer. The seller then passed on a message to the agent that I should not contact her again. Anyway the gazumpers later pulled out and we were able to buy at our original price. It is a happy ending but the behaviour of the seller left a bitter taste- to make it worse she is friends with my neighbours and lives just a few streets away. All I can do is be super nice and hope she regrets her awful, greedy, dishonerable behaviour.

The law really needs to change on this - we just need a party in power that actually gives a damn!!!

This wasn’t Gibson lane estate agents was it they ripped me off on a letting I am still shook by the way it was handled 3 and a half years later they took 1k out of my bank with our permission because they “needed a commitment before sending the offer” they promised they wouldnt take the money and bam 10 minutes later it was gone! We ended up with a flat I hated after a testing offer! They scared me out of London and out of renting for life! I blacklisted them with my uni so they couldn’t pry on students/recent graduates anymore! It’s a ridiculous thing to ask for just to put an offer on a house!

No idea how to tag on here, apologies...

Titus - the rational part of me knows it wasn't meant to be, but the other part who had planned a new future in that house doesn't quite agree yet haha. I do understand why they did it though

Bright - how truly awful! I think your vendor was vile. You wasn't to contact her until of course her higher bidder walked away and then your offer was good enough? Totally shocked. I think no matter how much I loved the house after that I would have told her to poke it but with a few expletives added! I am glad though that you did get your house

@Berimbolo to tag you type "@" start typing the posters name and options come up

It's heartening how many of you have all gone on to buy something better or finally did get your house

Don’t despair as many people don’t put there houses on the market until spring March /April so don’t worry that there is nothing around just now.

We lost our first house too. However I became friends with the lass who bought it and we were great friends for about ten years. It was lovely overlooking the bay. The next house was just a house but the house we now have we love. The views front and back are wonderful and we bought this one in half light( no bulbs in so torch light) so chin up. You are in a great position and the vendors are just greedy or desperate not to have taken your bid. You don’t know what will come up in the spring. People don’t usually want to move in winter so think of it like a practice run, a learning curve. You will go forth with so much more knowledge now. Good luck.

People are awful! I sold my house a while back and after agreeing a sale, the agents called to say someone else wanted to offer me more to gazump the first buyers. It was a long time ago and I can't remember the exact figures but was quite a lot - maybe I agreed £140K and someone offered £150K? I can't pretend I wasn't tempted but I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd gone ahead - the first people were several weeks down the line and I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone did that to me. But the rules allow it........ I agree with PPs - hope the chain collapses and you get the chance to buy it for less... !!

Hmmm that commitment fee sounds a bit dodgy to me! I've never heard of that and YANBU to hope their chain collapses. We were once in the situation where we offered on a house just 5k under the asking price, and had someone else push us to going to asking price and the situation was that when we offered the vendor had just one more viewing booked so she accepted on the basis that they'd not offer and low and behold they did. I think we should have offered on the condition it was taken off the market but it was a relocation so we were in a hurry and couldn't find anything better. I still to this day even wonder if the other buyer actually even existed because although it was in a popular area it had been on the market a good while and it just seems too much of a coincidence. I'm sure if they did they were told how much we'd offered so they could gazump us.
We only had the estate agents word that this couple existed.
I'm convinced estate agents let on how much people have offered to anyone showing a lot of interest.
But the vendors are greedy not smart. It could take ages if they've nothing in place and are in a chain.
I hope you get that fee back and I hope their chain collapses.

I too, found a better house later.

If you are buying in Scotland make sure you are buying through a solicitor estate agent. Gazumping (and Gazundering) is much harder as it strictly verbotten under Law Society of Scotland rules for a solicitor to contemplate another offer. Once the contract is agreed and missives exchanged. Bang that's it. Bought and sold. A done deal.