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Original poster

Is she a CF?!

111 replies

netflixandsleep1 · 15/04/2020 08:32

Changed some details just incase the house owner is on here!!

I was buying a house from an elderly lady before the lockdown but due to everything that's going on she's decided to pull out which is no problem, I still have my mortgage and everything agreed and ready to go. Found a house, advertised with no upward chain and says offers over £160.

I put an offer in for £160k and was refused as the vendor (CF in my eyes) isn't interested at anything under £168k. I said surely the house should be advertised at £170k if she wants closer to that as I wouldn't have even shown interest as I don't have the extra money. We went back and forth and I offered to go up to £163k which was refused again, no counter offer just refused. I left it over the weekend and went back yesterday with £165k. Said that's my best and final offer as couldn't find another quid if I wanted to!! Vendor has accepted my offer only if she can live there until the work is finished on her other house!!!!

I said well no not really it's sold with no upward chain so surely as soon as the searches are finished it's mine? The CF has came back and said well I either wait for her work to be finished or she isn't accepting my offer!

I want to say go and fuck yourself quite frankly but the bigger picture is I want the house.

WWYD?

OP posts:
OlaEliza · 15/04/2020 08:38

If you want it you need to suck it up🤷

Original poster
netflixandsleep1 · 15/04/2020 08:39

@OlaEliza I know that, but is this normal practice? To sell a house with no upward chain then want to stay in it until her house is ready?

OP posts:
JigsawsAreInPieces · 15/04/2020 08:40

Walk away. You're right that vacant possession means just that but she just doesn't want to accept your offer.

Offers over means a lot more over. My old house was listed as offers over £220k and we got offers of minimum £250k.

Womencanlift · 15/04/2020 08:41

Difficult as in normal circumstances I would say CF but in lockdown circumstances less so. It may not be in a liveable state and she may be having difficulty getting workmen right now. Not necessarily your problem but not necessarily a CF situation

On your other issue about offers over, typically it can be the norm (well in Scotland where offers over is very common) to go 20% over. So you saying if she wanted that she should have asked for it is not how offers over works, that would be a fixed price sale which this is not

bert3400 · 15/04/2020 08:41

I would wait untill this shit show is over, apparently house prices will plummet. If your a FTB you will be in a sting position to negotiate.

Dieu · 15/04/2020 08:41

Are you in Scotland? Offers over is normal here, and in particularly sought after areas (eg affluent Edinburgh), houses can go for waaaaaay over the odds ... and I'm not talking 5 grand over!
So she's fudged the dates a bit, so that she can get some work done. Super annoying for you, I get it, but unless she's put it back by months then I don't think it's too big a deal.
Hope it all works out ok Smile

bert3400 · 15/04/2020 08:42

you're strong

Daftodil · 15/04/2020 08:43

Depends how quickly you want to move. Personally I'd look elsewhere as she sounds very inflexible and difficult. With no time limit on the work being done she could be living in your house for months if not years!

Neverwrestlewithapig · 15/04/2020 08:43

Years ago an estate agent told me that ‘offers over...’ usually means add on at least 20k.

Ellmau · 15/04/2020 08:43

There's always a delay between exchange and completion, but it is short. Obv she can't expect to live there after completion. It was a bit CFF to advertise w no chain if she wasn't ready to move immediately. Is this a forced move of some kind? Eg moving to a DC's home which needs an extension first and she doesn't really want to go?

How long are we talking? If it's a few months I would wait it out, but possibly also look around at other options and be ready to pull out.

LordEmsworth · 15/04/2020 08:44

She can set her conditions, you can set yours. Neither of you is being cheeky, or unreasonable. You just disagree.

Her rejecting your offer isn't cheeky, not even a little bit. And there is no upwards chain, that is a correct description. Her insisting on staying after completion (?) is unusual and would not be something I'd agree to. But it's not yours until after completion so if she is saying she won't complete until her new house is ready - that's completely normal and up to you whether you're happy to let it go that far and still potentially not complete within a couple of months.

Bringmewineandcake · 15/04/2020 08:45

I'd walk away. There are things preventing her from completing as quickly as 'no upward chain' would imply. Plus you've already gone way over your budget. If the survey came back with issues she sounds the type to not renegotiate and you'll be trying to find more money you don't have.

8by8 · 15/04/2020 08:45

She’s not a CF. I think you’ve just misunderstood how the process works.

  1. “Offers over” means you offer over the amount stated. If I saw “offers over £160k” I’d understand I’d need to offer around £165 to £170, and that 160 wouldn’t be accepted.
  1. She doesn’t need to give any reason for rejecting your offer.
  1. The house is not yours once the searches are done. It’s yours once the contract is exchanged and the transfer is completed. Exchange and completion usually happen on different days.
  1. She’s not asking to live in the house after you buy it. She’s saying that completion of the transfer will have to wait until her next home is ready. So you’d exchange contracts, but the completion date would give her enough time to finish her other house.

She’s not done anything wrong, cheeky or even unusual.

Original poster
netflixandsleep1 · 15/04/2020 08:46

When I spoke to the estate agent they said they valued the house between £160-£170k so I don't know how much they were thinking of getting.

I'm in England.

The estate agent is ringing me back today and I'm thinking of saying I agree to wait a bit longer but we need a date agreed as I can't just be dangled on a thread, if the work isn't completed by the agreed date then it isn't my problem?

OP posts:
hesgotit · 15/04/2020 08:48

It could be a long and stressful transaction, to be honest I think you sound like you went for the house as it had no onward chain. Now that's not proving to be a benefit, so maybe you need to really think is this the house that you really really want? Or was it after the disappointment of the other place that you went for the no onward chain?

ChocolateDove · 15/04/2020 08:49

I would walk away. If she is being difficult now, it won't get any better. Run away. Theres always other houses.

Bluewater1 · 15/04/2020 08:49

I would wait OP. I think house prices will tumble....

Original poster
netflixandsleep1 · 15/04/2020 08:49

@hesgotit Yes ideally I'm looking for no upward chain as I've got a disabled little one and we're in a flat so it's just not practical so looking to move as soon as I can Smile

OP posts:
UnfinishedSymphon · 15/04/2020 08:50

Walk away

daisypond · 15/04/2020 08:50

The searches don’t relate to when you actually buy the house. They are just part of the plan for buying it. The vendor hasn’t done anything wrong if they’ve suggested a later completion date - when you actually buy the house.

hesgotit · 15/04/2020 08:50

The estate agent is ringing me back today and I'm thinking of saying I agree to wait a bit longer but we need a date agreed as I can't just be dangled on a thread, if the work isn't completed by the agreed date then it isn't my problem?

But in England she can pull out right up until exchange! So you can say I want to complete by say the 1st August but if closer to the time she says it's got to be 1st September then what can you actually do? Nothing I'm afraid! That's the stress of house purchasing.

slipperywhensparticus · 15/04/2020 08:51

It sounds like she wants to live in the house after completion? Ummm no

Is she selling the only house in the area? I would start looking for a different house

Aus84 · 15/04/2020 08:52

Could you draw up a contract to say that she can rent back from you for a set period? Eg you complete and then she rents for 2 months. That gives it a set date rather than 'when my other house finishes'.

DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou · 15/04/2020 08:52

We had this.

A house was on the market for 340k.

We offered 330. She said no.
We offered 340. She said no.

She refused to go below 350.

What the fuck?

She screwed us around from the beginning. Such a pain in the arse and the house was a shit hole, it needed gutting she acted like it was a bloody palace she was selling.

We pulled out entirely in the end after we were about to exchange contracts and she had (for the fourth time) found a new place to live the week before.

We risked losing our buyers.

That was a year ago and she still hasnt sold....

hesgotit · 15/04/2020 08:52

Honestly OP I'd look elsewhere, not ideal in your situation but you don't want to be held to ransom!

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