To say no to our buyer

[Flev]

We are in the process of selling our house. We accepted an offer just before lockdown (following 3 visits by the buyers and their parents) but our buyers have moved at a speed that makes a slug look like an Olympic sprinter

2 weeks ago we finally had a surveyor round for their mortgage.

Now this morning we get a call asking if the male buyer and his dad can come and visit again as they think this will be quicker than getting a survey done for themselves.

AIBU to say no?

1 they're clearly not actually bothered about speed or they might have done something about it 4 months ago! We suspect they just don't want to pay for the survey
2 the buyer and his dad are 2 separate households - government guidance for house viewings is very clearly limited members of immediate household only
3 when they came for previous viewings they took ages (small 2 bed terrace) and touched everything. I cant see that changing. And our rooms are so small there's no way they can social distance in them.
4 the only person we've let in the house since lockdown started is the surveyor for their mortgage.

We are sticking pretty strictly to government guidelines as we have a close family member who has been shielding but has felt comfortable to see us briefly outdoors in the last couple of weeks since they know we've kept ourselves with as little contact as possible.

Am i just being grumpy and should find a way of dealing with this to just try and get the blasted deal done, or has their CF-ness now reached the stage where we are justified in telling them to just pay for a survey - or that we will accommodate just one of them?

@TokyoSushi

Surely they can't do their own survey though? What if the bank of somebody asks, what are they going to say? 'Oh I went round with my Dad and it looks fine?!'

I suspect they're coming to look for a reason to lower the price. If they're not actually very far along with the process, I'd probably say no and potentially put it back on the market.

I agree.

If you do let them visit they have to wear masks and gloves and TOUCH NOTHING.

I think I would tell them that I would allow one more visit - they can bring the Dad or a surveyor with them, but this is the final visit & they will be expected to wear masks & gloves, not to touch anything unnecessarily & to be as quick as possible.

I'd have all the doors & windows open & wipe down touch points when they left.

Given I personally think things will get worse over the autumn/winter and and I'm not going to be any happier to have people in my home anytime before then, if I NEEDED to sell my house I'd try to get this sale pushed through now.

@OVienna

Surely they can't do their own survey though? What if the bank of somebody asks, what are they going to say? 'Oh I went round with my Dad and it looks fine?!'

Has the bank's valuation team been round?

OP said "2 weeks ago we finally had a surveyor round for their mortgage." so yes they have.

I'd be tempted to put it back on the market if they're starting to get flakey.

To be fair to the buyers, it's not necessarily their fault the mortgage surveyor took so long. During lockdown they were probably unable to make visits to homes - I can't imagine that job being deemed essential in the climate of a few months ago. Basically you're saying that it took the bank a couple of weeks to send someone around once they actually allowed to, which seems fair.

I can't see an issue with letting the buyers do their own "survey" themselves. They are likely to miss faults that a professional wouldn't.

Ultimately it's your call but is the risk of losing the sale worth the hassle of them coming round for a couple of hours?

I would agree on the proviso that it is the last visit you will allow access for

I would never ever sign exchange documents on a property without viewing it on the same day or the day before!

I understand the OP's point but expecting people who will be paying 100 of thousands of £ not to double check their purchase is unreasonable.

I am not sure why they already had a mortgage valuation and want a separate survey which would have covered the valuation anyway but apart from that..

Lots of surveyors weren’t doing home visits due to Covid. It seems to be you’re being unreasonably difficult, just let them come in and do the survey they are spending a lot of money and I’m sure you’d be pissed if you weren’t able to view when you wished to.

If you say no and they pull out, then you’re back to square one and it will drag on even longer.

Just tell them that due to the time it's taking you are putting the house back on the market. And no, they can't come round and do their own survey.

If you want to sell let them come round. If you're not that bothered tell them no. Up to you. 🤷‍♀️

Just confirm that you are happy to accommodate a fixed time (half hour?) appointment for a registered surveyor to attend, however you are unable to accommodate open ended multiple household visits to your house at this time - thank you for understanding.

Those saying it's a buyers market - it's not! Or certainly not round here.

I've sold my house and am looking for another one. I'm a cash buyer, have offered asking price on two properties and 10% over asking price on another, and still haven't got a house to buy. There's no chance of a second viewing as houses are selling within a day of going up for sale!

Thanks, it's interesting to hear the range of views. In response to a couple of questions, we have already had a surveyor round 2 weeks ago for their mortgage, so this is just for them.

Anyway, I've talked it through with my husband (including the views here) and we're going to go back and say we would prefer them to send a surveyor, but if not we're ok for his dad (or him) to come alone providing he follows the rules a surveyor would (mask, gloves, ask us if he wants a cupboard opened etc). We'll open all the doors and windows and vacate to the garden.

I'm trying to be understanding here about timings, but we're buying a place as well and are now basically ready to go! Thankfully there is no other chain- they are first time buyers and we are buying a place with no upward chain (but who are starting to get irritated by how long it's all taking- if anything we are more in danger of them pulling out!)

Op it seems you’re only making allowances for Covid on your terms, like what they are permitted to do on entering the house but the fact basically everything shut down for four months is irrelevant.

As they are first time buyers they are likely nervous. You were one too at one point. If you loose this sale you will likely loose the house you wish to buy, so play nicely.

Just tell them that due to the time it's taking you are putting the house back on the market. And no, they can't come round and do their own survey.

you can only do that if you are actually putting the house back on the market and losing the sale.

If a seller refuses access to a property you are buying, surely massing alarm bells start to ring.

It's a really bad time to deal with people like that, but you have to be realistic.

If my recent experience of home selling is anything to go by, they won't stop being an absolute fucking nightmare once this is done. Expect more CF-ery as the process moves along.

In our case they were a nightmare with the extra visits and blanked us at all times when in the house (rude fuckers!) and then after months of pissing about they refused to send the money on completion day as they still had "some outstanding questions" so they clearly did not understand the concept of exchanging contracts. Threats were made of them losing their deposit. The chain started 5 hours late and we ended up in a hotel for the night and getting shafted for the costs of the extra day's storage and delivery fees for our stuff as the moving crew ran out of hours.

However, if you want the sale I think you are making the right approach. Just be mindful that this may not be the end of the nuisance!

You are being very harsh on the buyers - what could they have done in lockdown, the housing market has been at a standstill. Do you really want to risk losing this buyer and having to start the whole process again?

Believe me, I know stuff was paused . But they ave been flaky since their first visit, didn't even appoint a solicitor for 6 weeks or get their mortgage application in for 2 months after making the offer.

Anyway, I know I'm in danger of constantly justifying my own views here, it really has been helpful to hear from people who think we're being unreasonable.

I’d say no

Sorry, I missed the post about the fact the bank's valuers had already been round.

I can imagine this won't be the end of it but I am the sort of person who'd be panicking about losing the sale. So I'd probably find myself being a bit of a doormat in this situation and agreeing to visits

Apologies if you've mentioned this already but would you have a buffer to complete on the other house, if you put this back up for sale?

Don’t be absurd OP.

It’s no skin off your nose if they want to do the survey themselves. I wouldn’t even proffer the opinion that you’d rather have a surveyor.

Two people come in with masks and gloves, you can go out into the garden. What’s the big deal?

Don’t fuck up your house sale given they have no chain.

OK as long as they wear masks, gloves and shoe coverings, and don't touch anything they don't have to. A professional surveyor would respect your home and yourselves by wearing proper protection, and so should they.

I would put the house back on the market. A building society 'survey' is no more than a look to see that the valuation is a correct one. Unless your buyer is a qualified surveyor himself (or his father) and 'survey' they do will be useless. I agree with pp they are looking for a way to lower the price.

People are once again looking at houses to buy. What do you have to lose by putting it back on the market unless your buyer agrees to exchange by a specific date, say in 4 weeks time?

You are being very harsh on the buyers - what could they have done in lockdown, the housing market has been at a standstill. Do you really want to risk losing this buyer and having to start the whole process again?

Solicitors and mortgage brokers/banks have been open throughout. Surveyors were some of the first allowed to return to work in other people's houses.

When I read your first post @Flev I didn't understand it and still don't.

They had a survey done but want to come again as it will be quicker than having a survey done?

So they are waiting for the results of the survey?

IMO this isn't about a survey at all, but about wanting another look round.

If they need a survey for their loan, looking around themselves won't cut it.

what's going on?

2nd thoughts maybe?

We had a buyer messing us around like this. It became so stressful that we gave them an ultimatum to progress their purchase by a certain date or we would pull the plug on it. We felt really bad as we felt we were messing the people we were buying from around ( they were lovely patient people but I think were also getting to the point where they had had enough.) I felt our buyers weren't really committed to buying but just wanted to keep us off the market for as long as possible in case they saw nothing they wanted more.

I think OP means "surveyor" for their mortgage as in a valuation but this bit is the structural survey which I agree is an odd thing to want to do yourself.