Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say no to our buyer

165 replies

Flev · 16/07/2020 13:07

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?

OP posts:
JaniceWebster · 16/07/2020 16:08

only after the mortgage has been approved and not before. Once the lender has had their valuation in, your buyer doesn’t have a leg to stand on if they attempt to reduce the price.

are you confusing valuation survey and structural surveys by any chance?

The mortgage valuation is the most basic one, and barely acknowledge that the property exists, is standing and the price range it belongs into.
Nothing about the actual condition of the property.

What is strange is that a full survey does include a valuation survey, so not sure why they would need 2 separate one!

Bluntness100 · 16/07/2020 16:08

They’ve had their viewings ffs

Lol because you’re allowed two and then you can fuck off? Who made that rule up then? Clearly they didn’t get the memo.🤣

2bazookas · 16/07/2020 16:10

Probably there's something mentioned in the mortgage valuation report that they want to take a second look at, to see if it's bad enough to warrant a full survey.

If its something  minor they might decide to sink the survey fee into materials for some DIY repair .

None of the above is unusual or "being difficult".

Genevieva · 16/07/2020 16:15

If they need a survey for their mortgage it will have to be carried out by a surveyor approved by their mortgage company (not themselves). If they are buying in cash and do not need a mortgage then they do not need to carry out a survey before completion.

Genevieva · 16/07/2020 16:17

In other words I would say no. Unless something important is flagged by the mortgage surveyor, in which case they need to tell you what that is.

PlanDeRaccordement · 16/07/2020 16:18

YABU
The buyers haven’t been slow or messing you about since the start of lockdown, there has been a pandemic! And you are still too fearful of this pandemic to allow the buyer and his dad to visit the house they have put an offer in NOW, then do you think you would have been flinging the door open to them in April/May/June? I think they have been very considerate by only having the minimum of visits to you during the pandemic and not coming for further viewings themselves.
When you’re buying, it is common to have more than two viewings. You’re being a bit princessy.

PlanDeRaccordement · 16/07/2020 16:21

This reminds me of an estate agent putting pressure on me about a house sale we were doing and calling me the day of my mothers funeral to complain about how slow I’d been. For all you know, they’ve lost someone to Covid.

OhYeahYouSuck · 16/07/2020 16:28

At this point I'd issue a deadline for things to get moving. I'd also have told the EA that you want their response by Monday or they can't come around again. They're taking this piss.

OhYeahYouSuck · 16/07/2020 16:29

@PlanDeRaccordement

This reminds me of an estate agent putting pressure on me about a house sale we were doing and calling me the day of my mothers funeral to complain about how slow I’d been. For all you know, they’ve lost someone to Covid.
And they also could be pisstaking timewasters.
Mildura · 16/07/2020 16:31

No one I know, including my DS as a FTB not long ago, could get a mortgage without the lender seeing a survey report

Almost always the only thing the lender is interested in is the valuation report - essentially does the property being bought represent suitable security for the loan. Inspection visits normally last around 20-30minutes.

Only if the valuation surveyor notices something troubling will the lender be interested in a more detailed survey, but this is pretty rare.

RedOasis · 16/07/2020 16:41

If they plan on getting a mortgage they NEED to have a survey done. So you would steel need to let the surveyor in. So NO to them visiting again I think!

PlanDeRaccordement · 16/07/2020 16:42

OhYeah
And they also could be pisstaking timewasters.

True. But with over a half a million people dead in the last three months due to a pandemic, the chances are not so inconceivable. We should all be giving pause and considering that millions more people than usual have lost someone close to them.

zonkin · 16/07/2020 16:44

Say no and risk losing the sale or it dragging on for many more months. They won't exchange if they want another visit and don't get that visit.

Mildura · 16/07/2020 16:47

If they plan on getting a mortgage they NEED to have a survey done

No, they NEED a valuation for a mortgage. Not a survey.

Valuation has already taken place.

HyacynthBucket · 16/07/2020 16:59

Whatever they want to come round for, unless one of them is a qualified surveyor, there is no point. If there is a really valid reason for the visit, (which seems unlikely) insist on only one person and ask them not to touch things because, as another poster suggested, of "the current climate". In fact with someone in your family shielding, you would be best advised after all this time, to just say No. Ask them outright what their intentions are re. a date for completion. You cannot be expected to keep the agreement open forever.

Fiftiesfresh · 16/07/2020 17:01

I would make a call to your solicitor. Ask them to call the buyers solicitor and find out what stage they are at. Has the mortgage been approved, any outstanding pre-contract enquiries or questions, any reports required and the deadlines/dates for any of this. Be polite but firm.
My Son has been through this very recently and only by being proactive did he manage to keep the process moving. Regular catch-ups with his solicitor, keeping the EA in the loop.

Once you are clear on the buyers position, you will be in a better place to judge whether things are on track or whether they are in fact treading water/procrastinating. Covid notwithstanding, you are entitled to know where you are at.

excuseforfights · 16/07/2020 17:08

And they also could be pisstaking timewasters.

Do pisstaking timewasters typically shell out for surveys?

Seeingadistance · 16/07/2020 17:15

@excuseforfights

And they also could be pisstaking timewasters.

Do pisstaking timewasters typically shell out for surveys?

In this situation the buyer and his dad want to do the survey themselves - so not shelling out for a survey, and suggesting that they are indeed ‘pisstaking time wasters’.
Beautiful3 · 16/07/2020 17:20

The bank they're borrowing from will demand a structural report. So it seems pointless to do it this way. I'd ask the agent, see what they say.

excuseforfights · 16/07/2020 17:25

In this situation the buyer and his dad want to do the survey themselves - so not shelling out for a survey, and suggesting that they are indeed ‘pisstaking time wasters’.

But OP says:

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.

SunshineCake · 16/07/2020 17:25

Are you sure everything is as it should be ?

excuseforfights · 16/07/2020 17:25

Or did OP pay for that survey? Sorry if I've misunderstood.

Original poster
Flev · 16/07/2020 17:29

@Beautiful3 not necessarily, ours didn't. Ours did a desktop valuation and didn't go round at all though.

OP posts:
rwalker · 16/07/2020 17:32

I'd let them they are making the BIGGEST purchase of there life and only seen it 3 times.

catndogslife · 16/07/2020 17:42

How far along are they in the buying process?
Has their mortgage been approved? Have the fixtures and fittings/property information forms all been agreed? Have the searches been ordered? Agree with the poster who said you need more info about what stage they are at?
I think you could allow them, but have a time limit this time.
After that you could definitely say no more viewings until exchange/completion.
Our buyers took 4 months before COVID but they had a property to sell as well.