My buyers knew work was needed on my house and made an offer on that basis but are now dragging their feet

[coraltree]

My buyers made the offer in early may and I accepted. There is subsidence in part of my house and I had already got a structural engineer’s report and they did too. The extra work needed was reflected in the lower price of my house. Now they are asking for insurance and I cannot do that without the subsidence being fixed. I cannot afford to do that as the house was all I got from my divorce settlement and I have no income. I need to sell the house to get an income after buying a cheaper house and investing the remainder of the money. Can anyone advise me? Can I remarket the house? I have signed the contract but my buyers have not.

Yes you can pull out and remarket if you have not exchanged - they made an offer which you accepted. They are trying to change the offer say no and give them a deadline to decide if they want to proceed or not

Nothing is binding on either side of a conveyance until exchange of contracts. You absolutely can pull out.

Aww OP how stressful. I’d imagine the stamp duty deadline passing has also had an effect on your buyer rather than a known issue. But also your buyer may have been naive as you what a house with subsidence would mean in terms of lenders and mortgages. Without both sides signing the contract, there is no sale. So I’d write to your EA (who have a vested interest in your chain completing) and explain the terms under which the sale was agreed. Reinforce the fact that you want to sell to them but under the terms agreed.Explain you’d like the house to be remarketed if they do not agree. You’ll have to put it back on the market anyway if they pull out. Do not spend money at your end until you are sure your purchasers surveyor has been and the mortgage is in place without insurance (tricky part) or the work being necessary. You could also try selling at auction? You might realise slightly less value but you effectively get your money in 30 days post sale. It also attracts builders/cash buyers or buyers prepared to fund higher borrowing because there is a profit potentially once the subsidence is rectified. Your house’s issue is going to limit the pool of buyers from which you can fish sadly so try and make it as attractive as you can to those buyers.

Did you ever have insurance on the property? Assume you tried to claim the rectification works previously?

Thank you all so much your very helpful and reassuring comments.
My ex did not insure the house. I signed up for insurance online just over a week ago and only in a subsequent conversation found out the subsidence had to be fixed first.
I’ve spoken to my EA, written to my solicitor and am awaiting a reply.
Based on the advice above, I will send my EA an email too.
So grateful for your help.

All the best @coraltree. Keep posting for advice if you need help.

Could you remortgage the house for the amount needed to resolve the subsidence? You'd then be in a much stronger position to sell it for a higher price and recoup the cost. Far more people will be interested in a house without subsidence than with it.

@Cowbells

Could you remortgage the house for the amount needed to resolve the subsidence? You'd then be in a much stronger position to sell it for a higher price and recoup the cost. Far more people will be interested in a house without subsidence than with it.

That's the only sensible option, really.