WIBU to re-list our house?

[Wob]

We accepted an offer on our house back in April. It was ~5% below asking price but we accepted that offer because they were chain-free, had a high deposit and were described as very proceedable.

Now, over three months later, they still haven’t booked a survey nor said they aren’t intending to do one (it’s a character property so would be unwise of them not to do one, even though we obviously know the property is fine). They never booked a second viewing and they haven’t done anything to indicate they’re actually committed to buying the property.

We asked our agent to check in but the agent couldn’t get hold of them so was just communicating with their solicitor (who was saying that, as far as they were aware, the buyer was committed). The agent eventually contacted the buyer directly two weeks ago and they said they were on holiday (not sure why that prevents them from confirming whether or not they want a survey). For the house we’re purchasing, the lead time between booking the survey and it taking place was over a month so it’s really going to add a lot of time.

As far as we’re concerned, there are only two reasons why they’d be doing this:

1. They aren’t committed to the purchase


2. They’re intentionally delaying despite being presented as proceedable and hoping to exchange/complete ASAP.

Should we re-list at this point?

Has your solicitor heard from their solicitor?

They aren't even buyers really. They've done nothing to engage with the process. You'd be crazy not to resist it.

I would give them a timeline ultimatum and say something like if no actions taken by x date then we will be re-listing. Is it a saleable house, like would you be likely to receive another offer quickly? 3 months is a long time.

We had a similar experience. Wasted so much of our time time.

We relisted.

Have they even asked for searches? I’d give them 24 hours or relist.

I'd relist. We did when our buyers went AWOL. They came back a few weeks later and explained why they needed to pull out. They could have just told us and saved us weeks of stress.

Our solicitors and their solicitors have been in communication. Their solicitors are under the impression they want to move ahead. No word on their mortgage or whether that’s been approved yet or not.

I don’t think we’d struggle to get another offer. We had an open-house style viewing day and received two offers on the first day (before the advert had even gone on Rightmove). One offer was for asking price but the buyer had a long chain, this one was just above 95% of the asking price and they were (supposedly) far more proceedable.

They won’t be able to get a mortgage, surely, without even a basic mortgage co valuation / survey?

Have they engaged solicitors? Has their solicitor asked for the F&F form etc? Have they commissioned searches?

When I last offered on a house (it was in the current market) the EA had an offer acceptance protocol that said offers were conditional on engaging solicitor and commissioning survey within a short period of time.

Your EA should be on this with more focus! Their job is progressing the sale, not just finding a buyer.

I'd relist. They've done nothing in all this time.

Just relist they needed to do things they haven't bothered

If you have not heard anything and their solicitor said " as far as they were aware, the buyer was committed" I would take that to be they have not done any legal checks as a sign that they are under no time pressure to finalise the sale.
Unless they are 100% cash buyer they should be concerned about getting the bank to sign off on their loan.

As KoalaPineapple suggests give them a relist date and see what happens.

No word on their mortgage or whether that’s been approved yet or not.

It took 3 days to get our mortgage approved - including a weekend.

I'd relist

At best they're just bad at admin and will have to be pushed at every stage of the process

I suspect they are a wealthy investor - if you wanted to live in a house you would be doing everything you could to make the deal happen right?

I would relist, or give them a deadline where you want things to be actually moving ahead.

From the sound of it, apart from making an offer, they haven't engaged at all with the house buying process.

Personally I wouldn't engage with them and would just relist.

Relist it. Do it today.

Relist. You’d be further down the line if you had gone with the buyers in a chain.

I can't believe you've left it this long :-)
Re-list at full asking price. You've nothing to lose by doing so either it will give them a kick to actually engage with purchasing - or you will attract a viable buyer.

this Is really odd. Sorely your estate agent is pushing hard to get this sale through? It has been drifting for months. Are they using the time to save for a deposit that they pretended they had? Had their mortgage offer expired and they are struggling to get a new one? Maybe they have seen somewhere else?

they should absolutely have their mortgage through by now - searches should be complete etc.

i would give them until Friday to confirm a date and indicate they are ready to proceed. If not walk away.

Relist saying once the survey is done and accepted (i.e no knocking 20k off because the windows are old) you will take it off the market. Until they have invested something in the process, I would assume they are time waters.

Unless they are complete cash buyers then they will.need a valuation survey for the mortgage.

Set a deadline of next Friday for proof that searches have been requested and the mortgage survey booked

OMG, this is crazy. They are never going to proceed. it's been 3 months.
We completed our purchase and sale (in a very long chain) with in this timeframe.
Your estate agents should be advising you better, and given the precious time you have lost I would consider renegotiating their commission.

I hope it hasn't jeopardised you purchase.

Definitely re-list it, @Wob . If you are feeling kind, give them an ultimatum - significant progress by Friday, or you re-list then - but I wouldn't blame you for re-listing today.

survey isnt necessarily an issue
lots are desktop and no visit- ours was- massive deposit-tiny mortgage - so they may already have done it all

Your solicitor needs to agree a date to issue contracts and then exchange and complete

Its your solicitor who sounds slow? (and theirs)