To be so angry that our EA and buyer have put us in this position?

[AngeloMysterioso]

DH and I are expecting DC3 and need more space, so trying to move house.

Put our home on the market early July, one viewing pretty much straight away, thanks but no thanks, then nothing. After a month reduced our asking price by £10k, had another viewing, another thanks but no thanks.

Two weeks ago was another viewing, with someone we were told was a cash buyer. Great! Offer made and accepted the next day, we viewed a place we’d had our eye on the day after that, our offer was accepted early last week.

Our vendors had previously accepted an offer from someone else in July but their original buyers still hadn’t been able to provide proof of funds after 8 weeks so they started having viewings again, and because we were in a more proceedable position having a cash buyer (or so we thought) they accepted our offer.

Except- it turns out our buyer isn’t really a cash buyer. They don’t have liquid cash sitting in the bank ready to go, it’s coming from inheritance that is still tied up in probate - in AUSTRALIA. Which wouldn’t be too much of an issue because fuck knows house buying in England isn’t exactly quick, but it’s being handled by solicitors who are apparently so inept that almost two weeks after our buyer made the offer, they still haven’t been able to provide the one piece of documentation we need in order to establish proof of funds, get memorandums of sale issued and get this transaction started. And because they’re in fucking Australia, all our EAs can be arsed to do is keep emailing them and hope they get an email back.

That’s two weeks closer to my due date. Two weeks that our vendors have yet again been kept waiting by people who can’t provide proof of funds.

DH and I are so utterly powerless here and I’m fucking raging. I’m angry at our buyer for making an offer when they weren’t in a proceedable position. I’m angry with our EA for sending them through our door in the first place telling us it was a cash buyer when it wasn’t. I’m terrified we’re going to lose our onward purchase, a place that is a bit of a fixer upper but otherwise so perfect for us, because our vendors will lose patience and accept another offer from someone else. And there’s less than fuck all we can do about any of it.

Why don't you call them yourselves? Speak to the solicitor and explain the urgency. Or if you have solicitors ask them to call (repeatedly)? Buying and selling houses is stressful and things do go wrong. Don't leave it to others if you can do something to move it along. Also, if their funds are tied up in probate it could take a very long time for them to be released (if anything like the UK). You may want to look for another buyer. Good luck.

Leave your house on the market and keep taking viewings. You may get another offer or you may energise your buyers to chase their solicitor. Keep in contact with your vendors to let them know that you are still keen and doing what you can

Just to warn you OP I recently inherited money from a relative in Australia and depending on what’s state the deceased lived in you have to wait a year for the funds to be released to allow for any challenges to the estate. It was a very very long drawn out process and we did not get the money until 15 months after my relative passed away

I’m sorry about your troubles @AngeloMysterioso , that’s very annoying. I’ve moved house six times and every single time there’s been some sort of problem. I’m afraid it’s how it is when you are buying and selling, it’s very stressful. 💐

Essentially because there’s no overlap between UK and Australian business hours, nobody is able to actually phone these people and light a fire under their arses. I work until very late at night and would be more than happy to do it myself but our buyer’s probate solicitors don’t know me from Adam and aren’t answerable to me. Our EAs told us the buyer is chasing it but how do we know that’s actually true?
The person who left the inheritance passed away last year so hopefully all the probate business should be concluded soon- our EA told us it would be about 2 months for the money to be released which would work out ok for the whole transaction in theory- but we haven’t even got started.
We have told our EA we are still happy to go ahead with other viewings but we weren’t exactly overwhelmed with interest before. There was another request for one last week but it was a time we couldn’t do, and whoever it was never got back to the EA with another time they could do instead.

Change agents and drop the price if you really need a sale.

The EAs at fault, a cash buyer should have shown proof of funds.

Honestly. ..this isn't going to happen..the probate will take far too long..I would just think that this house maybe isn't meant to be..we have been in similar circumstances. Either get a new EA and keep going until you have a sale or take house off and wait till baby comes. It's so frustrating but you can't do anything about it.

We had a supposed cash buyer. Turned out the cash came from a flat his relative was going to sell and give him, so HE told the agent he didn’t need to sell. EA didn’t do checks properly and the chain eventually
apart. Took almost a year, I was tearing my hair out.

I’d put it back in the market for now saying you’ll take it off the minute the buyer is in proceeds or position

I don't think it's ok, but this is the English house sale/purchase situation.

You may lose your onward purchase. If possible I'd try to be as sanguine about that as you can.

Can you switch agents? They don't sound good. Then keep taking viewings and hopefully it'll work out in the end.

Your buyers are dicks, they had no business making an offer until the cash is in their bank.

The EA should have done an offer check on the buyer before the offer was accepted.

Well there is something you can do - get it back on the market and get the EA to market it aggressively considering they've made a mistake with this buyer.

Get your property back on the market ASAP - your EA should never have let you accept it.

If nothing else, relisting it will put a rocket up the arse of the current buyers to speed this thing along so they can re offer when they actually have the money.

go back on the market immediately, I would have done that as soon as I found out the true situation.

If you get any more viewing requests I would move hell and earth to accommodate. Really tricky market right now :(

Contact your EA, tell them you are re-listing with a different agent and putting the house back on the market and hope for a new buyer? They should have don't thorough checks on the buyer.

When my relative died the Australian probate process took 18 months before we got the funds. It's a slow process.

I would be looking to secure another buyer to be honest, unless you can get a clear answer from your current buyers of how far along the process is.

We’re not even off the market yet. We’re not Sold STC, literally nothing has happened. If you were to go on Rightmove both properties are still showing as available. We can’t do anything until the probate solicitors confirm to our EAs the amount our buyer is due to receive, and apparently the chap handling the probate has gone on holiday and nobody else in the whole place is picking up his emails.

Also when I made a cash offer on a house, the estate agent for the vendor immediately demanded proof of funds with screenshots from my various bank accounts. Your agent has failed in their due diligence.

I would keep taking viewings. I think if you’ve only had 3 viewings since July you’re likely a bit overpriced. I would also consider another EA aswell (can you have two ??) and I would absolutely be insisting my solicitors ring their solicitors and get proof of funds. Make it very clear this was a ‘cash buyer’ and you need proof of funds or won’t take it off the market. Stressful!! Good luck x

Switch agents, this isn’t going to happen

now you know to be very wary of “cash buyers” like this. Let the other house go, and start afresh

you can’f control this situation and clearly the Oz guy is a dud

anguishing over it does not help. Buying and selling a home is a business transaction.

good luck

The same asking price was suggested by 3 different EAs, - in fact the other two suggested slightly higher, but we went with the ones we’re using because they were the ones who marketed the property and handled the sale when we bought this place and they’d been great that time. We’ve already lowered the price by £10k and it was only on at £300k in the first place.
Neither the EA or our solicitors can call the solicitors in Aus because it’s outside of their business hours, what with the time difference.

Be careful with this. I am in the UK and I was (very) recently the executor of a will in Australia. It took nearly a year to get the will probabted. September 2022 until august 2023.
Once the will is with the courts there is absolutley nothing you can do to speed it up, so if your buyers are waiting on cash it could be a long, slow, frustrating wait.
The average time to probate a will in Oz is 8-10 months.

Personally I'd consider staying put until baby arrives and then try again when baby is 6 months.

Stress of the process aside you are getting close to completing whilst about to drop territory and you really don't want to be in that position!