To forcibly ask why you pulled out?

[MyPeachLion]

I am (was!) a cash buyer of a 900k property. We were due to exchange next week. And complete after 2 weeks. We went 30k above asking and 20k above another bidder. No other bidder was a cash buyer. We are about 10 weeks into the sale.

My solicitor informs me this afternoon that the seller pulled out with NO reason given.

Can I turn up to the seller's house and ask the seller face to face why they pulled out? AIBU?

The estage agent did not even bother to inform me, despite the seller telling them last weekend that he was cancelling.

No chain on the seller's end - they have a new build they have already moved into! Seller moved out of their property early last week. We know because we visited the house for kitchen measurements last week!

I rang the EA this morning to get dates so I can get carpet quotes for next week and the EA was on board! Not once did he mention that the seller pulled out.

I am pissed off for not knowing why he pulled out, and for the EA to not inform me of it, and then proceed to play me like a fool by humouring my requests for carpet tradesmen to enter next week.
Were they meant to enter through the cat flap?

Again, is it unreasonable to just face this time-wasting seller and ask them why?

The fact that it's 900k is irrelevant.
The fact that it's cash is irrelevant.
This would be exactly the same if it was a 60k bedsit with a mortgage in the cheapest area.
Either side can pull out at any time. I say this as someone in the process of selling when we're almost done.
It's very unconvenient but it's how property sales work.

Go to the estate agent.

There should be licensing of estate agents in my opinion, so those who fail on basic tasks can ultimately if they fail to improve have their agency withdrawn.

Scottish law is not perfect on property sale but would be an improvement if the same applied in England and Wales.

can understand why you're mad, but absolutely not appropriate to go and ask for the reason. however, if it were me, i would request (via my to their solicitors) if the vendors would consider making a contribution to the abortive legal costs. as it really is unfair you should be out of pocket, because they withdrew.

The process of buying/selling is a highly fraught process. I think once a sale agreed that the withdrawing party, on either side ought to be liable for any fees incurred.
good luck finding something else OP.

Of course each of these events is a possibility. I was speaking only of the balance of probabilities.

Bitter much! That was rude.

You’ll never meet a hater who’s a step ahead of you
Love this and am going to nick it!

Estate Agents are there to act as buffers between seller and buyer. So you can call them and demand an explanation. There have been cases where people have sued for costs incurred where the sellers are time wasters. If you spent a fortune on solicitors and surveys, you could consider that.

It is so rude to pull out so soon before exchange with no reason given. But go via the agent, don't doorstep them!

Yabu. You can not do that.

Definitely speak to EA about this, they should've informed you ASAP and definitely shouldn't lead you on.

It's a real shame for you though, I've been in your situation. Everything happens for a reason, you'll find The One I promise!

The title had me intrigued…

Not sure why you needed to tell everyone the amount of the property, which is why you have had some rude replies, it's unnecessary and makes you sound a little entitled. This happened to me a few years ago, they accepted a higher offer and it was horrendous, as we were renting and didn't have anywhere to go, so had to get a really expensive longer lease. I was very angry and I wanted to write to them saying what they had done, but in the end, anger only hurts you! You are not entitled to an explanation, but you have a right to feel angry and disappointed. As it happened, it turned out my husband was having an affair and left me about six month later! As I was in rented I was able to keep renting while that got sorted out, and now I am about to move into an amazing house with my fiancé in a completely different area and got a bargain due to the housing market. The morale of the story is you never know what is round the corner and misfortunes at the time sometimes turn out to be blessings. Let go of your anger and problem solve to getting something even better!

But I'm sure your massive wad of cash will get you something soon.

It was so subtle in the original post (like the first sentence) I almost missed it!😂😂

You can't "push" the Estate Agent. If they don't want to tell you, they won't - and to keep on calling them is just ridiculous, they'll block the telephone number/refuse to engage with you if you turn up in person and probably also refuse to deal with the OP in the future, so it could rebound on her if she makes a nuisance of herself.

Turning up at the seller's house is also totally not on. The seller has the right to pull out, they don't have to account to the OP for their decision. Maybe they've got a better deal, maybe they're irritated by the OP's demands - who knows - but they have the right to pull out of the deal.

This is what you sign up for when you go into buying or selling a house!

The title of your thread made me think this was about something else entirely 🤣

ABirdsEyeView ·

I do also think that when you've entered into an agreement and gone so far as to spend money on surveys and solicitors, you do have some entitlement to an explanation.

Try finding the law that says this - you won't be able to. Fact: the buyer has no entitlement to an explanation. This is what you sign up for when you enter the house-buying market - it's tough but it's how it is.

Oh sour 😂

@MyPeachLion best acknowledgement and comeback to a thread I have read! I would also be raging in your shoes and want to vent to anonymous strangers on the internet too

Estate agents not going to tell you the truth. EA may have put thru another client. Do not with them again.

This happened to us twice before we ended up buying our home a few years ago. The first time was a few days before exchange and the sellers told their agents they had changed their minds.

The second time (we were v pissed off with the agents at this one) the sellers pulled out after 7 months saying they had decided against moving but it turned out that they hadn't even instructed a solicitor which the agents must surely have known.

Both times we had paid for expensive £2k surveys as the houses were old. Plus solicitors fees. Naturally that money was simply lost.

You have my sympathy OP. It feels such an unfair system ☹️

You realise being a “cash buyer” means literally nothing to a seller? They get their money whether it’s from an entitled snob or from a mortgage!

It’s their property and they don’t have to sell it to you, or to anyone. Until a contract is exchanged either party is free to change their mind.

Sounds like only the estate agent is the one that deserves any frustrations here. Not the the seller.

But I still wouldn't recommend turning up on their doorstep 🙈

I absolutely understand you are pissed off. Anyone would be, but you can't demand an answer unfortunately

The same happened to me and it is just awful. We were 3 days away from completion and had packed up the house and given up our jobs. They just 'changed their minds'.

The chain collapsed. My buyer then sent me abusive texts demanding I sell to her anyway. We had no jobs and nowhere to go, no chance of finding a rental property in the area we were moving to, we were devastated about losing our dream house. Her abuse of me made it all so much worse.

I can only tell you that those sellers pulling out was the very best thing that ever happened to us, and I would miss them if ever I saw them again. Not only did we find a much better house, but the house we were buying had invisible structural issues that would have bankrupted us.