Landlord turned nasty

[LavenderLuxe]

We have been in talks to buy our rented house from our landlord for years,
Finally at the end of August the landlord was all for it, we said we would get a solicitor and start the process, however after 9 days she sent us a nasty text saying everything should have been done by now, by everything she meant moneyy paid, surveys done, all checks done and basically all bought and sold job done, she absolutely lost it over the October budget rumours (she is an older lady) no disrespect of course, but she clearly lost her temper at us, and then said she needed to talk to her family, then we got a letter to say she is now not selling to us yet again, and increasing our rent by 15% surely she can't do this? We wrote back explaining that houses on our street haven't sold, are in better condition and this would be a quick easy sale, we reminded her of a list of outstanding jobs that she then came back and said "we didn't tell her" we did and I have proof of her saying she couldn't afford it. We have a young child, and I know people will say to move but we have looked and looked, we have great neighbours, it's a great location for work ect, we have been here 6 years and it just feels like home. I'm absolutely gutted, we worked our arses off to get the deposit, which she knew and now she's stopped it, we are 36 and 44 so we really are desperate to get on the ladder and expand our family before time runs out. Not sure what I'm looking for here, just feeling lost and gutted and have no support

Can you get together and speak face to face?

Walk away and buy somewhere else.

If you have saved up for a deposit then arrange to view the other houses in better condition for sale on the street?

Keep saving hard and keep looking for something else.

You are being unreasonable in your belief that you can make your landlady sensible and reasonable. You can’t.

I had a very similar experience to you. I rented a house for a year after my divorce and the landlord promised to sell it to me at market value, I then got a valuation and he decided he wanted £100k more.

When I said nothing doing, he gave me a month’s notice to move out.

Ultimately, to become master of your own destiny, you need to start house hunting and not let yourself be controlled by your landlady.

I agree - you need to find somewhere else to buy.

We actually bought our first flat off our landlord, but he was extremely reasonable at all points in the process.

How far had you progressed in the 9 days, considering that this has been discussed for years?

Did you have a Mortgage in Principle, book a survey (if you intend to get one), instruct a solicitor? Had she instructed her solicitor and completed her side of the paperwork?

Your landlord sounds very unreasonable, but if she knew all the wheels were truly in motion on your side she might have been more accommodating.

Do you want to try to salvage the purchase?

If there are houses on your street that haven't sold, why can't you buy one of them instead?

Why dont you just buy one of the other houses in your street for sale that are in better condition?

Can you afford one of the other houses on the street? If they have been for sale for a while, you might be able to get them for less than the price they are on for. I know it’s a pain but you have to move anyway if she’s put the rent up and is being an arse. Definitely worth having a look at them.

You can't make her sell it. You've saved the money and that's what matters.

I assume she's worried about the rumoured rise in CGT for second and BTL homes? The Chancellor has said that isn't happening, can you make that clear to her?

Buy one of the other houses on the street, this is going to go down as you want it's going to be a living nightmare.

How the heck did she expect you to have all that done in nine days? You're not Jesus.

She clearly doesn’t want to sell or she would have years ago.

Have you posted about this before?
My response is the same as it was on that thread... leave her well alone, she will cause so many issues. She's the type who you'd get all the surveys, checks mortgage etc in place then she'll pull the rug from under you before exchange.
I'd buy another on the same street.

If there is something else in your price range in your street, buy that. If not, there will be other great streets with lovely neighbours.

As for the rental increase, she can increase it as long as, a) it is not higher than market rate in your area for a property in a similar condition, b) she hasn’t increased your rent already within the last 12 months and c) you aren’t on any kind of fixed term contract - ie not within the initial period of the tenancy agreement or under a fixed extension period.

Do any of the above apply?

Edit - to add if you do refuse, she can serve you notice. And even if none apply, you could try to negotiate less than the 15%.

Go view the houses on your street that are in better condition.

I've seen an auction deadline of four weeks recently with a form to insure against search delays. Which to me stinks of something Dodgy.

9 days is insane.

She absolutely should not have lost her shit with you. Have you made any progress since end of August with the conveyancing and survey? We're now almost at end of October, so with a straightforward proposed sale like this, yes, good headway could have absolutely been made. What's been happening at your end with getting that moving?

Look elsewhere. She sounds a nightmare and you dont want to pay out for surveys etc only for her to pull out the day before exchange

On what planet does a house sale start and complete in 9 days?? The woman is batshit!

One that they've been promising to get sorted for 6 years! She's probably fed up of waiting tbh!

She obviously shouldn't be messing you about like this. However, it's a very stressful time for the type of landlord who isn't very well off. The house prices have been going up and down for a few years now and it's difficult to work out the best time to sell. I'm not saying I agree with the housing situation but I'm looking at it logically. Maybe her mortgage is about to go up and she's panicking. She's worried about that and the house prices falling but at the same time she doesn't want to lose the property. So she keeps changing her mind. (Don't ask me how I know!)

Is there a reason you want that particular house though? I would have thought you'd have more bargaining power if you went for a different house. I'd have thought this situation would work out better for her because she knows you won't pull out at the last minute or gazunder.

It takes 4-6 months for a house sale to complete.

While this is a back up option surely it's pretty obvious why they would prefer to stay in a house they know rather than risking somewhere they don't, let alone saving the costs and stress of moving.

OP do you have any means of speaking to her directly? Perhaps you could point out that she either sells the property and saves on all the fees that would come from advertising it, or risks you refusing to pay the rent increase, she has to give you notice to leave and go through the eviction process (which if you were minded to you could extend for several months, costing her money) and even then if she manages to let it out to a new family at the higher rate she still has to spend money advertising for them and runs the risk of new tenants being far worse than you. If you've got the deposit to buy you don't need to worry about a good reference from her so could potentially make her life very awkward. Obviously I am advising not to put this in writing!

First I'm gonna say I know you have an an emotional connection to this house. But you're gonna have to bite the bullet and choose one of the other homes on your street. Have your solicitor send her 1 last letter indicating you are going to be looking elsewhere to buy if she continues to refuse sale.

Sorry but I think you need to find somewhere else. It is a buyer's market at the moment and with a deposit and nothing to sell you are a very desirable prospect. Your landlady doesn't know how lucky she is but other vendors will.
She is either a very unreasonable person or may be having cognitive difficulties of some kind - the anger and going back on what she said are classic. Either way she's wasting your time. I hope you find something close to where you are so you get to enjoy the location and neighbours.