To think there should be a fine for vendors pulling out of a property buy/sell process last minute?

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Just had this happen. Pregnant, strung along for months, collapsed a sizable chain because a couple of immature children think it's acceptable to pull out the day of exchange. I'm broken hearted, wasted all my money and savings and I have never felt so much hatred for two strangers. From speaking to the agent they have no genuine reason, just playing a bit of a game with us all I guess. How is this legal? It is the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to my family and I don't want to start it all again but now I have to with way less money. We had spent months getting our house ready for them as their first home, deep cleaning, painting, repairing.. turns out they never deserved any of it. It's really knocked me and I have no faith in anything now or people but I have to just get on with it :(

Yanbu - there should be a fine to stop this from being possible after a certain point.
Yabu - it's okay for people to do this.

Thank you for your replies just reading through. I just feel like I'm now scared to enjoy anything, even pregnancy because I feel stupid for being so excited only to have it pulled away and now I just feel so pessimistic about everything and everyone. I also hope I get over it soon, I just really hope if anyone reads this thread who thinks of doing the same they don't without really good reason.

Oh gosh, I know how you feel. Our sellers went quiet for weeks and then pulled out as we were due to exchange - we were sat with lots of boxes already packed (in hindsight silly) because everything was ready to go. The worst part was that the market was rising so we sold at one price point and bought at a higher price months later. It also cost us money for surveys and solicitors fees and it seems mad that people can do that to you with no requirement to cover your costs. I still feel cross about it nearly 5 years after.

Exchange IS the point at which you have to pay if you don’t continue afterwards though, so this already does exist.

The Home Report system in Scotland does help with some of the issues around surveys etc but people can still pull out until the missives are concluded. Last time I moved that wasn't until 2 days before the move date.

Yes, I think we all know that 🙄 but it can often be months into the process when a lot of money has been spent on surveys and solicitors.

Yeah but it's late. Exchange should happen asap with outs like- mortgage provider changes sum offered, survey renegotiation, mutual cancellationdeath and few others. No reason not to have exchanges early on as standard

YANBU, the system here is terrible.

They will have spent thousands in total on solicitor fees, surveys, reports for their lender etc in order to get to the point of setting a date for exchange so I think it’s but naive to suggest their have no reason and were playing a game.

You’re allowed to be upset but they obviously had their reasons, the exchange is the exchange of contracts so until that point there is no deal.

My goodness I'm so sorry, that's exactly what ours did - ghosted us all for about two weeks then claimed they had been abroad and were so excited to move in. Felt some relief, reassured by the agent they had been kitchen shopping that day and all was okay. I cannot understand it, like what are you doing? What hurts so much is where they were obviously not committed at all, they will never feel like we do now and will probably never reflect on it either.

Was it your buyers or your vendors that pulled out?

How long passes between sale agreed and exchange date? In Ireland, (open to correction on this), the buyer puts down a deposit on sale agreed day, and then arranges the mortgage, surveyors, etc. If a problem arises, they can pull out and get their deposit back, but if they just change their mind with no good reason they lose the deposit. There has to be a cooling off period with every purchase. I'd be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt that they had good reason to pull out and are probably as devastated as you are that this has fallen through. I doubt people let it go that far just for the craic.

who would exchange before surveys and their repercussions had fully been resolved? Or before searches had come in or mortgages been confirmed? No one would. No solicitor would let you. Exchange happens after all the legal stuff has been resolved for exactly that reason. Hurt feelings are unpleasant but exchange happens when it does for very valid reasons

Hope that made you feel better.
Why bother commenting?

I get what you're saying and when the first lot pulled out I had none of these feelings towards them but this feels different, especially in the context of how they've treated us all. Saying they were kitchen shopping after two weeks of being ghosted and us having to send so many emails chasing it in fear, making us think they were excited after all and then pulling out in such a cold way last minute is pathetic and cowardly.

@PurpleDiva22 I'd love to have more data on this system. I wonder how many do lose the deposit or if it's actually easy enough to come up with a "good reason" you're pulling out? And what the list of acceptable reasons covers? Could you just say "my husband is having an affair" or "i have a cancer diagnosis" and no-one checks?

Totally agree.

I would like to see a more legally binding situation much earlier in the process, but I think it needs to apply to both buyer and seller.

Obviously not. The reason has to be directly related to the house. So an engineer goes in and decides it's not up to scratch, you get your deposit back. You find out half the house was built without planning permission, you can get your deposit back.

I think OP was using hyperbole (quite appropriately) to make a point. Don't be so mean.

It works elsewhere. I don't know why England and Wales have to be so special.
I sold abroad last year too, in EU. Contracts signed ASAP with exit clauses. Also much faster process for some reason

It's definitely rubbish, but you'd have to put in financial penalties for both parties. The whole system would need a shake up, but it's not in anyone's interest to do that, I feel.

I've pulled out on the day of exchange, because we wasn't told about some legal issues, and the seller just included the documents within the pack and they didn't think it would bother us, and they needed to sell.

We've also had the sellers pull out the day before exchange on another property, because the wife decided she loved the house after all. Except she clearly didn't, as they called us 3 weeks later to see if we were still interested...

I don't buyers personal circumstances should be valid reasons

Valid reason would be things like "The survey found significant probelms" or "the house was misrepresented in the advert" - things directly linked to the value of the property which the buyer wouldn't have already known.

In other countries sellers have to provide information and surveys on the property up front, those costs are on the seller not the buyer. In England sellers get away with the shitty “sold as seen” method which is beyond stupid.

I am so sorry this happened to you, OP. The English system of house buying is not fit for purpose.

We did pull out of buying, once, in America. As you do there, we had put down a 5% deposit. But you also do a final inspection within 24 hrs of purchase. When we did, the lower ground floor was flooded. I mean, the carpets squelched underfoot and it stank. This was an important, beautifully finished living space with a wall of French doors, etc.

The owners had vacated a couple of weeks before and refused to take any responsibility for this. We would not have been insured for prior damage. So we pulled out, and easily got our deposit back. They sold a year later at a great loss.

I do believe the English system gives far too much scope for entitled or nervous buyers and occasionally entitled vendors to mess up a reasonable sale. But I know our vendors thought we, and the system that returned pur deposit, were also unreasonable. I actually enjoy the challenge

Exchange happened for us all of two days before completion, thousands of pounds had been committed at that point