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

[BrokenCookies]

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.

That's horrendous, I'm really sorry. They must have had a legitimate reason though, they themselves would have spent money on legal fees and searches etc ?!

This is two completely different issues (unaffordable housing/limited supply vs free option to pull out at any point if you change your mind/find a better or cheaper place elsewhere despite the time and cost incurred to the seller). It would be extremely unfair, shitty behaviour (but completely legal under under the current system) for your kids to do this down the track if they've put in an offer and had it accepted just because you think they overpaid, please don't try to justify this as in any way fair on the original seller.

Are the vendors responsible for your pregnancy? If not, how is it relevant?

I think there needs to be a better system but Im not sure that sellers being responsible for doing the survey etc before putting it on the market would work (the homebuyers pack), as I wouldnt trust that it was done properly or that it wasnt a mate of the sellers who missed out all the bad parts to get them a sale.

I would have little faith in getting a positive outcome against the person who did the survey if I wasn't their client so I wouldnt trust what was given to me and would have to commission my own, which wouldnt save anytime (& was probably why the homebuying packs didnt take off).

However, I think selling in a 'chain' isnt necessary - you should be able to buy a house in 4-6 weeks as a sole purchase and then look for somewhere else to buy after its gone through. Bridging loans would need to be involved and there would also need to be short term lets available which is probably why it wont ever happen.

Ahh sorry, I thought I was the same person replying again - I should learn to check usernames!

but to answer the rest of your post - Just becasue it isn't their fault doesnt mean it shouldn't be their responability. What I propose in a nut shell is a "you drop out you pay" system - where the person dropping out is repsonisble for all costs.

The only exceptions should be if someone had been mislead about the house in someway or the surveys/searches find something significant (there would have to be some discussing round what exactly "Significant" means!)

I can't see why my bad luck should cost a stranger money

That's what happens here in the US. Once you've accepted an offer and signed the purchase agreement the contract is binding. You can only pull out without penalty before closing if the house inspection uncovers something.

Any buyer pulling out at the last minute will have incurred many more costs than the vendor for a survey, legal fees and searches. So the financial costs are considerable which is a strong deterrence

No worries, I had to go back to find where id got it!

Estate agent fees too? And photographs and stuff? Because I see your point about solicitor fees (I’m in Scotland so the survey stuff is a bit different), but estate agent fees are surely on the seller. No one asked you to list the house after all.

be ready for them coming back with a lower offer @BrokenCookies

This.
Exchange is the point of no return, where a big deposit is paid.
Before exchange, anything you spend is at your own risk, so spend the minimum - survey, perhaps some legal fees for searches. Don't book removals.

Then after exchange, there should be 8 weeks to book your removal van, pack up, etc.

I can see the advantage of the American system of a fee of about £1000 when you make your offer, but you risk paying this and not getting it back if the survey then turns up problems.

Gosh, you don't really like being called out on your ill-informed comments, do you? Straight to the nasty little insults.
I think you'll find I was exaggerating so as to make the point.
You come across as very childish to be honest. Perhaps you were one of the OP's buyers.

An "ill informed comment" - it was a mild qualified statement on something that I said I didn't "think" happened in Scotland, not a sworn statement in a court of law. And yet you immediately jumped in with the sarcastic, arsy comments and clearly didn't like being called out on THAT. There was no need to make ANY "point", sarcastic, exaggerated or otherwise since I commiserating with the OP and made an observation on something I didn't think happened where I live - not to imply for a moment that other stressful things in the buying/selling process don't happen here.

You think I'm childish and perhaps one of the OP's buyers and I think to you're a smug, hectoring idiot. So I suggest we just avoid each other - though doubtless you'll want the last word. 🙄

I know someone who did that. Waited until the last gasp and then said they'd only proceed with sale if vendors knocked £££ off price.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the property - this was just the way he did business. And to him, the buying and selling of property was a business.

You also have the issue of what level of survey should be commissioned ?

Some people want expensive surveys on older houses which might have big issues.

Others are cash buyers and are happy to proceed with zero survey.

Different people have different ideas of how much risk they want to take. Some people feel confident because they are good at assessing problems themselves.

@Butchyrestingface
You could have commiserated with the OP without adding to the already numerous incorrect comments about selling property in Scotland.
And if you'd taken time to read the thread you would have known you were incorrect.
When you hear the same incorrect comments popping up on threads all the time about how much better the system is in Scotland and you've been through a really stressful selling experience, it grinds your gears. In was sheer frustration and a reminder of that bloody awful time that led me to make my sarcastic comment.
Perhaps you could commiserate with that rather than pressing your caps lock, insulting me, saying how you want to block me and that we should avoid each other. I'm sorry but calling someone who does that childish isn't an insult, it's a statement of fact.

Absolutely agree. They should be liable for all legal costs and other sale-related costs such as surveys.

Yup, more twattery. Not a surprise.

Instead of empathising with you in a difficult situation, they’re deciding to be pernickety and superior about the specific words you used when you’re really upset. It probably makes them feel good about themselves or something.

@Butchyrestingface
There's absolutely nothing twattish, as you so charmingly put it, about my reply. But it says something about you that that is your response.

In some American states, you risk losing the full deposit of 20%.

Presumably even that wouldn't be enough to stop a chain collapsing in some cases if a buyer pulls out, but does seem to be some kind of safeguard against flibbertigibbets who just withdraw at the 11th hour and wreck complete havoc.

It does. There are reasons and contractual clauses that allow legal options to withdraw, but people tend not to risk it just because they’ve changed their minds. They would be in a huge fight to recover their deposit, There isn’t the concept of a chain in the way we have it in the UK.

Interesting. Thanks. 🙏🏻

It's an awful system which breeds distrust on a transaction where trust would be really beneficial!

Sorry OP. I hope you get a buyer quickly.

We had our buyers email the day before exchange to knock £20,000 off or they were pulling out. Nothing wrong with the house. They were super rich, cash buyers and they knew we would be totally stuck as our tenants had moved out and we were in a chain. I was so angry - and still feel annoyed but we would have lost our lovely house if we didn’t agree.
It’s really shit that this can happen.