To want to send an angry email to our house buyer after he pulled out days before exchange

[Parkingbird]

We sold our house in late Feb and we were so close to getting a date to exchange - we were looking at early June. Buyer wanted an earlier date in late May, but we were out of town so it wasn't possible. Then we received news that he pulled out yesterday. I'm devastated as it took us a long while to sell and also we may now lose our dream house - no word if our seller is willing to wait for us.

We have never communicated with our buyer but a quick Google search turns his company profile up and I'm this close to sending him an angry email asking why he chose to pull out and how he has wasted our time and money, and all the effort involved to change my toddler's preschool and activities etc, not to mention the risk of losing our new home!!! I know this changes nothing but I want him to know what his actions have done to us.

This system is so broken. Why can't a deposit be made so that nobody can back out as and when they like???

Why get angry because somebody’s circumstances have changed?

My son has just exchanged, completing to tomorrow.EVERYTHING has been done by email etc, no going to solicitors nowadays

snooze you lose and all that

We sold a property is Spain last year and both we and the buyer had to deposit 15% of the price into an account after the offer was made an accepted and if either of us had pulled out the other party would have kept it

Hi everyone, thank you for your responses! No, don't worry, I'm not going to make myself (and my unwilling husband) look like nutters so I won't email him... not that my husband was going to agree anyway!!

For the record, us being out of town shouldn't have made a big difference as there was still no date when we went overseas. It was only when we were away (for a grand total of 5 days) that our buyer wanted to exchange+complete by end of May. We pushed back slightly to first week of June, and that sadly triggered him.

As far as I'm concerned, the reason for him pulling out was that he waited for too long. Even though his own solicitors had some queries which pushed the dates back by 2-3 weeks.

I agree, the system is fucked. It only seems to benefit the solicitors who stack up the bill of hours as they delay things for weeks on end.
If any industry was ripe for being disrupted, it's this one.

Sorry but currently the process is more like 6 months plus after agreeing a sale and people should be very aware of that from the estate agents when offering. Cheap solicitors taking on too much has completely screwed things over. We offered on our house in August last year, we didn't move until the end of March this year. There were no real hiccups, it was down to my seller's solicitors being slow and doing nothing from October to February when I started threatening to pull out.

It's clear a lot of people on this thread haven't been through the process recently. Once you're in a slow chain you're better off staying put than pulling out and starting another 6 months process. And the OP made it clear her buyer wanted to exchange and complete on the same day which she couldn't do. It sounds like he sprung this request on her. I'm sure she understands the process!

Some mortgage offers are for 3 months, which could be the reason for a May date.
Maybe due to slightly altered circumstances, that offer wasn't renewed. By sending them a nasty message, you could be rubbing salt into an already raw wound.
Next time, try and accommodate the buyers, I wouldn't be happy with a 4 month delay, especially if told, "we're out of town " when making the biggest purchase of my life.

He really won’t care about your toddlers pre school situation!

Our agent tells us that the average time from acceptance to completion in England is 16 weeks. 3 weeks in, 🤞

I believe what you're saying about conveyancers.

However, why does the system in this country have to be so bloody complicated? The list of disbursements I had to pay was ridiculous. I couldn't opt out of, say, the chancel repair liability search, even though I was 99.99% certain that occupants of that property were not liable to fund repairs to the local church. Presumably, every owner of my property (and there were at least six over the decades) would have had to pay for that search to be done (again).

I also have to pay indemnity insurance in case I or previous owners have ever fallen foul of the covenant on our street and anyone can be found who has the right to enforce it. If I want to change my garden shed, I am expected to request permission from a company which no longer exists and pay them the sum of five guineas!

He wanted to complete a few days later, in late May. OP said no because it didn't suit her. So here she is now, complaining about him on MN instead of packing up to move.

I’ve pulled out of purchases usually when the seller has been somewhat dishonest (saying they are happy to go in to rental then after me getting survey and searches saying they can’t sell until they find an ongoing purchase), had sellers back out on me (once due to ill health, once as they ‘changed their minds about selling’, twice got gazumped - always after I had done the surveys and searches etc). So totally agree the system in this country is appalling. Though I disagree with you @LittleBitofBread as the solicitors have to be transparent with costs and I’ve be we had one go over the initial fee stated.
OP I hope you find a buyer soon.

No way is 2 months the norm! More like a land speed record, especially where there's a chain.

@MrsSkylerWhite good luck, I hope you are one of the rare cases this happens for. If you spend any time on the moving board on MN you'll see most people are 6 months plus even in a short chain.

Okay, but I just meant that in my experience with house buying and selling an awful lot of money gets spent on solicitors, and they often delay things (a friend's house purchase recently was delayed for weeks on end because of her solicitor being away/unresponsive).

Wow. Must be a UK/Ireland difference. We are in the process again! Should be in within that same 8/9 week timeline.

Many years ago now, I had the unenviable task of contacting an estate agent to tell them that unfortunately my FIL had died suddenly at work and would therefore not be in a position to go through with the purchase of a property. This was the day before exchange was due. I am sure that the vendor would have been unhappy that the sale fell through, but that was nothing compared to how my DH and the family felt at the sudden loss of their husband and father at such a young age.
OP, rant away as much as you need, but don't email your buyer - you have no idea why they have decided to pull out at such a late stage and as PPs have said, with all the costs already incurred, it's unlikely to be something they've done lightly.

Thanks.

This is our 7th sale/purchase, over 36 years. With one outlandish exception that dragged on and on until they pulled out, and one 2 week sale (!), that has been about right.

Bought the flat we’re moving to in Scotland on about 9 weeks. So much simpler than in England.

I agree OP that a non refundable agreement of sale fee should be made by both sides as soon as a sale is agreed - so that if you do get time wasters, at least you are not out of pocket. The seller's fee could be refunded if the same completes but used to compensate the buyer for survey and conveyancing fees incurred if the seller changes their mind or goes with a gazumper. It would stop people from making casual decisions that play havoc with other people's lives.

How is that going to help? I get you're upset and frustrated but taking it out on the buyer achieves nothing.

That's the way our housing market works, and contract law. Annoying as it is.

I know someone who had to pull out of a house very late on because he lost his job and wouldn't have been able to make the mortgage payments. He was gutted as well. There are so many reasons for people pulling out.

I'm sorry this has happened to you, but no I don't think an email is appropriate. Focus your energies on finding another buyer.

I can understand your frustration but the buyer will presumably have thought hard about pulling out at this stage, having paid out for a survey and solicitors fees for work done so far. So he will be out of pocket if that's any comfort.

I would reply 'yes we pulled out it was whim because we were bored and just wanted to inconvenience you, it was a dare and we had nothing better to do'

So no I don't think writing will do anything, what would you hope the reply to be?

Why did queries take weeks?

Queries always take weeks.

I actually would email him

Wasn’t the OP out of the country when that request was made though, meaning that they physically couldn’t do this? Or have I misunderstood?