Page 9 | To want to send an angry email to our house buyer after he pulled out days before exchange

Parkingbird · 2025-05-28T21:48:26+00:00

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???

cinnamonda · 29/05/2025 13:17

Oh that is tough. On the Positive side - at least now you have all the documentation required ready for the next buyer and the process may be faster and better, best of luck

Riaanna · 29/05/2025 13:20

Icedcaramelfrappe · 29/05/2025 11:36

I actually would email him

Why?

StMarie4me · 29/05/2025 13:51

It’s been the same for decades. Always amuses me that people are only ever angry about unfair things when it directly affects them.

Helloworlditsmeagain · 29/05/2025 14:19

GetToHeaven · 29/05/2025 13:00

Obviously I knew about the stamp duty deadline and our buyer assured us he wasn’t in a chain so would be ready, but we were misled and because conveyancing is basically the Wild West there’s no recourse. All I was saying is that I think all the people acting like OP has caused some unconscionable delay are being unfair. 3-4 months is pretty normal.

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I am assuming she only asked for an extra week. It does seem a bit drastic unless something went wrong his end. His mortgage offer might have been pulled?

Twinkletoes127 · 29/05/2025 14:19

We just bought a house in Spain.
A 10% deposit is taken from the buyer on agreement of price. Then a date is given as a maximum time to complete. Usually 90 days. Then if buyer pulls out they lose the deposit and seller keeps it.
If seller pulls out they return the double the deposit.
Completion can be done in days.
From viewing to completion, ours took just under 3 weeks.

Helloworlditsmeagain · 29/05/2025 14:25

StMarie4me · 29/05/2025 13:51

It’s been the same for decades. Always amuses me that people are only ever angry about unfair things when it directly affects them.

You can't force people to buy your house. I am sure the op will find another buyer. Him pulling out doesn't give her the right to stalk and harass him. She needs to talk to the solicitor.

Helloworlditsmeagain · 29/05/2025 14:29

Twinkletoes127 · 29/05/2025 14:19

We just bought a house in Spain.
A 10% deposit is taken from the buyer on agreement of price. Then a date is given as a maximum time to complete. Usually 90 days. Then if buyer pulls out they lose the deposit and seller keeps it.
If seller pulls out they return the double the deposit.
Completion can be done in days.
From viewing to completion, ours took just under 3 weeks.

The house I sold was inherited. I am due to sell my house this year I wonder if I can impose a deposit on the buyer so I only get interested people looking at the property. It could work in theory in the UK but would anyone show interest?

Swhit31 · 29/05/2025 14:47

I feel your pain.
We finally sold our house last September. And our buyer from the start to finish was a nightmare. She pushes exchanging back a few times as needed a holiday. She stayed in the uk but couldnt get to a bank to realise the her mone. Other crap happened anyway Skip forward to the day of completion and because of a hiccup with her solicitors we finally completed at 5pm. I had ten minutes to collect the keys to my new house. Nightmare! But it happened. The system is broken and needs to change!.

Twinkletoes127 · 29/05/2025 14:50

Helloworlditsmeagain · 29/05/2025 14:29

The house I sold was inherited. I am due to sell my house this year I wonder if I can impose a deposit on the buyer so I only get interested people looking at the property. It could work in theory in the UK but would anyone show interest?

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It would be interesting, but I don't know. In theory they intend to buy the house so it shouldn't be difficult to pay a deposit, but why would they when all the others are deposit free.
It's a dilemma for sure.
Would that affect mortgage applications etc

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 29/05/2025 14:57

Out of town, too busy, slow solicitors - yes, you would be unreasonable to send him a stinky email

Willpowders · 29/05/2025 14:58

The system is broken. Buying a house in Australia is so much easier, once you put in an offer if it is accepted you are locked in! Puts the onus on buyers to be sure they have mortgage pre-approval and are really sure they want a house before even making an offer.

lucya66 · 29/05/2025 15:03

Listen to the Let Them theory. No way to control other people and angers just a waste of energy.

it is annoying though. Sorry to hear about it

RawBloomers · 29/05/2025 15:06

Keepingthingsinteresting · 29/05/2025 08:00

To be fair, it’s not like conveyancers are sitting round twiddling their thumbs. All the ones I know are incredibly hard working and constantly on the verge of overwhelm. We expect conveyancing so cheaply they have to take on 10 times a sensible workload to make the work economic so it takes longer, and people using these massive conveyancing shops for hundreds of pound makes it worse- they don’t know what they are doing, make mistakes and slow everything down.

Like with everything in life you pay peanuts you get monkeys, but if people continue to want relatively cheap skilled legal work ( cutting corners on the most expensive thing most of us will even buy & which we don’t understand makes total sense!) it isn’t going to change. I like the Scottish system.

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That may be a fair point about the cost, ditto with the crazy long chains people take on in order to avoid a rental in between or a bridging loan.

HelloPossible · 29/05/2025 15:07

I like our system, exchange is the point when both seller and buyer are committed. I don’t think a seller should assume it’s sold just because they have accepted an offer, especially as a survey hasn’t even happened.

JamieCannister · 29/05/2025 16:01

SpryUmberZebra · 28/05/2025 23:14

I think you’re being unfair and yes she is right tbsh the system is broken. In many countries you make an offer and when it accepted you’re locked in baring some agreed conditions eg mortgage falls through or it fails inspection or stuff like that but the Uk system buyers or sellers can pull out until last minute or be gazumped.

The buyer pulling out simply because they collect exchange when he wanted makes no sense because it will take longer to find another house and go through the process again.

The way I understand OPs post it looks like they sprung a completion date which gave them no notice as they were out of town and wouldn’t be able to move their stuff out in time so I don’t get why you’re making it sound like she didn’t want to sell.

I’ve bought houses in other countries and you’re locked in once the offer is accepted and contract signed and you have a target date written into the contract so you’re not having to guess when they may want to complete.

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You're locked in when the contract is exchanged in the UK too!

commonsense61 · 29/05/2025 18:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

FarmGirl78 · 29/05/2025 19:10

Parkingbird · 29/05/2025 10:24

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 think your unwillingness to exchange has scared them off. You understand you could have exchanged last week and set the completion date in stone for next week? You would have still had your buyer and not needed to move whilst on holiday.

NattyTurtle59 · 29/05/2025 22:35

milveycrohn · 29/05/2025 13:13

I don't understand this concept of exchange and Complete on the same day.
How on earth can anyone make arrangements re removals etc.
When people say the English system is broken, it seems to mean that in other places they 'exchange' contracts early (ie binding).whereas here we wait until mortgage, survey, etc.

Where I live you sign an agreement subject to various conditions, such as mortgage, survey, etc. and have a date for those conditions to be met. If they are not met in the timeframe the sellers can agree to extend the time, or they can sell to someone else. Once the finance is secured, the survey done etc. then the sale becomes unconditional and the deposit paid with no backing out.

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 30/05/2025 00:29

Deposits are made that's called exchanging contracts.

I pulled out of a house at short notice as my fiance walked out when I was 36 weeks notice. An angry email from the owners of the house that I was devastated not to be bringing my child up in would have finished me off. You never know what people are going through op

PeloMom · 30/05/2025 05:07

Someonelookedatmypostinghistorysoichanged · 28/05/2025 22:57

Yabu it’s really frustrating but it’s also a great deal of money and needs very careful planning and certainty.

People should figure those things out before they make an offer. I never understood why it takes such a long time from offer to exchange in the UK. I’ve bought properties in other countries and it takes 3 months max, including all surveys, due diligence etc.

Larna4t · 30/05/2025 07:48

I can understand it from the ops side. But you should also look at it from the buyers side. Mortgage approval doesnt last forever. People's circumstances cam change. Someone might lose a job and have to take a job in a different location

CapitalAtRisk · 30/05/2025 11:21

PeloMom · 30/05/2025 05:07

People should figure those things out before they make an offer. I never understood why it takes such a long time from offer to exchange in the UK. I’ve bought properties in other countries and it takes 3 months max, including all surveys, due diligence etc.

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Searches, generally. They've been taking a very long time since Covid.

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 30/05/2025 11:46

We had a seller pull out at the last minute. We had taken the kids to see the house. She was in during a second visit and said to the kids that they should go and choose their rooms. What an utter ***.

surreygirl1987 · 30/05/2025 13:27

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 30/05/2025 11:46

We had a seller pull out at the last minute. We had taken the kids to see the house. She was in during a second visit and said to the kids that they should go and choose their rooms. What an utter ***.

Really? And you don't think you were at fault in any way for taking your kids to see a house you didn't own and had no legal claim over?

We waited until exchange.

surreygirl1987 · 30/05/2025 13:32

Larna4t · 30/05/2025 07:48

I can understand it from the ops side. But you should also look at it from the buyers side. Mortgage approval doesnt last forever. People's circumstances cam change. Someone might lose a job and have to take a job in a different location

This. The system is rubbish, but blame the system not the people using it!

We pulled out of a purchase once - the sellers were dragging their heels and we were desperate to move as was starting a new job. I couldn't believe they were shocked when we pulled out, as we'd made it very clear when we needed to move by. They were moving at a snail's pace and we got the impression they didn't really want to sell. So we cut ties.

Nothing is official until exchange (and even then completion may not happen - but at least there are consequences then). So weird when people act as if they own the house just because they have had their offer accepted... or like they've 'sold' their house just because they've accepted someone's offer... that's just not how it works.