To pull out of house purchase?

[FreshDoughDaily]

This is a bit long....

We offered on a house in May. Our offer was accepted by the seller with the caveats of: we complete by a certain date (so the seller can claim some stamp duty back) and we do not try to renegotiate on price.

The property is large, it's intended for multigenerational living. We're trying to future proof as much as possible. There is no chain. Parts of the property are tenanted but it is being sold as vacant possession. It has been for sale for over three years. We are really committed buyers and have already started packing so we can be out of our property as soon as possible.

The seller takes two weeks to complete the seller's pack and submit it to her solicitor. So now we're in June. My solicitor is amazing, super quick to respond so as soon as he receives the draft contract, he starts raising enquiries with her solicitor.

Meanwhile I get a phonecall from the agent asking if the tenants could still live in the property when we own it? No. They can't, was my initial response. I email my solicitor as I'm worried now, he assures me the contract states vacant possession and requests evidence that notice has been served to the tenants from the seller's solicitor - this has still not been received yet in mid July

A week later, the agent copies and pastes an email from the seller and sends it to me. Could two of the tenants stay as they don't have anywhere to live and here is their tenancy agreement....? For the sake of not delaying the sale, I agree as the tenants will be living in a part of the house we won't initially need but I am having a properly drawn up contract, not carrying on with a forged holiday let where one week he pays and the next week his wife pays so they don't look like they live there permanently.

The survey report shows there is significant work required to the property which is going to be spendy and also it's looking like building regulations haven't been met on extensions.

Agent's colleague who covers lettings advises not to take the tenancy on in light of survey results as the property would not meet Rent Smart guidelines. They advise the seller to give the tenants notice (as they should have done when the memorandum of sale was issued).

Seller now demands in mid June that we exchange on a date in July, and when we have exchanged, the tenants will then be given a month's notice so we can complete at the end of August. My solicitor says absolutely not as there are still numerous outstanding enquiries. We're not in a position to exchange. Emails are sent to their solicitor, nothing is received.

Meanwhile, another property £50K cheaper has come on the market on the same road. No chain, no tenants and is actually bigger with more space around so better for multigenerational living. We go for a first viewing and get a very quick survey on it. Seller agreed to this as he's keen to sell. Survey indicates less work required than the first property. Seller wants the asking price, no negotiations but as I said we're £50K better off already.

Spoke with my solicitor yesterday who said he cannot advise on a completion date on property 1 as there are still numerous outstanding enquiries dating back from a month ago that have not been responded to. We still don't have any evidence about the tenants notice being served.

The agent asked for an update and advised the seller has spent £2K rehousing the tenants as "I didn't want to exchange with them in situ." I pointed out that she and her colleague advised me not to take the tenants on. Apparently the seller is now willing to negotiate on price in light of the survey report. I explained that even if I was buying the house for £10, I still couldn't as my solicitor is still awaiting the documentation legally required for the sale to complete. And he has no evidence of the tenants leaving, just her word.

AIBU to pull out of purchasing house 1 as the seller has been a PITA from the get go? House 2 seems straightforward, the seller wants to sell and isn't making demands.

If you've got this far, thanks for reading!!

YABU - don't mess people around, stay with the house you've offered on.

YANBU - house 2 all the way. Seller has nailed her own coffin.

100% house 2!

House 2. No brainer.

I would pull out.

Offer on the new house.

The sellers are taking the piss and it all sounds like too much trouble.

No brainer. Enjoy house 2!

You'd actually be insane to proceed with house 1. Pull out asap and get going with house 2

I am normally dead against people pulling out of house sales, but I think this one is justified.

Def pull out. They have changed the terms by still having tenants in situ. you don't need the hassle.

Pull out asap.

The whole tenant issue is a nightmare waiting to happen. If the seller of house one really wanted it sold she shouldn’t have dicked about so much. Offer on house 2 definitely.

House 1 seller is a fucking idiot. No wonder she hasn't sold in 3yrs.

Go for house 2! House 1 seller is a nightmare. Her random tenants aren't your problem, I doubt they've really gone anywhere, and they're not going to leave when you want those parts of the property anyway.

House 2 definitely. House 1 is a nightmare. Why would you take on the problem with the tenants? It’s the sellers fault for not having sorted this out and you don’t need to involve yourself in her mess.

I don't mean this to come across as harsh or critical but I wondered why you have been waiting around for all this time while they haven't been forthcoming and have messed you about over tenants, AND as if that isn't bad enough, the house has extensions which aren't up to standard and requires a lot of work and expense. I'd be out of there like a shot.

I know you can get caught up in the process and don't want to lose a prospect or back out of an offer but honestly this set up and the dodging back and forth about tenancies, is shaping up to be a disaster and a trap and is to be avoided at all costs.

Shouldn't have offered on a house with tenants in situ. Lesson learned!

I was prepared to read and think ffs another person who pulls out (have experienced being pulled out on and was never given a reason).

But omg pull out faster than coke exits a bottle after encountering a mentos.

Offer on the new one.

No, purchase one is a mess and you’ll be left to deal with it for months. You’ve shown good will to try and meet their terms and they have failed to uphold their end to ensure that their own needs ar met.

Selling with vacant possession is what was advertised and it clearly isn’t what the situation is o just walk.

Definitely pull out. You’ve been saved from a whole load of grief.

I don't agree with the law that allows you to withdraw at this point, but would understand if you did.

Massive red flags 🚩 and very messy. Leave whilst you can. Pulling out is normally very frowned upon - but this is a case where it’s definitely in your best interest

Are you buying with a mortgage? There is no way a normal lender would accept tenants living there and id be surprised if they’d let you exchange with them in situe. The tenants are clearly an issue, you would be mad to take that on!!

If anything, it seems like the seller of house 1 has 'constructively pulled out' anyway - by very clearly no longer being able or willing to offer for sale the house and conditions that were explicitly agreed on.

And if they try to put the guilt on by citing the money they've spent on rehousing the tenants, in lieu of serving notice in a timely fashion, they're going to need to do that anyway in preparation for their sale to the next candidate to buy it - hopefully having learnt the hard way and not royally messing them about.

100% pull out and go with house 2. House 1 sounds like an absolute nightmare. Your solicitor will be relieved if you pull out of house 1. Exchanging with tenants in situ is risky and then it can cost a fortune to evict them if they refuse to move out. If they need housing by the local authority, they have to stay until they are evicted otherwise they're classed as voluntarily homeless and the council doesn't have to help. Plus if you're having a residential mortgage (rather than a buy-to-let), you wouldn't be allowed to proceed with tenants still in the property.

The only reason I can see for taking on house #1 is if you're really commited to Mumsnet and giving multiple threads on how it's all gone wrong with CF tenants and seller. Otherwise, cut your losses and take the house that's bigger, less issues and has everything you need.

Thanks for all the responses. I was thinking to leave house 1 and the seller to it. The agents have been really nice all the way through (I naively realise now that is because I was spending a lot of money buying a house from them) but yesterday she seemed really cross with me. "Well it has only been 9 weeks" and "the seller is just a really nice person who wants to do the best by everybody." Hang on, a month ago on another boiling hot Friday afternoon the agent was on the phone to me moaning her head off because the seller was pressurising her to pressurise me to take her tenants on.
I do feel bad pulling out but my solicitor said it is entirely my prerogative and there is nothing more we could have done to make this sale go through. Well, other than to wait longer for the seller to actually submit the documents required by law for a sale to take place I guess..? Apparently, because there is no chain, it should have taken between 4 and 6 weeks to complete. Could've been in by now!
I've had a sale fall through previously because the buyer changed her mind. She had a first time buyer purchasing her house so shafted him when she didn't buy mine. No reason given either! I was not behaving like this seller though. Not one bit!