UK property, A neighbour house and has Sold STC. They accepted an offer from somone who has sold their own home (rejected offers from those that hadnt). There is however nothing they want to buy. They are undecided if they do still want to sell or extend meanwhile their buyers are unknowingly under the impression it will still go through. Is this normal practice? How are you expected to sell if there is nothing to buy that fits the brief! Presumably at some point they will have to pull out and stay or put back on market, but again what's the point if they can't buy?
It got me thinking, people generally won't accept an offer from someone who hasn't sold, understandably. However if I saw a house I wanted and I hadn't sold what's stopping me from accepting an offer from someone who hasn't sold as there is plenty of those around, to then enable me to put in an offer while all under pretence that I have sold (although only to someone who hasn't sold). I see houses on the market that are Sold STC and have been that way for months if not a years sometimes. Is that because people below are accepting offers when they shouldn't?
We are considering selling but there is nothing that we want to buy that isn't already Sold STC it just makes me wonder how many of these will fall through!
What are all the underhand tactics people use?