How much should we, as vendors, put up with from our buyers???

[Becaroooo]

Am pretty atm.

Our buyer (no chain cash buyer) has made our life miserable from day 1.

We accepted his (low) offer as we are desperate to move.

He insisted he be here with the surveyor whilst the HB survery was being done - 2 hours!! He has spent the last 2 weeks demanding all the paperwork for the ext we had done 4 years ago (even though he will get all of it on completion) and even though it was all signed off and we have a completion certificate for it!

He has now decided to book a holiday and wont complete til 12th august (should have been moving on friday!) and therefore we have lost out on our purchase.

We have found a rental property and were hoping to exchange today.

Just had a call from my solicitor and he is now demanding we leave all curtain poles and bathroom accessories.

I know it doesnt seem much but I am seething with rage.....he has messed us (and worse, my dc) around since day 1 and we have just tried to see the big picture and not get too agitated but I am absolutely at the end of my tether with this arsehole.

If the solicitor rings me back once more with another stupid demand we are pulling out. Enoughs enough.

we had one of those (cash, no chain) buyers. he argues over the lease (he thought it should be 900 years!), every bit of everything. we accepted an offer 15% below asking price. he then dropped the price by a further 10% on day of exchange (which had already been extended because of him). we had to move (new job starting in new area), so had to find somewhere else to buy (couldn't afford what we'd originally offered on) and accept. left a nasty taste in my mouth but in the end we are happier here than we would have been in the first place, and by the end of the negotiating I couldn't have stayed in our old flat, it was all tied up with the nasty buyer in my emotions.

I sympathise, but do think carefully before you tell him to take a hike.

We moved into rented when we had 2 small children -- quite deliberately, and partly so that we could become chain free. I found it lowered my stress re the whole house-selling process, tbh.

If you've exchanged then he isn't in a position to start imposing any other conditions, is he? And if he delays completion then you could hammer him very nastily with legal penalties (expensive). I'd say he has nothing more on you, now. Unless you fail to move out on date required, that is!

Well considering that buying a house is the biggest and by far the most expensive purchase a person will ever make in their LIFE, I think you are being a little unreasonable.

When we were househunting and put in an offer, it struck me as how mad it was that we should agree to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a place we had wandered round a couple of times.

The more informed you are, the better spent your money.

ahem - the OP has said twice now that she's already exchanged :o

Thanks christine sigh. Does no one actually read the posts???

Not only did we drop our price by £20k but we also agreed to an end july completion at his insistence

Then he books a holiday.

He is an arrogant, selfish, rude man.

And the sooner I dont have to deal with him the happier I will be!

We will be in a good position when we find a property to offer on (no chain, deposit, mortgage agreed)...but I would never treat vendors how we have been treated!

I guess some people think if they have money they can treat people however they want?????

Becaroooo I'm please to hear you've completed. Well done.

However, consider when you buy your next property - house insurance isn't generally valid unless you have lived in a property .. . and if your in London most squatters target houses when they have just been sold and are empty.

As far as the guy wanting receipts for the appliances - well that seems perfectly reasonable, he is after all buying them from you. Some may have warranty.

You seem to forget that the the person buying is making a transaction probably worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Of course the buyer will want all the paperwork and will demanding of exactly what he wants.

Your EA, as valid and frustrated as he may have sounded, was only interested in his monthly target and commission. The buyers timetable for moving is perfectly reasonable, he after is buying.

Anyway, good luck with your house hunting, where I presume you will implement the boot on your other foot.

Umm singleman - that isn't true. I had to take out buildings insurance once I'd exchanged even though the house was empty. My insurers knew I wasn't able to move in until completion and that was not an issue

Are manufacturer/seller warranties valid for 2nd purchaser/owner?

Depends what they're for, ragged - the warranties on the appliances in my fitted kitchen were valid for two years because they were fitted. I did have to pay to transfer the ownership of the guarantee on the DPC to the new buyer though.

ChristinedePizan It may be that your experience of building insurance is different from what I've stated. However, not all insurance is the same - especially some of the cheaper insurance products.

ragged It depends on the product and contract of sale but many warranties can be past between owners.

ragged In my house the double glazed doors and windows have a 10 year guarantee - the guarantee can be passed on to any new owner.

Singleman - with all due respect, you are totally wrong on the insurance point!

It's ALWAYS recommended to the buyer of a house (not a flat, as that's usually insured by the Man Co) that they put in place buildings insurance on exchange (before completion) as even if the place burnt down between exchange and completion, the buyer would still have to proceed, even if there was no house left to buy.

We are arranging contents insurance as I speak for our rental property!!...common sense, surely??

I guess thats part of why I am so pissed off....the stuff he is demanding to have (warranty wise) is pointless as they are either out of date (DPC) no longer valid (fitted appliances, windows etc) or cannot be transferred. And then when things are covered i.e. velux window he is demanding indemnity insurance!!!! Most odd.

halfbabyhalfbiscuit empty building insurance wouldn't exist if there wasn't a need for it. Moreover, if a buyer is not moving in straight away because they want building work undertaken, or perhaps there looking for tenants to let the building to - then many general insurance policies won't provide adequate cover. Empty properties are considered higher risk. But really, why would you buy a house and leave it empty and at greater risk, if you can delay until you are ready to move in or start work on renovations?

Could it also be that the buyer is looking for dates of purchase and warranties so he/she has some possibility of redress if a fault may occur under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act - which when the damp cause fails would be down to a test of reasonableness - even if any warranty period has expired?

Well if you're buying a house that is rented out, then it's going to be empty from exchange until completion.

Insurance companies do sell entirely needless insurance sometimes, they're not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts :o

Take the lightbulbs with you Also window keys - I expect quite a few have got 'lost' haven't they?

NL

I agree with single man, it's standard to startbyour insurance on daynof completion as that's when you own the property, and many insurers will not want to ensure a vacant property (vacant meaning nobody lives there yet which is different to going on holiday when you have already been living there).

It's odd you lost your purchase just for a couple of weeks delay - had there been other difficulties?

'start your insurance on day of completion' and 'insure! Terrible spelling, sorry!

IME, it is a condition of the mortgage that you have insurance for the property you are buying from exchange, not completion, for the reasons another poster has stated above.

If you are a cash buyer in the true sense of the term- i.e. no mortgage- then it's up to you what you do but you'd be well advised to have insurance from exchange. Which means, yes, you are paying insurance for a house you are not yet living in.

If you buy a repossession then don't you have to complete within a certain timeframe or you lose it? Maybe that's what Bec was buying.

Must say its standard to start your insurance on the day of exchange not completion. And our house was empty for the first couple of weeks as we had a slight overlap and was no issue with insurance at all.

Well done on exchange becarooo!