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Original poster

Dear arseholes

16 replies

melonian · 11/11/2011 11:56

Just wanted to say thankyou so much for pulling out on a spurious reason 5 days before we were due to exchange. It was really helpful that you gave us no indication that you had any doubts and have let us run around like blu-arsed flies for the past 2 weeks collecting receipts and guarantees for every item we have ever purchased to fulfil your obsessional requirements. It is so courteous of you to email your solicitor to break the news and now refuse to pick up the phone to anyone.

Buyers like you give the decent ones a bad name, as we now have to let people down thanks to your flakiness. We had our hearts so set on the new area and our son was going to be able to start school with all his friends. That now won't happen as we have to apply by January. I hope the house you move into has rotten fish behind the radiator.

OP posts:
Pudden · 11/11/2011 13:24

I'm so sorry this has happened to you- you must be gutted.

Northernlurker · 11/11/2011 13:27

Oh dear. How awful of people to do this. There was a poster on here a few weeks ago who was pulling out the day before exchange. She was quite rightly roasted.

Have you rung your estate agents - if not do so and urge them to get people round. Was anyone else interested? Also let the agents you're buying from know. They will not want to lose the sale and can sometimes be very helpful.

headfairy · 11/11/2011 13:29

Bastards! Have a Wine on me. Vendors did exactly the same to us a couple of years ago. Left us homeless as we really needed to sell our flat. We had to live with my mum and dad for three months which reeeeeally tested my levels of patience!

Original poster
melonian · 11/11/2011 14:05

Aww thanks for the sympathy. I know it's not the end of the world but I really think the system needs changing - if people do this they should have to pay our legal fees and our lovely estate agent who has worked really hard on this deal for nothing.

Is this a totally crazy solution - to move into the rented house we were going to anyway and keep this house on until it sells next year? We could pay the mortgage interest only which is £150 and pay rent as well, but would get DS into our school of choice. Am confident this house would sell in the spring - sold within 3 weeks this time. If it didn't sell we would prob have to move back in as a worst case scenario. Is that really stupid? Is insurance a problem if the house is empty for a few months? Would we have to tell the mortgage company?

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 11/11/2011 14:09

Yes you would need to tell them but I agree that's not a bad idea. Why not investigate with your mortgage company.

kenobi · 11/11/2011 14:10

melonian, poor, poor you.

If you can move without seriously disrupting you finances, go ahead. Be aware though that the market won't pick up from the post-christmas lull til end of Jan/Feb, so you'll need a financial cushion for at least that long.
Insurance will need to be told and it might be an issue (might need to see if you can get a house sitter), and you might need to tell the mortgage as well but I'm not sure they'd be too fussed as long as you keep on paying.

Caveat - all my property knowledge is about the SE, rest of UK don't really know about.

Pudden · 11/11/2011 14:10

Our sale fell through on our previous house (buyer changed her mind- humph) and we still moved out as we had got such a good price on our new home; it would never come about again.

Our old house stood empty for three months and the insurer and mortgage company were happy with that. Bloody big sigh of relief though when it finally sold

AurraSing · 11/11/2011 14:16

I would carry on with your plans and move to rented. If it sold that quickly, there's no reason that it wouldn't again.

notcitrus · 11/11/2011 14:24

We had this on the day of exchange, both trying to buy our last place and then when selling the one we got instead!

In both cases all the local EAs (they chat to each other) were falling over themselves to help us and we bought a place at the nicer end of the same estate for £25k cheaper. Selling, we got a bidding war within 48 hours - and eventually moved 4 months later than planned.

Renting sounds like a good idea - we ended up exchanging on our current house with an agreement to complete within 6 months, but I wouldn't be up for that in the current climate unless renting out your old place would definitely cover the mortgage if necessary.

Teslaedison · 11/11/2011 14:45

Melonian

My heart goes out to you as we are in exactly the same situation. They had three months, three months to faff around and a week before exchange, 'oh we don't want it now'. WTF?

I took the kids to school the next day and one of the teachers asked me how things were going and I burst into tears in the playground. The poor teacher hides when she sees me coming now!

Husband tells me not to think bad of these people as in the long run it will only hurt me more.

Hope that things work out for you and your family.

betterwhenthesunshines · 13/11/2011 22:33

System does need changing we had sellers pull out on us after 3 months of arrangements, solicitors fees, survey costs, waiting for the 2 divircing parties to manage to talk to each other. Problem is, how do you draw the line when it becomes definite.

I feel for you, but if you have a rental place lined up, then I'd go ahead with that. Good luck.

HappyAsEyeAm · 14/11/2011 14:04

I sympathise. Buying a new house is so all consuming, and you feel that you ahve to commit emotionally to the move as that will be your family home for the next X years.

We've had this - we were trying to buy a house that was for sale. We offered the asking price - offer accepted, and we were progressing towards exchange. The sellers were a divorcing couple, who apparently couldn't wait to sell so that they could share the money and move on with their lives. Everything was going quickly and smoothly.

And then they remembered that their DS would be choosing his options for his GCSEs 3 months after the anticipated completion date (which everyone had been working to since the offer was accepted), and they didn't want to disurb his schooling in any way, so they decided to withdraw the house from the market until the summerr holidays, which were 6 months off.

By then, we'd found somewhere else and completed on that purchase, the housing market had fallen, and they sold their house for £35K less than we'd offered. That made me feel better.

MrsZoidberg · 14/11/2011 17:03

Oh OP you have my sympathies. At least the gits buying mine pulled out way before exchange.

Good Luck finding another buyer.

FootballFriendSays · 17/11/2011 00:48

Melonian - so sorry to read this. This has happened twice to us and it's horrible. I would go ahead and rent in the new area, if you can afford it.

Becaroooo · 17/11/2011 09:54

renting sounds a good idea to me.

good luck x

dilbertina · 17/11/2011 09:54

Our house is empty at the moment because we are living abroad and it is on market. The mortgage/insurance were fine about it. They stipulate that someone should be checking house internally every fortnight, and that after mid-November the central heating must be on with thermostat set to something or other, or alternatively central heating system must be drained.

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