How long is reasonable to expect a buyer to wait?

[Coconutfeet]

We had an offer on our flat in the first week of January. We are now looking for somewhere to move to but haven't had any luck so far. (Put a good offer in on one place and the buyer decided not to sell after all). We're viewing a couple of places this weekend, but otherwise have to wait until new properties come on the market in our area, as there's not a lot around.

Our buyer has just said told the estate agent she needs to complete by the end of March. This is because she is a first time buyer and the stamp duty relief ends then. She didn't mention this at the beginning.

If push comes to shove we could offer to pay something towards her stamp duty, move into rental (there are a whole host of issues with that which I won't go into here) or let the sale fall through. But I don't want to be forced into doing any of those until a reasonable amount of time has passed for us to find a place to buy. Trouble is, I don't really know what's reasonable. Can anyone advise?

Anyone?

There is no 'reasonable' really, you're not trying to make friends. It's a contract, you set out your minimum acceptable terms and she decides whether to accept them or walk away. You just need to decide how happy you are for her to walk away.

To be honest I would have expected your estate agent to pick up on the fact that your buyer was a first time buyer. Have they seen the mortgage offer and a bank statement covering the deposit?

The problem here is that this isn't just about how long it will take you to find, it is also about the position of your vendors - are you looking at the type of properties which typically have no further chain, or you likely to have to wait whilst your vendor finds something?

Yes, the buyer's mortage offer/finances have been checked and are apparently fine. I hadn't been aware of the stamp duty thing as we aren't first time buyers so didn't realise it was relevent to us.

We are looking at anything we possibly can that fits the bill. Obviously anywhere that's got no onward chain is appealing, but there's so little around that we don't have a choice really. It's quite possible that our vendors, when we find a property, will also have to find a place. I'm just not sure how long that usually takes.

God, it's such a fine balance. I thought it was bad enough buying a place as a first time buyer. This whole buying and selling business is so much worse!

Your EA would have been aware though, and should have been pointing it out. The stamp duty exemption is about the only thing causing much incentive in the market at present (lots of people trying to get chains together, and quickly).

Currently my buyers have given us a month to find. Our last buyers waited for 10 weeks.

Interesting. I had no idea that it had been having such an impact. Yes, the EA might have though to mention it...

So Ladymuck, you had a buyer who waited 10 weeks and then did it fall through because you hadn't found anything?

We hadn't found anything, they're being bought by a FTB (who needs to complete by March, and whose mortgage offer would expire), so they opted to go into rented instead. As they were moving to ours for school catchment, they no longer need to buy in this area if they rent here for a year. We have another buyer who is chain free so March deadline is no longer an issue for us. Apparently the average length of time to completion is 10 weeks now, so you may need to consider a new buyer.

You may be right Ladymuck. I think we'll offer her some money towards the stamp duty if it becomes a deal breaker but we also need to be prepared to lose her.

Good luck with your search. Hope you get it all sorted soon.