Chain just collapsed - gutted

[Minstrelsaremarvellous]

Was due to exchange and complete on Thursday. Solicitor sent me an email this morning saying that all paperwork was in and that we were going to exchange today. Booked the removal men, then get phonecall at 4.45pm saying the first person in the chain has pulled out of her sale and purchase. I've got a 4yr old and a 6mth old, my purchasers had a baby last Monday and there is another on in the chain of 5 who is due a baby anyday. I'm pretty hacked off (resigned to what will be, will be) and frustrated that it had taken this woman more than 4mths to do this. She's waited until the last minute and has proven to be a time and money waster. Naff all we can do - ah, vent over!

Perhaps the first person gazundered at the last minute - offered a lower price than originally agreed.

Apparently more and more people are now doing this in this falling market where the average house price is apparently losing 1K to 2K per month dependent upon which index you believe.

Perhaps you should go back and offer a lower price on the house you wish to buy?

Thanks tawse - we're the last in the chain so no link to the person who has withdrawn. Not a lot we can do - apart from pay the solicitor and get on with it. I know these things happen and it means we meant for something else. It doesn't stop it being frustrating. As I'm on mat leave, the money we've spent so far has been thrown away. Grrr!

I think in the current market you have to be very careful about the house you buy from a chain/proceedable point of view.

According to some of the 'sensible' EAs I speak to several things are going on:

1. Banks withdrawing mortgage offers at the last minute citing japanese knotweed, damp, unmade roads, etc, as an excuse for not wanting to lend the sum of money. The banks believe that house prices have much further to fall so if the mortgage ends up above 80% of the asking price they withdraw the offer apparently.

1. Buyers gazundering at the last minute.

1. Sellers gazumping or wanting more money at the last minute - these are the worst as they are in complete denial about how bad the housing market is currently.

I almost bought a house 3 weeks ago at auction - had been on for 325K originally, dropped to 270K where it hung for a year and then went to auction where it sold for 215K. I was so close to bidding on it.

What I mean is, at least at auction you do not get messed around by any of the above but, even if you cannot go down the auction route, knowing about the above might help you avoide similar problems in the future.

Withdrawing mortgage offers above 80% is not true, tawse57. We've been approved for an up to 85% mortgage, in writing, by HSBC. You can get higher ratios too, but the interest rates jump with them. So it could be that affordability is the issue.

Regarding gazundering and gazumping, some people are always going to try it on to get a better deal. Unfortunately, because of the way property sales work in this country, there's not a whole lot you can do to stop it.

But that might not be the situation in this case. Perhaps the buyer that dropped out has had a family tragedy? Perhaps they were made redundant? We just don't know the situation.

Besides, I'm not sure how knowing any of that is going to help the Op not experience this situation again - since the chain break was several houses down the chain from their own and therefore almost completely out of their control!

Are people meant to ask potential buyers at time of offer whether their buyer's buyer's buyer is definitely able to proceed, can guarentee they're not going to change their mind and look in their crystal ball to make sure they don't have any calamities approaching?

I'm sorry to hear your chain collapsed, Minstrelsaremarvellous. Hopefully someone will come along soon and get things moving again! Is the rest of the chain holding together, or has the whole thing come apart now?

You may be able to salvage the situation.

This is where a good estate agent or a switched-on vendor will really come into their own.

Someone needs to get onto the broken link and - in as conciliatory a manner as possible - find out exactly what is going on.

If they've been made redundant or lost their mortgage offer (which can and does happen even at this late stage) there is very little you can do.

BUT, if the broken link has dropped out because of a loss of nerve (or even from a cynical attempt at gazundering), the go-between can try finding out if there's a price that will get the deal done. X percentage price cut, for example. You then ask everyone up the chain to accept the same percentage price cut.

No-one (apart from the person at the top of the chain) loses out here, apart from the bank or building society.

Yes, this is unfair on the person at the top of the chain, but you may find they accept on the basis that 95% of what they thought they were getting is better than 100% of nothing.

Jumping on this thread to share your pain and vent a bit myself. We've been trying to move for a year.

First we had a buyer pull out, just after we'd had an offer accepted on House 1. She had her AIP for a 10% deposit, but when it came to it the bank changed their mind about lending to her unless she came up with an extra 5% so she was forced to withdraw.

Fortunately the Place 1 vendor was willing to wait for us to find another buyer which we did fairly quickly. Then days before exchange of contracts his daughter tried to commit suicide so, quite understandably, he changed his mind about retiring overseas to stay in London and support her. So we lost Place 1.

Then a couple of weeks ago we were ready to exchange on Place 2 and on the morning of exchange the person at the top of the chain just sold to someone else. Not even for more money - we have no clue why.

So now we're back to waiting for our vendors to find somewhere else to buy and start the process again. We're lucky we don't live in the property we have to sell (it's my single girl flat from before I moved in with DP) so we're not going to lose our buyer but we've been set back months. Again. And we're stuck in our 1-bed flat with an 18mo DD and my partner running his small business from the living room. So, so frustrating.

I'm sorry to hear that :(

Oh no. That's awful. I'd be gutted too.

All v confusing as I've had phonecall today from my solicitor saying it might be back on. I'm surrounded by boxes, my husband is abroad with work, DD1 is away (helps me a bit) and DD2 is currently snoozing in bed. Don't know whether I'm coming or going! Solicitor is digging to find out and our Estate Agent is doing a grand job of trying to salvage something. Apparently the woman is divorcing and selling the house as she has to. I know what that's like as I've been through it but I know people in the chain are distraught. Fingers crossed!

Oh I feel your pain. Fingers crossed and sending you (((hugs)))

Thanks jolly - pizza and beer tonight!

"Withdrawing mortgage offers above 80% is not true, tawse57. "

I have been told by several different estate agents that chains have collapsed at the last minute because the banks suddenly withdrew the mortgage offer from one person/couple in the chain.

I have been told that the banks have suddenly told people that they will no longer offer X percentage in a mortgage, for example - an 80% mortgage, but have reduced the amount of mortgage they are prepared to give, for example - changing an 80% mortgage to a 75% mortgage, wanting a bigger deposit from the buyers at the last minute.

I have been told this by different estate agents in different firms and have no reason to doubt them.

Unfucking believable..... After woman pulled out on Monday she was "back in" on Tuesday, her solicitors forced my purchasers to get a mortgage offer extended, which they sorted/paid for on Wednesday. Come Thursday we're all ready to exchange and she withdraws again because she doesn't feel like it. We've lost our new build home that we were ready to exchange on and I'm so angry! Why make the chain go through this twice in less than a week.

That's terrible, some people are so selfish. I think you deserve a

She doesn't feel like it?

"her solicitors forced my purchasers to get a mortgage offer extended, which they sorted/paid for"

What does the above mean - who paid for the mortgage offer to be extended? How much did it cost?

This woman sounds a complete timewaster.

There is a couple who do the rounds in Swansea apparently putting in offers in on houses, often near asking price offers, and they tag people along for months apparently before pulling out. I have lost out on buying a house due to them and they high offers on houses which they later pulled out of.

I found out about them by chance when talking to an estate agent who told me that, allegedly, the couple are well known. Why oh why do the EAs continue to accept offers from this couple is beyond me - surely they would blacklist them by now?

So sorry to hear about the stress this woman is causing you. Try and have a relaxing weekend.

tawse - have you still not bought your house?

It's about time the law was changed to stop this happening to people. People like that make my blood boil.

Feel I should mention we are being talked about on Housepricecrash

ha, that housepricecrash thread is hilarious, what a bitter load of people on it. It appears that if you own a house (whether you have lots of equity, or none), you're a twat, according to them!

Tawse - my purchasers mortgage offer was due to expire this Monday. Woman said she'd progress if they could extend mortgage offer and give people time to prepare/pack. My purchasers paid for extension. I really feel for them

Buttons - the gorgeous new build was doing a PX on my DH's house (we were selling both to buy one new house together). We might ask about PX on mine but might be pushing it double

Still, it's not that my house is rubbish, I think it's lovely but we just wanted something together. Nice glass of vino tonight and a sunny weekend with DC!

Skid-marks, prawns, dog shit...

Imagine what the world would be like if grown-ups fulfilled contracts in that manner.

Clearly some of the posters here are out of their depth in matters like contract negotiation. Peurile, spiteful, unethical.

Plim, keep a cool head and focus on the task - selling your house.