fuck and bollox been gazundered

[plim]

need some advice please, been gazundered two days before exchange by ftbuyers. They dropped their offer by 17k this morning stating the reason that it's going to cost them more than they thought to convert the office, outhouse and to do some remedial work like damp course, electrics and repointing.

The house is an absolute bargain already as we dropped the price by 40k to get a quick sale so we can get the house we want in time for my two children to start schools in september. We previously had tenants in there and they have now left, we have given notice on our tenancy for where we are living and are due to move in two weeks (completion date).

I immediately told the ea to stick it straight on the market and there has already been 3 viewings tonight, meanwhile, ea are trying to salvage the buyers offer by pointing out that there is electrical and damp certificates and a new damp course that was installed three months ago.

I am so, so devastated, don't know where we are going to live and god knows what to do about the kids school!!

fuckity fuck fuck

rant over! :(

There was talk of a pre-exchange contract a while ago I believe. I think it would solve a lot of problems - before Christmas we were about to exchange (2 hours from it) and the buyer pulled out. After having pushed and pushed to exchange within four weeks of accepting the offer, after we'd run around like mad finding a rental property, after we'd paid a deposit, found a removal company prepared to move us a week before Christmas and paid them a deposit.......

We lost a good couple of thousand on that - a contract which stipulates that if the buyer pulls out they pay x amount to the vendor and vice versa so that everyone's costs are covered, and perhaps a small amount of compensation on top would be good. It would stop people messing about, focus their attention on a property and save endless stress on both sides. I am well aware that sellers are as likely as buyers to mess people about (not in Plim's case obviously), and this way both sides should be protected from each other as we are apparently incapable of behaving decently without the law being involved!

The problems with a seller funding a survey is that a lot of buyers and their mortgage companies don't accept them - they want to do their own. I think that is partly why the HIP's system failed.

Also beear in mind that even if you go with the twats they could still cause issues after the sale if their behaviour now is anything to go by...complaints about f&f? complaints about how the house was left?
I would be very very wary of dealing with these people.
And their EA is also to blame for not pointing out to them that they are being twats.

They need to get the mortgage re-offered at lower amount?? Really?

Can't they just borrow the original amount and retain £3.5k for the work?

So they're holding you up because they are offering less?

As they've been such twats I'd be tempted to say ok original offer by the end of the day or we go with full price offer.

frostyfingers,

A contract makes sense. Seller pays buyer if seller pulls out (no excuses). And Buyer pays seller if buyer pulls out.

Why is this not done in England?

Plim,

You also have the option of a "contract race". Buyers and solicitors hate them, as buyers are insecure and solicitors have to work their arses off. On the other hand, if a property is in demand, then it does spur everyone to exchange and complete quickly, and on your terms. And, if one buyer pulls out on that basis, you know who is serious. The risk is everyone pulls out and you have to go back in an embarrassed why to try to get them interested again.

Frosty that would be wise. In hindsight our buyer was akways flakey she needed something to make her exchange. Pulling out the day before was taking the piss. I found the ea useless at salavaging the sale - we did that together with the people we were buying from.

I think there was mention of it in a Private Member's bill in Parliament sometime in the last year or so - but as usual it's died a death. I think it would be a fantastic thing to have, we were so stressed out by our pissy buyers that I was convinced I was going to explode!

I have to confess that we wrote them a letter after they pulled out explaining exactly what costs we had incurred, and the problems they had caused us. We weren't asking for money back or anything, just wanted them to know how much aggro their behaviour had caused. Even our EA was gobsmacked by them!

Anyway Plim - keep your cool, you're lucky that you still have lots of viewings and interest to keep them on their toes. Only you can decide whether you've had enough of your idiot buyers, and it will work out in the end. It's hard to see that sometimes, but it will. Good luck for today.

There is a simpler way of doing it. Some people ask the purchaser to put down a small non-refundable deposit (normally 1-2k) as an indication of intent. However, some genuine purchasers are distrustful of doing so and, if it falls through on survey, who decides whether it is genuine (and the deposit is refunded) or making something out of nothing. It is swings and roundabouts. You can ask for it but you won't necessarily get it and you can put off genuine purchasers.

I would never do this and when I see it asked for it makes me suspicious of the house and of the sellers.

If the new offer checks out, personally I would tell arsewipes that you will only go with them if they exchange by the end of tomorrow and at the original price.

If they need to get their mortgage agreed at the newer price it could easily take a couple of weeks - and what is to stop arsewipes actually agreeing, say £5k less with their mortgage company and then presenting it as a fait accompli that you will have to agree this or lose your school place because of the timing? They have already proved that they will play dirty and I wouldn't trust them as far as you can throw them.

If they don't exchange, go with the other offer but tell them that they have a two week deadline.

Any kind of deposit or contract needs to be done only after any post-survey negotiations.

tawse57,

Would you sign a contract with a buyer or seller? With the party who pulls out loses a sum mentioned in the contract?

SoupDragon,

In England, on average how long does it take for a prospective buyer to arrange a survey? And for it to complete?

Blimey Plim tell them to do one. I completely get your stress, says she sitting amidst a pile of boxes and moving a week before school starts....

I can't believe the gazunderers are now pleading 'distress'. I would be tempted to go with the race. You'll exchange with whoever gets the contracts done first.

your buyers really are taking the piss plim - they have no monopoly on it since they started playing silly buggers, i would be tempted to find out if the proceedable buyers really are proceedable and go with them - tell the buyers who are pissing about to fuck off and find someone elses head to mess with.

The problem with a contract 'race' at this point is that, if I was the other couple, I would pull out. They have to start from scratch and they know that the other couple are basically all set bar getting the change in mortgage approved.

I'd be wary of getting into a contract race anyway because of the risk of spending quite a lot of money for no result (I know that can happen anyway, but the risks are obviously higher), but if I thought I was starting at a real disadvantage it would put me off.

The original buyers can exchange pretty much immediately if they want to. They just need to stop pissing about over £3.5k that they can obviously afford (or they wouldn't have had the mortgage agreed at that level in the first place). I think that if there is other interest the arsewipes need to either put up or shut up!

Reading through the thread again. This shows the perfect dynamics of a Race Course. Until a horse wins, every other horse has a chance of winning.

To remove the dynamics, could someone suggest something better than a contract or money on the line in case of "pull out" by one party.

QuestionQuestion I'm not sure I understand the relevance of your question to what I posted

Yes - agree with YoullLaugh - you're likely to lose both buyers if you do a contract race. Solicitors will require money upfront (both for their fees and searches), so the 'loser' is going to be paying out a lot of cash for nothing. It'd put me off from the outset.

Hope the EA's confirm that the other offerer is ready to go and you can go with them.

Or tell the first buyers that they pay the original agreed price and exchange today. No waiting for the mortgage offer to be re-issued.

Good luck

Would you sign a contract with a buyer or seller? With the party who pulls out loses a sum mentioned in the contract?

No, because some contracts are ambiguous in that each party can claim the other person has done X or not done Y. In other words, you then end up in a legal contest, costing money no doubt, just to work out that contract let alone the purchase/sale of the house.

The idea of a buyer putting down X amount and giving it to the seller just opens a whole can of worms with regards to unscrupulous sellers - some people could make a very nice 'living' out of conning unsuspecting buyers IMPO.

The house buying selling game in England, Wales and NI is a mess, and open to exploitation, but such contracts would only make it worse IMPO.

I think we need to be more like the Scottish, and I think, the US systems where once you put in an offer and an agreed price then the sale is effectively agreed there and then at that price. This does not allow either party to then gazunder or gazump or for the seller to come back with a fictional buyer who has supposedly offered more money.

SoupDragon,

You mentioned "Any kind of deposit or contract needs to be done only after any post-survey negotiations."

This means that there is a cooling off period which is naturally dictated by the buyers doing a survey. It is during this period that if multiple buyers existed they could all do their surveys and then the contract can be entered into.

What is the average time for a survey to get done?

Go with the proceedable offer and put the pressure on the solicitor and agent to pull it all together They get paid enough

Is it worth pointing out to arsewipes that you have two other offers on the table at the price you have previously agreed with them, that you only accepted thier offer because they were in a position to close quickly, the reason you needed to close quickly has now passed, so if they want the house, they either exchange today, at the original price, or start looking elsewhere?

I am so not buying the mortgage issue, and even if true they are going DOWN not up so should be a quick phone call.....