vendor being awkward - what to do?

[jellyandsoup]

We are in the process of moving, we sold our house and found another we liked, only the 3 ladies in the chain all nice and easy ha ha ha Anyway last week at the last minute our buyer pulled out (we were supposed to be moving tomorrow) and the vendor said he would put his back on the market

So this week we have found another buyer who is super keen and is in rented and the vendor of the original house has re-accepted our offer, but is refusing to take it off the marketthis time untill contracts are exchanged.it is making me and our buyer extremely nevrvous, but we really want that house, the estate agent says he is very difficult to deal with and doesn't intend to sell it to anyone else. What would you do?

Nothing. Get your buyer to get his butt in gear to get to exchange as soon as possible.

Ask EA to have a chat with vendor to explain why that is not a realistic plan. I get vendor might want to "line up" other prospective buyers in case chain collapses again. But logically, it won't work:
1/ prospective buyers viewing house being told there's already an offer on house will either not want to get in a bid war and withdraw offer or not accept same conditions (house stays on market if their offer is accepted)
2/ prospective buyers aren't told there's already an offer and make an offer - it's rejected because house already has an offer?! EA is not going to want to waste his time and piss off potential clients by showing them a house that's not really for sale. So the vendor isn't really lining up potential new buyers, just alienating them and the EA. Or it's accepted, and vendor finds himself in same dilemma.

Nobody keeps marketing their house if they accept a serious offer.

Namechange, our buyer is moving as fast as they possibly can, offer only went in yesterday and they have already taken I all documentation and instructed solicitors and is hoping to buy the searches done by previous buyers to speed things up.

we have an excellent relationship with the ea and they say he is a very difficult man to deal with and is unlikely to change hos mind, but I think I will get them to have another chat with him and see if we can get something sorted. Our contracts for buying this property are signed and with the solicitor so just waiting on our buyer. Our offer is good too, mortgage totally sorted offer only 1.5% under asking price too, just seems crazy! 1

Where are you? What contracts do you mean? Have you exchanged? Are you in escrow?

Contracts are often signed early in readiness for exchange, but can sit on the file for months while all the enquiries and searches are sought. It is only subject to these being agreed, that exchange can then take place with just a phone call to the other solicitors.

If it's any comfort, we also lost our buyer and the new buyer had to do things quickly to "catch up", but all ended well. Mind you, although our vendor threatened to re-market her property several times, she didn't actually go through with it, after the EA advised her how counterproductive that would be.

What a nightmare for you. If I were you I'd call his bluff... call the agent and ask them to start arranging you some viewings on other houses, telling them that you are sad to have to do it but it would seem the chances are the vendor isn't serious about selling. That should be the kick up the arse they need to sort this mess out! The vendor may well be difficult to handle but handling him is what they're getting paid for at the end of the day. It's their job to sort this out and to point out to the vendor that you could make this whole thing fall apart if you choose to buy something else.

Agree with cats. Sounds like agents are handling you too and you're easier to manage/roll over than the seller. Agents will always make the least effort possible as long as they get the sale. If they can lean on you to accept something this ludicrous instead of dealing with a difficult seller - they will!

Hmmm I hadn't really thought of it like that, I think I will have a proper conversation with them about it, my th is so relaxed about it, but it is stressing me out. We just really want that house.

I would find that really stressful too. We are waiting to exchange and I am finding it agonising and we do not have this extra hassle and aggravation. You have great strength of position and it sounds like he just wants a safety net. If you can't influence the situation try to switch off to it!