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Original poster

How long to give the vendor to find somewhere?

20 replies

KitKat1985 · 04/12/2017 17:33

Hi all. Our house is under offer and we have started conveyancing on our sale. We had an offer accepted 2 weeks ago on the house we want to buy. But the vendor of that house hasn't found anywhere yet she wants to buy so hasn't appointed a solicitor or anything, so we're just sitting here waiting. We popped into our vendor's EA last week and they were very keen to stress that the vendor has taken her house off the market for us and is keen to sell to us, and that she is actively looking at places to buy, but I'm not sure how long we should wait for. I know 2 weeks isn't that long, but the market is in that 'pre-Christmas lull' and there's not much coming onto the market, so we could be waiting a while at this rate. How long do you think is fair to give the vendor to find somewhere? We do really like the house (and I think we got it for a fairly good price TBH) but we're keen to get on with things and this indefinite waiting is starting to stress me out a bit (not least because obviously we may then have to wait for the vendors of the house she offers on to find somewhere, and so on and so on until the chain completes).

OP posts:

OrlandoTheMarmaladeCat · 04/12/2017 17:38

How long is a piece of string? It depends on how much you want that particular house. I would tell the EA that you are prepared to wait for x more weeks and then you will look for another property. That way, they should be able to put a bit of pressure on the vendor. Be warned though, we were strung along for 3 months on a property and in the end the vendor never did find anything else.

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 04/12/2017 17:46

Yeah I'm inclined to think we'll give her another 2 weeks or so and then if we've still got nowhere tell the vendor's EA we're going to start looking at other properties.

We do really like the house but I don't think I'm prepared to wait indefinitely for it. Especially because I don't want to lose our buyer because they get fed up waiting too. And I don't really want the hassle of moving into rented on a temporary basis unless we really have to, as it'll be really disruptive (not to mention expensive).

OP posts:

OneDayIWillHaveAGreatUsername · 04/12/2017 19:08

We had this twice
The first time we fell head over heels in love with the house and waited for FIVE MONTHS! In that time we lost two buyers but there was literally nothing else in the area we wanted so just waited and waited. Finally they conceded that they weren't able to find anything and were taking the house off the market. The next house we had an offer accepted on had us waiting for seven weeks before we had deja vu and we pulled out, having found a chain free vacant property to buy.

Overall I'm glad we didn't get either of those houses as the one we've ended up in is the best (location, size, potential etc).

Good luck

OneDayIWillHaveAGreatUsername · 04/12/2017 19:10

I should add that if I were you I wouldn't spend any money on surveys/conveyancing if you can avoid it - only do all of that when you know the onward chain is sound.
The suggestion of giving the EA a time limit is good but I'd also keep looking yourself just so you have back-ups (plus you may stumble across an even better place!).

MissWimpyDimple · 04/12/2017 19:10

This happened to a friend. In the end it turned out that the vendor didn't actually WANT to sell at all - was part of a divorce settlement, so she wasn't really making much effort to find something to buy

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 04/12/2017 19:27

Yeah thank you for your replies. My general sense is that if the vendor hasn't found anywhere in a couple of weeks then they are probably being unrealistic as to what they can get on their budget. Their EA told me they were looking for a bungalow in town X. I've looked and there's loads of bungalows for sale in town X right now so not sure why she's having so much trouble finding something.

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LIZS · 04/12/2017 19:32

I would give them until NY. Little will happen legally over Christmas and new properties may come to the market then, so you may also find wider choice if it falls through.

butterfly56 · 04/12/2017 19:33

I would keep looking and line up other options as this could drag on for months. I had this happen to me and was given the run around for 6months! Eventually I pulled out and found a far better property the same week.

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 04/12/2017 19:36

Oh I wouldn't be prepared to wait months. We need to be in by the summer at the absolute latest really as we need to start looking / applying for primary schools for DD1 in the Autumn and obviously house location / catchment areas will be a big part of that. So we really we need to be in a complete chain by the end of winter really or else we're never going to get through conveyancing to be in the house in time.

OP posts:

mayhew · 04/12/2017 19:51

We waited 7 months. They are still there. 20 years later!

AJPTaylor · 04/12/2017 19:56

Tbh i would keep looking. We were very lucky that people we bought from found a chain free place within 3 weeks but i kept looking because we needed to move by end of july ( this was may) .

Lilmisskittykat · 04/12/2017 20:00

I would keep looking and let the vendor know that you are.

Time limit would be tricky to suggest. I've been looking to buy since October and it's just got slower and slower with less and less properties being listed.

It might be likely they won't find something til the housing market traditionally picks up. Would they be open to renting?

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 04/12/2017 20:33

I don't know if they would be open to renting or not. It's something we could ask I guess.

OP posts:

Lilmisskittykat · 04/12/2017 21:32

Worth an ask - might give a bit of an indication about how serious they are to sell?

Mosaic123 · 04/12/2017 21:54

Now this is why we haven't put our house up for sale until we find somewhere to buy.

We want a bungalow but there are very few of a good size in our large chosen area which is around 4 or 5 outer London tube stations.

Our house is in a very popular location and will ask quickly, EAs agree. I dint think it's fair to ask a potential purchaser of our house to wait months and months.

DancesWithOtters · 04/12/2017 21:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sdaisy26 · 04/12/2017 21:55

Well we sold in February and didn't find anything til mid June! We were looking hard in that time & had a couple of false starts but were amazed our buyers waited as long as they did tbh.

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 05/12/2017 02:34

Yeah thank you for your replies. Obviously a lot of variation in waiting times. Guess me and DH need to have a serious chat in a week or two if we're still in the same boat as to what we should do next.

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BubblesBuddy · 05/12/2017 21:34

Can you sell yours and then rent if the vendor is taking too long? That way you don’t lose the sale. Quite a few people I have known do that. Likewise the bungalow situation. If they are difficult to find, the vendor may choose a cash buyer over someone who still has to sell. Always sell, rent if you have to, buy!

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 06/12/2017 08:39

Yeah if we have to Bubbles then we would go into rented, rather than risk losing our buyer. But it would add a lot of extra hassle and expense so we would rather avoid it if we could.

OP posts:

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