Can anything be done legally about time wasting arsehole buyers?

[catfeets]

We thought we had the buyers from hell until they pulled out and we got even worse ones. We're completely at a loss for what we can do now they've pulled out after 5mths waiting for them to complete.

They've cost us thousands, plus they demanded we empty the property months ago so we've been paying storage costs too. We've found them trespassing on the property, found tradesmen up on the roof, they've pretty much forced access to the property too and refused to leave as they 'have the right to do anything they want to their property' . They're absolute arseholes and waited until the day of completion to drop their offer by £7k. We accepted and set a new date - they then sent word on that date they wanted another £15k off as the house is completely uninhabitable (there's nothing wrong with it and the builders confirmed that to them). We told them to fuck off, put it back on the market and within a day had 25 viewings lined up.
They saw it was relisted, panicked and reverted to their previous offer which we accepted provided they complete within 3 days. They accepted and started transferring money to their solicitor ready for tomorrow - now we've had word from their solicitor they've pulled out.
We're now stuck with legal fees and a house we cannot afford to run. We should have known they were cunts when they asked to be left to view the property alone and we found them dragging furniture across the expensive flooring and ripping up carpets to look underneath.
The amount of CF behaviour we've put up with is far too long to list here but I'm guessing they just get away with what they've done?
Does anyone know any way we can get back any of the legal costs etc?
Or has anyone any ways to take revenge on them (only half joking).

Obviously all the viewings for this week were cancelled and as my DP is working long shifts and I've slipped a disc, we can't do work to the property (it's not fit for viewings now it's been left for 5mths as the garden is a jungle and it looked lovely on the marketing photos). We're going to end up stuck in a chain selling it this time around which we can't afford to do. The knobheads were in rental and didn't need a mortgage so seemed ideal at first.

Sorry about the long post, just needed to vent about them. They really have ruined so much for us as we will now lose the property we wanted to buy.

Are you sure no one can help with the garden at the weekend? or after work, it's light until 10? 6 people with shears can do a lot in 5 to 6 hours, supply some cold drinks and some sausages on a bbq.

If not and you are losing money as it is I think you will have to arrange for a gardener to tidy up the garden.

You’ve had really awful buyers but I would put both houses in the market at the same time. Then live in whichever doesn’t sell and continue to market it. I totally understand about being stuck in an unsuitable house for small children as I am.

Empty houses can be just as sell able. Not everybody can see past other peoples' belongings and style. The last time I was house hunting I saw several properties that looked nothing like the RightMove or the estate agents' photos!

I'd get the big bits of furniture moved back in. Some people don't see things unless the living room has a couch and the dining room a table kind of thing. Save on the storage fees till it sells, and insist on a week between exchangge and completion so you can move stuff out then.
They sound like a nightmare.
Put some lamps with timers on in the halls and bedroom in case they think it's still empty.

@fruitbrewhaha we don't really have anyone to ask. We're not social people so don't have friends we can ask, and there's just our parents who are old and a bit too frail to be setting them to work. I'm pretty sure my brother would say no as he has very little time off work and he's offered no help whatsoever so far.

We went over and my DP did 3hrs in the garden tonight. Just the mowing has made a huge difference. He is working long shifts tues and weds so will have to go through early Thursday before the viewings start that day. It's a lovely garden and is a good selling point due to size and not being overlooked.

If they have not exchanged contracts you should not be accomodating them at all, and you should not have moved out.

@gonewiththerain I've suggested that to my DP but he seems quite resistant as he feels we'll get stuck with his property again and will lose the property we want.
It's not feasible for me to commute to work from where he lives so it would have to sell really quickly once we moved in there. He also owns it jointly with his mum, so she's desperate for her half of the money back to buy a house of her own.

My house is ideal for a first time buyer so would probably be a quick sale. We need to do a few more weeks of work before we can market it. His property is the sort of property older couples would downsize to but we were getting mainly younger couples hoping to get a massive reduction so they could extend it.

@PigletJohn we had to move out regardless. We can't afford the bills for 2 houses. We have a new baby so living apart isn't feasible.

@00Alan I hope it goes ok for you. That's how it started for us, we agreed a reduction and then they kept asking for more.
You're right, some people really can be dicks.

The first people we sold to wanted the house contents for free . They were genuinely confused as to why we said no and pulled out of the sale saying we'd upset them.

If your house sold would you be able to get a mortgage on your part of DPs house until that sold so you could buy another?
I think sometimes buyers see a younger couple/person with a empty house and assume they are desperate to sell, especially if the potential buyers are older people (sweeping generalisation but based on my experience).

Where were your solicitors in all this? Unhelpful lot as well?

There's not a great deal that solicitors or estate agents can do when faced with arsehole buyers such as this.

Some people are dicks, and buying/selling houses seems to bring out the worst in people who are already dickish.

@LOVELYDOVEY05 no the solicitor wasn't great. They will only do email contact at the moment as they are working from home so all contact has been slow.

Just put it back on the market at the price you were going to offer these cunty buyers. Then make it clear to the estate agent you only want someone in a chain.

Oh God, I'm so sorry to hear you've been through this. On top of having a baby plus lockdown, it must be so hard.
The one thing I would advise is to treat the house as your house until the very last minute though. If the gardening needs doing, you do it. Do not make any changes to it, including moving stuff out at your expense, until you have to. Also, I would dump the estate agents and find another, and let them do all viewings.

I can't understand where this came from

'they have the right to do anything they want to their property'

if they hadn't bought it, or even exchanged.

@PigletJohn exactly! They don't seem like they're on this planet.

They fully believed they were entitled to go into the property whenever they wanted and do anything to it because they'd agreed to buy it. The estate agent told them they were wrong so they cut all contact with them, stating that they felt bullied and harassed. They even started to employ builders and intended them to do the work while we still lived in it. When we told them no, they started being even more difficult.

I can't understand where this came from

Unfortunately some people are deluded, entitled arseholes.

@gonewiththerain not sure what we could do about getting a mortgage as his mum's half of the property is worth more than my house will sell for. We could maybe try to get a joint mortgage for the full amount including the existing mortgage on it, but I'm guessing there'll be a lot of fees involved and probably not worth it as I can't commute to work from that house so it has to sell ASAP.