Vendor wants to re-list

[changemynameok]

Vendor wanted 6 week turnaround. Explained to EA that’s unrealistic during ‘normal’ time let alone now during Covid and that my mortgage app wasn’t in yet, but seems EA didn’t pass this message on to vendor so vendor has been chasing repeatedly.
Lender taking a while to approve mortgage - 3 weeks so far. Have kept EA up to date the whole time, copied into emails with mortgage broker stating delayed turnaround times for lenders.

Held off conveyancing in short term as wanted to see if mortgage approved before being liable for conveyancing costs. As it’s taking so long have taken the risk and instructed solicitors this week. EA has known this the whole time and I have confirmed that instruction has now happened. Sols said they’ll work quickly.
EA emailed today at 5.30pm to say that as it’s taking so long, vendor wants to re-list.
Don’t know what to do now about conveyancing - have instructed but do not want the solicitors to start searches if vendor is going to pull out of sale. EA not available until next week.

Any suggestions how I can respond? Thanks all

I’m not surprised if it took you 6 weeks to instruct solicitors. Did the EA say that the vendors aren’t selling to you any more? Or do they just want to keep their options open while you sort things out?

If I was the vendor then I would be getting cold feet about whether you are a serious buyer. 6 weeks to instruct a solicitor?! The estate agents really should have given you the heads up that this is not how property buying goes!

3 weeks to instruct solicitors. I didn’t think this was unusual I thought people instructed once mortgage was approved.
EA said vendor is anxious over how long it’s taking for mortgage to be approved as they can’t afford their mortgage payments. I’m not in control of this and broker is chasing up every couple days

Just to be clear it’s been 3 weeks to instruct solicitors and during that time found mortgage broker and put application together and all paperwork and kept EA updated

We instructed a solicitor as soon as we had our offer accepted. I'd be very annoyed if I was your vendor.

Surely by re-listing it's all going to take longer? Can you get approximate timelines from the mortgage company and solicitor and send those to the EA? Explain that your mortgage is at X stage and conveyancing is at Y stage and you expect that the whole thing will be completed in however many weeks.

It may give the vendor reassurance to know that you have a reasonably short timeframe in mind.

I would 100% re-list if I was Your vendor. We just bought and had a quick turnaround requested by the vendor. We started our searches the next day and so although we were waiting for the mortgage - it was the final piece in the puzzle so as soon as that came through we could exchange as everything else was already sorted. The mortgage took just over a month and we exchanged within 5 weeks of offer being accepted.
Why on Earth are you waiting to even begin your searches? It makes it seem like you are so worried you won’t get your mortgage approved as you don’t want to commit Any money to the solicitor so you’re making your vendor take the risk and wait rather than you start paying your solicitor and take the risk yourself.

I'm not surprised, that's a really long time to wait before instructing a solicitor. Usually the searches etc are ticking along at the same time as the mortgage application. Has none of that been started yet?

To add to that 6 weeks is not unreasonable in these times if people are efficient - it took 30 days offer accepted to exchange to sell our property (we moved into temporary accommodation) and then 5 weeks to the day offer accepted to exchange on the place we were buying. So all searches and mortgage were completed in that time. If you are efficient (which you definitely haven’t been!) then it can be done, but only if you are!

I didn’t realise that conveyancing should be instructed immediately Lesson learnt. Spoke to friend and they said wait til mortgage approved but as chased up so much and vendor getting anxious I instructed anyway this week.

That’s what I thought @McTav it’ll take longer relisting and could get a buyer in a chain which I’m not and it’s not the easiest property to sell which I’ll have to take into account when I come to sell.

Would I be reasonable to say that if vendor wants to relist then I will walk away. Don’t want to love the property but will need to cancel instructions and everything else that has a cost applied

@changemynameok your EA is silly for not advising you better - they should have done better - after all it’s their job to help the chain complete and if you weren’t familiar with the process it was their duty to be more helpful. Sorry they didn’t.
Tbh I would tell the vendor you’ll instruct searches tomorrow - they won’t get a better buyer than you If you’re not in a chain unless they get a cash buyer which are less common - so you’ll still be their best bet if you show you’re committed

@Isit2021yetplease Mortgage already been through pre approval and not borrowing max so only concern been reading online with people saying more and more mortgages aren’t being approved because of corona virus
But Now see that vendor could see it as them taking all risk so need to reassure them

Did you have your mortgage in principle when you offered it just after?

Thank you
Mortgage in progress and sols instructed this week and all paperwork back to them with payment for searches Will email EA so they can reassure vendor so vendor knows I’m serious (just not familiar with process and not advised properly)

FTB no chain Want to move quickly Let sols know urgency

Should I be doing anything else to reassure vendor?

@Itshissister no mortgage in principle when I offered which I did tell the EA when I offered and said I would find a mortgage broker as soon as offer accepted so don’t think they passed it on.

Ea did accidentally send me vendors details as he doesn’t live at property Shall I contact him directly or is that not right thing to do?

Your friend has given you terrible advice and this could have cost you the sale. You instruct a solicitor immediately, you’ve already provided proof of funds and has an offer in principle.

Of course the vendor thinks you’re not serious. Saying you don’t want to instruct a solicitor until your mortgage is fully approved screams “I’m not sure if will be and don’t want to waste my money”

The whole thing works concurrently the searches etc and the mortgage, coming together at rhe end, you don’t do it like a relay.

It will likely take the vendor longer but it seems they’ve lost faith due to you dragging your feet so they are looking for what they perceive as a reliable buyer.

Sorry cross posted, you didn’t even have a mortgage in principle? You can get that in an hour. It’s not a big deal. Why didn’t you just get one?

I'm surprised the EA let you offer.

We had to have a MIP sent over before they even accepted our offer and then send proof of our deposit over.

I'd be annoyed if I was your vendor tbh. You really should have sorted the conveyancing straight away. I would also be looking to relist.

It seems a shame if you really love the house - you just need to get everything moving your end. If you did you would probably move quicker than any future potential buyer but relisting will help the vendors feel more secure given their concerns about your seriousness and how long you're taking to instruct conveyancer etc.

I imagine they would still relist if you threatened to walk away (as it would probably reinforce their view that your not a serious buyer) so tread carefully if you really want the house.

Do not contact vendor directly - that is what the agent is for - though this one seems dopey to know the sellers wanted a quick sale to recommend you who dudn't even have a mortgage in principle!
I would not even consider an offer unless the buyer was preapproved, had proof of funds for the remainder and was going to instruct solicitors as soon as offer accepted. You were badly advised.

Definitely don't contact the vendor directly but report your receiving material you shouldn't have.

Thanks everyone signing off now but will do as advised by all above and hope vendor Ok and I can move more quickly for them and don’t lose house

@Itshissister Tbh most estate agents I have spoken to said a decision in principle isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It's really just an estimate of the max they'll offer you. Doesn't mean they will offer that and it's not a promise or contract. I know so many people who got caught out by a dip and then found they couldn't borrow as much as they thought.

@changemynameok I am in the same position as your vendor. Selling to a ftb who really has no clue. They instructed a lawyer but told them not to start anything til the mortgage was through which in their case was 6 weeks til the lawyer picked anything up. Honestly I did put it back on the market but they begged me to reconsider and I recognised it was a mistake due to what is a complex and confusing system and new buyers. I am sure with a reasonable discussion through your agent you can come to an agreement.

Hopefully the EA will be able to reassure the vendor that you’re inexperienced, not flakey, and that it was a genuine mistake. I suspect that it’ll be fine OP. No one wants the hassle of relisting.