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Original poster

Seller still hasn't found a property after 6 months

33 replies

loolyooly · 08/03/2021 16:15

We had an offer accepted on our dream house 6 months ago. The sellers hadn't found anywhere to buy but they have a very healthy budget and there was no reason to think it would be a problem. Our house sold a few weeks later and since then - nothing. The sellers still haven't found anywhere and we are clinging onto our buyer by the skin of our teeth. The sellers are adamant that they will not rent in order to complete the sale and that we will have to wait. They have slightly widened their search area but that's it. They have a budget of over £800K (outside London) and are looking in areas with a fairly active market. I know what their criteria is and there have been lots of properties they could have bought. I have heard through the grapevine that they have a reputation for being very picky, difficult customers from previous housemoves. As I type I know the answer is going to be 'you need to move on and forget about this house' but it is so perfect for us. Has anyone else been in a situation like this where it has actually worked out or am I on a hiding to nothing?

OP posts:
Grimbelina · 08/03/2021 16:23

I would be selling yours and renting, sadly I expect you will need to look for a new house.

Silkies · 08/03/2021 16:25

I'd withdraw - they aren't serious if they are still looking and not offering a solution like they will go into rental.

In the small chance they are serious I think withdrawing will make them realise they either need to make an offer now or go into rental.

I'm surprised your buyers have held on 6 months. You could also sell yours and go into rental whilst you wait but I do think there's more than one dream house out there. We now have what I would say is our dream house but I would say in a 6 month time frame a few others would have been on that also met that and we are quite fussy and love really old, generally listed, character properties near amenities so limited supply.

Sparechange · 08/03/2021 16:28

My current house had 3 sales fall through in 2 years because the vendors did this.

Deep down, they just weren’t ready to move.
They only sold to us because their son forced their hand by taking them up on the promise of a house deposit.

After 3 years of insisting they were going to move to a very specific part of Yorkshire, they downsized to a garden flat a few roads away from us in London...

You can’t motivate an unmotivated seller, sadly

gorillasinthemist · 08/03/2021 16:32

Poor you. That must be incredibly frustrating.
Echo what others have said. They aren't serious about selling. If they were they would have either bought somewhere or they would be prepared to rent/ find another solution.

Could you sell your property rent and find somewhere you have a more realistic chance of living?

Original poster
loolyooly · 08/03/2021 16:52

Thanks for your responses. We have thought about renting to complete our sale but it's really not practical and would be very disruptive to our children. I don't think we'd have a problem finding a new buyer but I hope it won't come to that.

I've managed to hang on so far but I'm at the end of my tether now and it's making me feel quite low. I found out at the weekend that the seller has actually done this before and we are the second set of buyers they have put in this position. It wouldn't be so bad if their estate agent was keeping us updated every week but she has stopped taking our calls, presumably because she's at the end of her tether as well.

OP posts:
notrub · 08/03/2021 17:00

You need to pull out sadly - they could keep you in limbo for a decade.

Renting is not sensible for this reason.

Talk to your buyer, explain the situation and give yourselves and them a timescale for you to find another property. There's ALWAYS another dream house - sometimes the second one is better than the first!

Asdf12345 · 08/03/2021 17:12

I would provide an ultimatum that if you have not exchanged contracts by x date, give it three months if it really is your dream house, you will pull out.

gorillasinthemist · 08/03/2021 17:32

You really need to pull out. They are stringing you along and have form of doing this to others. Terrible way to behave.

Grimbelina · 08/03/2021 17:42

If you are ready to exchange, give them a deadline (weeks not months). Then mourn the house and find a new one. It's horrible but something else will come along.

crimsonlake · 08/03/2021 17:44

Tbh I am surprised they accepted your offer at the time since you mention you sold your house quickly after. Most estate agents do not even allow viewings unless you are in a position to proceed.
That said if they wont move in to rented I agree you may have to pull out as you have waited long enough.
Lots of sellers agree to move in to rented to get the sale then suddenly just before exchange announce they now need to buy. Happened to me, so at least in some respects they have always been honest.

WhoAreYah · 08/03/2021 17:45

This happened to me. In the end they pulled the house off the market until they found somewhere which was the respectful thing to do. We were offered it a year later and hadnt moved, so we accepted.

Original poster
loolyooly · 08/03/2021 17:55

crimsonlake - we were very lucky to get a viewing on the house because ours hadn't gone on the market. The agent agreed to let us view because she knew our house wouldn't stay on the market for long (it's in a desirable school catchment area). We secured the house because it went to best and final bids and we offered way over the asking price. Ah, the benefit of hindsight!

OP posts:
AmazoniaBun · 08/03/2021 18:59

I wonder if you’re buying from my PIL. MIL likes to put their house on the market every few years. Gets a committed buyer within a few days on the market, then she faffs about for about 6 months “looking” at houses. She finds fault with every place she views. They then pull out of the sale. She’s done it 3 times in 12 years!!

Original poster
loolyooly · 08/03/2021 19:07

AmazoniaBun - the people I'm buying from are quite young, so probably not your in-laws! Their local estate agents must be getting wise to them by now!

OP posts:
titchy · 08/03/2021 19:19

We have thought about renting to complete our sale but it's really not practical and would be very disruptive to our children. I don't think we'd have a problem finding a new buyer but I hope it won't come to that

You need to be realistic - it HAS come to that. You either rent or lose your buyers - poor them. Whatever happens you're not buying from your vendors.

Six months is a ridiculous length of time to string a buyer among for - and is effectively exactly what you've ended up doing.

JennyWren · 08/03/2021 19:35

My advice would be to start looking elsewhere - and be very open about it. Tell your vendor’s agent you want to see everything they have on their books that ticks enough of your boxes. Ask about rentals - even if you’d rather not go down that route. One of three things is going to happen - you pull out of selling your house, you find somewhere else you like as much, or your vendors get their act together. You don’t want #1, and you can’t directly change #3. #2 might, however work - either they see you mean business or you find somewhere else. Either way, you’ll feel better by doing something - and likely, so will your buyers if they see you becoming proactive.

LongTimeMammaBear · 08/03/2021 19:37

We have neighbours similar to AmazoniaBun. I have lost count how many time they have had their house in the market, “sell” quickly but never, ever find somewhere to move, jerk the buyers around until the buyers have to move on. Insane that people do this.

Daisydoesnt · 08/03/2021 19:38

OP this house isn’t in Somerset is it? A beautiful, Georgian house I love in our village went on the market in the summer, sadly about a month too early for us. Went under offer almost immediately. Drat.

Six months later here we are sitting in a rental having sold our house, moved into renting, and that village house I hankered after is still “under offer” because the vendors haven’t found anything they like!

WaitingForNormality · 08/03/2021 19:38

This happened to us. We lost 2 buyers in the process of waiting for seller to find somewhere. Eventually I gave up and pulled out.... I didn't feel they were serious about moving and they were holding up a whole chain. We ended up finding another place really quickly and managed to get that through within 6 weeks (our sale and purchase of the nee place) and in hindsight this house is so much more practical and long term for us (despite my thought that the other house was our perfect dream
House!)

beggingforsleep · 08/03/2021 21:29

We ended up pulling out of a house we loved because of a similar situation. We carried on with our sale though and ended up living with family and then in rented. It's been a year and we move in to the house we eventually bought in a few weeks which will be just over a year since we sold.

Moving three times in a year is exhausting but the kids have been really adaptable. They're only 1 and 3 though so really don't care that much where they are. The worst bit was living with family as we were there for longer than we thought we'd be and 95% of our belongings were in storage. But it was the first lockdown so everything was shit for everyone anyway.

Leavingbyebye · 08/03/2021 21:34

How incredibly frustrating.

Honestly, in that position I’d probably do something crazy like offer them £10,000 more on the condition it’s completed within 8 weeks of now. That will give them a cushion to rent, put their belongings in storage etc and get a move on. If they decline that, walk away

Catastrophie · 08/03/2021 21:40

If you’re serious about moving I can’t believe you’ve waited so long.

I would do the best thing to your buyer and pull out. Find something else or take your house off the market.

Midlifephoenix · 09/03/2021 00:30

My husband andvu viewed one Christmas, put a good offer in and the wife half declared she would not entertain offers until she found her next home. Turns out the husband was much keener than her about selling at all. Months of calling the agent weekly and finally in August we got the keys (found out later they separated after over 25 years marriage - selling the house was the final nail in the coffin).
We were in a rental do didn't have buyers to worry about, and we did keep looking but thus hoyse was the one we wanted.
I'd sell, move into rented and start looking again, you may just find another dream home.

BasiliskStare · 09/03/2021 02:57

I know this is not what you want to hear @loolyooly , but honestly ( depending on where you live ) I would sell your house and rent ( if you really really want / need to move ) It's scary - we did the same and rented somewhere v small because none of the houses I wanted came on the market but we had a buyer. Sold house . Nice to be a buyer without a chain. We had a Ds - but honestly it wasn't that disruptive as we were selling and renting in the same area. That said he had to live with a tiny bedroom for a while . But I had in my mind the specific house ( well one of 5 ) I wanted - did not get any of them and I suspect local Estate Agents got fed up with me asking, As it happens we got a bit of a left field choice because I slightly broadened my searches & only got it because we were without a chain - could not be happier. - but not the house I thought I originally wanted. So as previous posters have said - decide . It sounds like those people are going to take their own time - which may not be yours. & I promise you there will be another house you like , So decide whether selling and renting an option or just sit tight & lose your buyers , & start again.

I know that doesn't sound great but honestly either sounds pragmatic in your situation but I do wish you all the best and an interim bit of renting ( & I have to say ours was not perfect ) is not the end of the world - although it doesn't always feel comfortable. )

But all best to you @loolyooly Flowers

MilduraS · 09/03/2021 08:42

We had this happen with a house but thankfully were renting ourselves so no buyers waiting for our place. We went round in circles for 6 months, had incurred all the usual fees and could have easily completed within 4 months. We got fed up and told the sellers they had 3 months to complete or we'd pull out at which point they came back and said they'd changed their minds about selling. I think they'd changed their minds some time before that but our ultimatum made them finally admit it. We found a better house in the end and love it but are still annoyed that house prices had shot up during the time wasting.