Will our house ever sell?

[Ivypops]

We sold our house in March and it sold within a week to our buyers that our estate agent recommended. Everything has gone relatively smoothly. We put forward a completion date of 25 June around 5 weeks ago. Our buyers completely ignored any communication from our solicitor or estate agent up until a week ago to tell us they couldn't exchange on the 25th.

We have swallowed that we will be paying more stamp duty and kept chasing our buyers for a date. There are delays with the searches of their buyers on their house and said they aren't 100% when they will be able to provide a date. Could be in a few days or a month....

Now we found out today that our estate agent has handed in his resignation and me and my DH are losing hope with our sale going through. He has been the only person actively chasing up our buyers and no one else at the estate agent deals with property sales.

The house we are buying the owners have moved out but they are starting to get impatient. Are we overreacting thinking our sale will never go through as it seems to be one hurdle after another!

Time to play hardball. Tell your buyers that if you don't exchange within a week (or whatever) with an agreed completion date of (whenever you want) then the house is going back on the market. In the meantime look for new agents so you can go straight back out there if you have to.

Round here good houses are still selling within a week. Sadly you may still lose the place you want to buy but that might happen anyway.

How ridiculous, their solicitor needs to be communicating with yours - I’d tell them if it doesn’t start moving by X date you’re putting the house back on the market and be prepared to do that.

Put your house back on the market now.

Your buyer is not in a position to proceed - it sounds to me as though their sale may not be going forward. If they can't commit by exchanging contracts with you soon this is not worth pursuing.

If they can exchange then they will do so before you find another buyer. If they can't, it is better you find out now.

What does your solicitor say? Get them to chase buyers with an ultimatum.

Put your house back on the market with a different agent. If you have signed anything with the first agent you simply say they haven't acted in good faith, which they haven't. I'll bet your house is worth more than the agents friend offered.