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Original poster

Reasons for house sale to fall through

44 replies

Girlmum89 · 23/07/2021 09:54

DH and I are in the process of selling our current house and buying a new one. We have a relatively short chain: our buyer has a first time buyer, and our seller is happy to move in to rented.

We’ve all instructed our solicitors. Our solicitors are through to the searches stage and we have just booked in a survey. It all seems to be progressing smoothly so far.

I just keep hearing stories of sales falling through and wondering what are the most common reasons for this? In our situation I could only imagine it falling through following a poor survey report or the seller not being able to find a rental / changing their minds. I’m assuming there’s loads of other reasons though!

OP posts:
QueenStromba · 23/07/2021 10:02

Survey, searches, mortgage valuation, unable to get a mortgage, job loss, people just changing their mind, death, divorce...

SprayedWithDettol · 23/07/2021 10:04

People who say they will rent - then don’t. Sorry OP. There have been threads over the years detailing such scenarios.

Bibbleybetto · 23/07/2021 10:08

Because your FTB buyers have used the cheapest shittest online solicitors who do nothing for months/lie/lose documents repeatedly and so your seller drops out because it drags on so long.

Original poster
Girlmum89 · 23/07/2021 10:09

@SprayedWithDettol this is my biggest fear. I think there’s been a divorce and she’s no longer able to afford the mortgage payments so I think she will have to move eventually. Whether that be in to rented or to buy a downsize.

OP posts:
Original poster
Girlmum89 · 23/07/2021 10:10

@Bibbleybetto I think this could actually happen you know! My EA did mention the FTB solicitors are being slow. Has this happened to you?

OP posts:
areyouhavingagiraffe · 23/07/2021 10:12

I've just broken my chain, see my recent post. House I was purchasing had lots of work without relevant paperwork and I didn't want to take that risk. The work included an illegal loft conversion

WoodPell · 23/07/2021 11:26

Often mortgage issues, such as FTB takes out a car loan between agreement in principle and mortgage offer.

TheWindOnTheMoon · 23/07/2021 12:08

Just lost our buyer this morning Sad Buyer delayed getting her survey for many weeks, keeping us waiting, kept saying she loved house, really wanted it etc etc. Her surveyor has now rung her with verbal instruction she must not buy this house. Nothing wrong with house but he says structural probs with garden wall. Nobody understands what he's going on about, he can't be contacted now and buyer panicked & pulled out. We were so close to exchange, all searches done etc, were just waiting for this. Am devastated, & beyond angry. Surveyor not even said things might need repairs, just "DO NOT BUY". We've only owned house 5 years, had survey when bought, nothing showed up then, we & estate agent can't understand what he's done. It's an old house, nearly 300 years old, is going nowhere, will outlive us and any buyer. Sad

Estate Agent is horrified & doing all she can to sort it out but have no hope really that buyer will return.

We will lose our purchase too (was a new build) because can't complete to their schedule now.

mindutopia · 23/07/2021 13:19

Ours fell through because vendor got ill and needed to shield, so panicked and pulled out 2 weeks before exchange...after 5 months of trying to push it through from offer.

Sadly, they just re-marketed it and it sold in about 2 weeks, listed at offers over £200,000 more than the offer they accepted from us last year. Nightmare (for us, bet they are laughing all the way to the bank, altogther they sold for £300k more than they bought it for 3 years ago, having done absolutely no improvements).

Gettingonabitnow · 23/07/2021 13:28

I’d say your biggest risk is your seller not going into rented - they say they will but will they. Good luck though x

Original poster
Girlmum89 · 23/07/2021 15:01

I’m so sorry @TheWindOnTheMoon, that’s awful! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that the EA will work their magic!

@mindutopia £200k more!! Wow, that’s insane! I hope you were able to find somewhere else.

I text the sellers EA today and he said she’s put an offer in on a house... I thought she was going in to rented?! At least she’s moving forward though but if she doesn’t go in to rented I expect we won’t be in by the end of September

OP posts:
Andthenanothercupoftea · 23/07/2021 15:10

In my case it was the buyers parents who decided they didn't want to fork out the cash to buy our house outright (lots of random excuses and poor attempts to renegotiate and putting offers back in etc)

But there are loads of reasons. I've read about a third of house sales fall through. It's such a stupid system.

umbel · 23/07/2021 15:19

Fairly random one - friends were buying from someone who was selling up to travel the world…then Covid hit. Vendor withdrew and the couldn’t find anything else. 15 months the vendor decided to try again, and contacted them to see if they were still interested. They moved in last week!

Littlebelina · 23/07/2021 15:28

When I sold my house before last I'm fairly certain my estate agent told our buyer I was moving into rented .My ex was, I was quite clear I was buying, I think the estate agent thought by applying pressure on me they could get me to rent so they could get a quick saleHmm

Livingintheclouds · 23/07/2021 15:44

First house this time round I tried to buy was told seller would go in to rental. But then, after I paid for survey amd searches, she said she has to port her mortgage so has to buy. I waited almost three months but she was never successful in her offers so I pulled out and she withdrew her house from the market. Second house fell through due to seller falling ill and withdrawing. Previously I've had seller simply change their minds. I was gazumped twice too.

Figmentofimagination · 23/07/2021 15:47

Mine buyers pulled out because part of the conservatory wall needed repointing, a couple of windows were steamed up and there was moss on the roof (like every other house in the street).

WoodPell · 23/07/2021 16:03

There is definitely an effect of very high house prices whereby people buying their first home are paying so much that they expect perfection, as they can't afford or don't want to fix things. We bought our first home knowing that the windows would need replacing as a few panels had blown and that it didn't have central heating (only 15 years ago!)

TheWindOnTheMoon · 23/07/2021 17:22

I think you're right @WoodPell - buyers are expecting perfection, and requiring sellers to jump through so many hoops, only still to reject the house.

We had our house stonework repointed, and had a new conservatory roof, spent a lot and it's still not good enough, apparently Sad

Elmrosie · 23/07/2021 19:50

Things that get thrown up in the searches. We were going to buy a property that had been built on a plot carved out of the garden of a neighbouring house, until we discovered that if we wanted to do any work that would change the exterior of the house, we needed to submit the plans to the neighbour for approval.

AfternoonToffee · 23/07/2021 21:37

Ours could have been in danger, it was the new build at the top of the chain that held everything up, the builders didn't care and had no sense of urgency.

I can see this being a real issue for many at the moment given the major issues that house builders are having - supply issues, contractors needing to SI .....

Hoppinggreen · 23/07/2021 22:04

A flat sale fell through years ago because the buyer said he had been told there was flooding - there had never been flooding in that area before. Someone else did buy it pretty soon afterwards and nothing was flagged about flooding in the survey.
Funnily enough about 10 years later it DID flood very badly and the flat ended up almost entirely under water

shoesaregood · 23/07/2021 23:08

Our buyer had a survey and flagged some quite minor issues. We went through the issues with her and reassured her, we also paid for an asbestos test which came back negative. She was happy to proceed.

Then she ‘changed her mind’ before we exchanged, having decided that it would be more practical for her to buy a flat in London. I don’t think such indecisive buyers are usual though, thankfully.

ballsdeep · 23/07/2021 23:09

And I'd be very weary of your seller saying they'll move. We had this situation, and they had no property to move into. This resulted in another 5 people being added to our chain right at the end.

Dragonfly101 · 23/07/2021 23:18

Day before exchange bank pulled mortgage offer of buyer.

mooloop · 23/07/2021 23:20

If it makes you feel a bit better, I'm a conveyancing solicitor and I'd say probably a good 90% of the cases I take on do complete. Some fall through due to issues in the chain, bad surveys, not being able to get mortgages etc. but overall, at least in my area, most do go through as planned.

Sellers saying they'll rent and then changing their minds does happen A LOT though and drives me mad!