Buyer threatening to pull out. Help.

[Suspiciousmind20]

Can any one advise please?

My mum has accepted an offer on her house. Buyers have had a survey etc but because she hasn’t had an offer accepted on a new house for her yet they are threatening to pull out.

Her solicitor has asked if she wants to proceed and she has said no because she hasnt found anywhere yet.

How far can she proceed before finding somewhere? I think she would be better instructing her solicitor to proceed because she will still have control over the exchange date?

Would she be better to plan to move in with you and then be in a stronger position to be able to offer on a new place without the chain below her? I don’t know enough about moving houses having only done it once 20 years ago!

The situation your mum is in is perfectly normal and a part of the frustrating process of buying and selling houses. Her buyers either have to wait or they can pull out and she can sell to someone else. She shouldn't feel pressured into moving into rented or with you.

This is totally normal and has happened every time we have moved house. Now estate agents won’t let you view until you’ve sold and with so little coming on the the market it must happen more often than not at the moment.

Chances are the buyers think they can somehow hurry things along by threatening. As long as she is clear that she is moving then they can wait or they can go. They’ll probably find they are in the same position again. Are they FTB? As FTB often don’t have a clue how long these thing take and will be nervous.

We pulled out recently in a similar situation. We offered well over asking, on condition of completion by a certain date (as we would have to take on a new rental tenancy otherwise). They accepted, said they were definitely selling and actively looking. They kept telling us they hadn't found anywhere yet and asked them to give them just a couple more weeks etc etc. We suspected this just wasn't going to happen so didn't instruct our solicitor, and kept an eye on a few other properties. It got to within 2 months of our 'deadline' and they still hadn't found anywhere ... they refused to go into rental... we pulled out, put an offer on another property (accepted, hurrah!) and they had the audacity to take offence at that. Bonkers - they must have thought we were bluffing and that we would hold on indefinitely. Anyway, now they've got it back on the market for £20k under what we offered, and it looks like it's just not selling!

Nothing is legally binding until exchange, but your buyers don't deserve to be messed about. You need to agree on a date when they can have it (ie your mother move in with you), or be prepared for them to pull out. I would (I did!). It might be a pain for your mum having to start from scratch, but it could mean 1000s of £s wasted for your buyer. That is just not fair.

Can't she move in with you so she can vacate her property? Puts her in the best position to buy.

To be clear. She is not messing anyone around. She is actively looking but the few suitable houses that come on go really quickly for well over asking. She’s compromised what she will move into already. She can’t afford to rent without eating into the money from the sale of the house - which she needs every penny of.

The buyers have been aware of the situation she is in. It’s a sellers market at the moment and so it is taking longer for buyers to find somewhere.

If the buyers chose to pull out then that’s their choice. It will be a pain but her house should sell quickly again.

She could move in with us but that’s a last resort. She can’t really afford the storage fees and we are moving st some point soon too so it would be super stressful. We could do it though if it got too close to the wire. We don’t really have room but would cope for a short while if necessary.

My question was whether she can still instruct her solicitor to proceed without securing a house first and the answer seems to be yes. She thought she couldn’t. I don’t see a downside to her doing this. It shows the buyers she is committed to selling.

She’s made an offer on a place. If they pull out through impatience that’s up to them but she is in NO way messing them about. In fact I think they are trying to pressure an elderly woman into making a rash decision because they can’t accept that this is the current situation with the housing market. Their choice though and totally within their rights.

Thanks for the advice all. I think she should get the legal process started and the buyers can do what they wish. It won’t take much fir the solicitor to change the buyers details I assume. I guess a change might incur costs so will have to check that out.

There is no need for the buyers to lose money if they stick with it. She will find somewhere. It’s just a matter of time. If they don’t have faith that this will happen that’s their choice.

This is so tricky right now because where I am good houses are still selling really quickly and it can be so hard to find something. As buyers we feel frustrated not to find something and it can genuinely be months if not longer - but then we expect that seller to find something within a couple of months at the most. No one wants to be rushed into that but then people are pressured to sell before they can even start looking seriously. Such a crappy catch 22.

It is so difficult.

@Shewholovedthethebanhills we’ve just done exactly that too. There was no way I was selling my house without having my onward move in place.

Dont listen to the posters saying your ma is doing something wrong.

She is not.

I made a post earlier this year about how ridiculous it was that I couldnt view houses without having sold my house. Everyone told me I was ridiculous and not a serious, proceedable buyer. I said well if I put my house on the market I am not a serious, proceedable seller if I dont have anywhere to go to!

But no one was having any of that. Apparently its sell first, then find a house. Which is what your ma is doing.

And so the buyers must wait. Or they can pull out. But your mum shouldn't feel intimidated, threatened or pressured. Its still her house atm, and she doesn't have to make herself homeless.

She's in England, right?

If so, she's fine to proceed. She just mustn't exchange untill she's ready to exchange on the one she's buying too.

I have heard people can buy the searches of the old buyer if she finds a new buyer after the old ones have pulled out - so they needn't be out of pocket if they decide not to wait and have spent money already.
She can ask her solicitor (get a good one - well worth the money) about the ins and outs of this.

Please, please do not tell your mum to say she'll move in with you if she doesn't find somewhere in time. This could cost her dearly.

My friend's mum did this, she sold her lovely house and went into rented while she continued looking. But prices went up while she was looking and she was priced out of the area she wanted to retire into and has had to move much further out. It cost her a lot of money in lost equity - i.e. if she'd waited then she would have ended up in the area she wanted to live in, with a house that was worth more money.

The way the housing market works is a pain, but if your mum loses these buyers it's not the end of the world, more will come along.

It may make things take a bit longer but she should stick to her guns and keep looking.

You should be honest with the buyers about the situation & they may pull out as a result, it depends how desperate to move they are (it sounds like the prospect of her going into rented/staying with you in order to complete the sale isn't actually a realistic one? So I wouldn't even mention that, it might get the buyers hopes up)

There is no need for the buyers to lose money if they stick with it. She will find somewhere. It’s just a matter of time. If they don’t have faith that this will happen that’s their choice.

But her buyers have lives too. They may be expecting a baby, or a mortgage offer that expires shortly (rates have gone up). If they can’t wait for your mum to sort out her purchase, and it sounds like it’s been a few months now, then they will lose money.

We are heading into month 5 of our purchase & our seller’s seller is dicking about, having not found a house. After 5 months it’s really either not being willing to offer properly, or being too fussy. We have started looking at other, more proceedable houses in the interim.

Thank you all. That’s really helpful. And thank you for understating that she isn’t messing any one around. Just doing her best in the crazy system we have.

So thinking about it. I think she’s got it in her head that if she instructs her solicitors to proceed with the sale and then she doesn’t find something she’s going to be forced out. That’s clearly not the case.

I’m wondering now if by not instructing her solicitors to proceed with the sale makes her look indecisive to the buyers?

If she instructs to proceed, then the buyers do pull out because she doesn’t find somewhere, will she loose anything?

To be clear she absolutely will sell. There is no way she won’t and if it’s not with these buyers it will be others.

@Suspiciousmind20

Thank you all. That’s really helpful. And thank you for understating that she isn’t messing any one around. Just doing her best in the crazy system we have.

So thinking about it. I think she’s got it in her head that if she instructs her solicitors to proceed with the sale and then she doesn’t find something she’s going to be forced out. That’s clearly not the case.

I’m wondering now if by not instructing her solicitors to proceed with the sale makes her look indecisive to the buyers?

If she instructs to proceed, then the buyers do pull out because she doesn’t find somewhere, will she loose anything?

To be clear she absolutely will sell. There is no way she won’t and if it’s not with these buyers it will be others.

Yes, not engaging a solicitor looks indecisive, she is the one wanting to sell and feels like she is stalling. She will start to accumulate costs on doing so but much of the work could be used for another buyer should it fall through.

SunflowersInTheShade

She's in England, right?

If so, she's fine to proceed. She just mustn't exchange untill she's ready to exchange on the one she's buying too.

That’s really clear. Thank you. Do you know if she will incur more fees if the buyers do pull out and she has re-start?

LIZS

Thanks. That’s what I thought. It looks like she’s dithering but actually she’s absolutely going to sell but was just confused about the process.

If she doesn’t proceed with the solicitor, she’s flagging to the buyers that she’s not proceeding with the sale. You would expect them to pull out as there’s no point pursuing a purchase where the vendor is stalling.

She will incur additional costs if she instructs her solicitor & then switches buyers but assuming she eventually sells, it shouldn’t be too much money wasted. Unless she exchanges contracts (and this won’t happen unless she says so), she can stop the sale.

We had a situation like this a few years ago. We waited about 9 months and then eventually found somewhere else

Sorry, but she really is dithering..!

If she knows houses are going for over asking, then she needs to adjust her budget or start offering over asking when she sees somewhere she likes because that’s the tactic the local agents are currently using

And pulling the ‘elderly lady’ card is a cheap shot

If she is incapable of handling the sale of her own house, then the buyers should have been made aware of that before they forked out £1k+ on a survey and started racking up their own legal bills

Any specific letters and draft contracts will need rewriting, incurring additional cost.

They want to be in by Christmas???

Even if the offer was accepted 6 weeks ago a Christmas deadline is hugely optimistic, especially with a chain. My ex sold to a ftb and bought an empty ex-rental, that still took 4 months and he completed in October. I think your buyer has unrealistic expectations but also your mum does need to show willing and at least engage a solicitor. Get going with house viewings, widen he search criteria a bit.

She won't be considered as a buyer if she has not already got a buyer for her own house.
So she needs to make it clear to her buyers that she is looking really hard, and that the bottom line is that she will move in with you/some other alternative arrangement if the time comes to exchange and she has still not found somewhere.
The buyers will have to commit a substantial amount of money to get to that point and so it is reasonable for them to request that assurance.
As to whether she can instruct her solicitors to proceed, of course she can. If she doesn't, it would suggest that she is not committed to the sale.

There is no need for the buyers to lose money if they stick with it. She will find somewhere. It’s just a matter of time. If they don’t have faith that this will happen that’s their choice.

That's not how it works.