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Property/DIY

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Original poster

FUMING with buyer. WWYD?

83 replies

shoopashoop · 02/01/2022 16:50

I can’t believe this.
We sold our house in May, found somewhere in August due to crazy market. since then it hasn’t been plain sailing due to countless enquiries from our buyer and our solicitors had a data breach which meant it was down for 4 weeks.

Throughout the past 2 months we have stressed over and over again that we need to move before the 15th due to school deadlines in a completely new area. We have looked at the school twice, mentally moved into the house and have been in direct contact with our vendor who is lovely. She has been packing, organising cleaning of the ovens etc as the rest of the chain have agreed to completion date of 13th. Our sale is ready to go and all that was left was to hear back from our buyer about this date. Didn’t envisage any issues as after countless to-ing and fro-ing everything was ‘done’ as far as we aware.

Anyway, still not heard back so although we haven’t been in contact with our PITA buyer, I decided to message them directly and ask if they are happy to confirm the date so we can book removals and get school application done.
To which they respond....

Buyer had no idea about this date and has booked to go ABROAD next week until the end of the month (providing they don’t get stuck there that is). Why would they do this??!!

I will say again that we have proposed this date to our solicitors and estate agent SO many times so either buyer is lying or something has gone very wrong.

I am dreading telling our vendor (although it is not our fault).
But more importantly, what the hell do we do?
We can’t wait that long, plus with the added stress of wondering if the buyer will even make it home or not.

Do we relist? We are in a sought after area and will sell very quickly.
I can’t even respond to the buyer as I am so angry.

OP posts:

muddyford · 02/01/2022 19:14

As long as their house is cleared out for the new owners, their solicitors can handle the sale and deal with the financial side. Our buyer 's buyer announced she was going abroad for three months, even though we had all agreed a completion date, and the estate agents told us that this would be the procedure.

Lougle · 02/01/2022 19:16

I'm really sorry, that's so hard. Have they given a reason?

Busybee5000 · 02/01/2022 19:19

We had this and our PITA buyers (all along) said they didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a completion date! WTF! They refused to budge. So our estate agent got onto them and made them commit to a final date (6 weeks away!!) and then passed the promise up the chain. It meant we exchanged 6 weeks before the completion (risky for some) but got the commitment for the other buyers etc.

TakeYourFinalPosition · 02/01/2022 19:20

Our buyer intended to go abroad over our completion date and their solicitors wouldn’t allow it - they needed them to be in the U.K. to allow completion to happen. I’ve no idea if the country/mortgage info etc matters, but he was most put out - he had a family illness abroad and wanted to fly out and complete from there.

Our solicitors also wouldn’t discuss dates until everything was ready, and told us they wouldn’t liaise with the estate agent… it was pretty frustrating, as we had a hard deadline too!

We made it, just, but it took a lot of email chain negotiation directly with our buyer, seller and the rest of the chain.

BeLessMe · 02/01/2022 19:25

@chillied

Or, arrange a bridging loan? Expensive but would mean you can move?

I was thinking this.

We moved when our buyers were on holiday. Their brother picked up the keys iir.

BeLessMe · 02/01/2022 19:26

Oh sorry, I should have refreshed.

CombatBarbie · 02/01/2022 19:31

Oh bloody hell! Your buyer is a twat! Have you additional money to support both mortgages or is your equity going to new house?

MotherChristmas2021 · 02/01/2022 19:37

Do you think they may have had another transaction running at the same time to see which one got to exchange first? Not completely unheard of, especially with all the delays caused to them, firstly by you being unable to find a property & then by your solicitors? That could have been the last straw after being so patient since May. Sorry OP. Perhaps you should change solicitors?

Abigail12345654321 · 02/01/2022 19:38

I once had a pair of tosser FTB’ers like this Op. My sympathies. Mine got to the day of exchange - which had been discussed and date agreed - and then went quiet so I messaged them direct and they said ‘I guess it’s decision time!’. Turns out they had progressed three offers and believe ‘exchange’ was the decision point of which to buy. Don’t dwell on it. Move on.

hellopicklex · 02/01/2022 20:07

oh no! have they given you a reason?

Emelene · 02/01/2022 20:22

Oh no! What have they said? There must be a reason for pulling out now? Xx

Arrow03 · 02/01/2022 20:29

We had similar pressure in terms of exchanging by the school application deadline and after a lot of hiccups along the way, we exchanged on the application day and completed 8 weeks later. Would a long gap between exchange and completion help in this situation? As long as you have exchanged, you can apply for a school place using your new address. I'd definitely phone the estate agent on Tuesday morning and see if the buyer can be convinced to change their mind!

A580Hojas · 02/01/2022 20:36

"It sounds like either your or their solicitors didn't pass on the message regarding the date"

It is not up to the OP to communicate about exchange dates at any point. All of it should have been handled by EAs and then solicitors. This is what they are paid a lot of money for. No wonder you are fuming OP!

Bunnyfuller · 02/01/2022 20:43

I think your solicitor dropped the ball op, but they sound like a nightmare.

Our buyers last year wanted it all their own way, I was tempted to pull out a couple of times. The laws and procedures around buying/selling need changing drastically.

Ask your solicitor for a copy of the communication they sent fixing completion dates. I’m assuming you haven’t exchanged or they wouldn’t be able to pull out.

Clymene · 02/01/2022 20:45

THE BUYER HAS PULLED OUT

FGS read all the OP's posts at least. It's not a long thread.

I'm so sorry @shoopashoop. What a bunch of absolute arseholes.

Can you rent in the area to get your school applications in? I know it's a big financial hit but if you can get the schools sorted, it might reduce stress in the long term.

isitfree · 02/01/2022 21:03

Wow this has taken such a long time! Even if solicitor went down for 4 weeks it has been about 8 months since you sold!

k1233 · 02/01/2022 21:40

As a buyer I wouldn't be happy to wait that long to move in to my house - it's getting on to 9 months. So I can understand if they've bought something else. However, they should have let you know they weren't planning to proceed.

I'd look at how you can move into the house you are buying eg bridging loan as mentioned above. You've said it should be easy to sell your house, so relist asap. It might be easier if already vacant.

Original poster

shoopashoop · 02/01/2022 21:47

I haven’t replied to the last message about pulling out —mainly because there would be a lot of swearing—.

Apparently it is a health issue and they have to go abroad for an operation.

I’ve copied all messages to our EA who can hopefully speak to them ASAP.
But honestly what an absolute shitshow the whole thing has been.

OP posts:

Original poster

shoopashoop · 02/01/2022 21:51

Sorry no we hadn’t exchanged

OP posts:

jellyxat · 02/01/2022 21:51

I'm so sorry OP, what a total shitshow as you say.

I know someone (north London) who was able to apply for school places during the conveyancing process, without having moved. By showing that she was in the process of buying a place in catchment (well, there are no 'catchments' as such here, but school places are allocated based on distance), she was able to apply for a place as if she lived there already. Have you looked into this?

Original poster

shoopashoop · 02/01/2022 21:55

Thanks for advice re schools as well!
@jellyxat I emailed the LA who said we would need to apply from current address then change it when we have moved but I will email again as hopefully they could let me do what you have said!
My worry is if we don’t end up moving there at all my dd will miss out on schools in our current area.

Has anyone ever applied to 2 LAs?? New to this also!

OP posts:

milveycrohn · 02/01/2022 21:57

I Know someone whose buyer completed while on the buyer was on other side of the world. However, it caused my friend untold anxiety, in case the completion did not go through. Obviously the buyers were not actually moving in on that date.
The main thing is that the money moved on the correct date and at the correct time, and completion took place. (and the solicitors were happy and completed all the paperwork, etc)
So it is up to your solicitors to all agree a mutually acceptable date.

LIZS · 02/01/2022 22:05

@shoopashoop

Thanks for advice re schools as well! *@jellyxat* I emailed the LA who said we would need to apply from current address then change it when we have moved but I will email again as hopefully they could let me do what you have said! My worry is if we don’t end up moving there at all my dd will miss out on schools in our current area.

Has anyone ever applied to 2 LAs?? New to this also!

You apply for schools in new area (and existing of needs be) only with a single application via your existing LA. Then you may have the opportunity to update the address before a second deadline in a few weeks' time and it still be treated as "on time". If it is afterwards your application is treated as late and dealt with after the initial applications are processed.

Goawayangryman · 02/01/2022 22:14

Regarding schools, I'm afraid you can't apply to two LAs in the sense of submitting two on-time application forms to two different LAs. You have to submit via the LA where you live. You can apply for schools in e.g. two different LA areas but you can't hedge your bets; you'll get the school that's your highest preference and which can offer you a place.

If you are very set on moving to your new LA then you can apply using your current address and if the schools in the new area are undersubscribed you might still be offered a place regardless. If you end up staying put then the current LA will have to subsequently find your child a school place somewhere.

If you find yourself having to apply late to the new LA, also don't panic. They will have to find a school place somewhere for you. And many primary schools have a lot of movement.

Why2why · 02/01/2022 22:16

OP why did they eventually pull out? Was it because you gave them a red line? If it’s for medical reasons they are going away, I can understand why they had no choice but to pull out if you made it clear that if they did not change their “holiday” that you would re-list.

Is there room to revisit the conversation with them about exchanging and completing. Seems a shame given you are so close to the finish line.

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