Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Vender took 3 months to find a house

113 replies

vickyc90 · 19/02/2022 22:07

So it transpires that our vender didn't find a house for 3 months after they accepted our offer and didn't share this information with us.

We are now having to move out of our house next week and the venders searches aren't apparently due back until the end of March.

I know they are mortgage free are we being unreasonable to say take the indemnity insurance (we are willing to pay) and get moving vs wait for the searches.

I feel like a witch forcing the issue but come on 3 months!!

Anyone else been in this situation what did you do? I feel like even waiting for them it will be quicker than offering again but the principle of it is driving me mad

OP posts:
GoingBacktoSchool123 · 20/02/2022 20:09

@vickyc90 on what basis could you now pull out if your sale?

You've exchanged and notice to complete has been served so you are obliged to complete. Once the notice expires your buyer can either force you to complete or terminate try contract and claim damages including their abortive costs, cost of finding temporary accommodation and any additional costs incurred in securing another property.

You are not being magnanimous in agreeing to complete on your sale. You are contractually obliged to do so. Your seller is in a completely different position and hopefully will get sound advice from their solicitor and not be bullied by you into doing something very foolish.

SuPerDoPer · 20/02/2022 20:26

You sound like a complete nightmare. My vendors spent ages faffing around with additional searches and title deeds and then on the day of completion they decided they needed a structural survey! This went on for 5 months and I actually had a deadline due to school applications. But it's the system we have and you can't force someone out if their home if they aren't ready to move. Having an offer accepted does not give you the right to dictate how someone lives their life. There is no way I would pack and move into an airbnb just to keep a buyer happy and I would never expect it from someone else. Buying a house is a big financial commitment and moving can be very emotional. You are pestering this woman to move out without any understanding of her actual situation.

sarahc336 · 20/02/2022 20:36

Just to add it's just taken us 6 months to have an offer accepted 😂 3 months op is totally within the norm in this market, you can't force a person out of their home unfortunately x

bellac11 · 20/02/2022 20:44

@Fleurty

I am once again calling bullshit on this entire thread, as the OP has repeated her claim that her solicitor has advised her vendor to take out indemnity insurance on the entire purchase instead of allowing her solicitor to do due dilligance and searches.

No solicitor would ever advise this! And you won't find an insurance company that will indemnify an entire purchase.

OP is a bit bored on a Sunday afternoon and decided to create a little scenario to liven up their sad little life. No way is anyone this stupid and unreasonable.

I hope you're right, it would be awful if there was such awful people in the world.

The seller doesnt have to do anything, doesnt have to move in with family, doesnt have to rush her searches, doesnt have to have indemnity insurance and doesnt have to start packing (this is a strange thing to get caught up on) until she needs to. And she doesnt need to yet.

vickyc90 · 20/02/2022 20:51

[quote GoingBacktoSchool123]@vickyc90 on what basis could you now pull out if your sale?

You've exchanged and notice to complete has been served so you are obliged to complete. Once the notice expires your buyer can either force you to complete or terminate try contract and claim damages including their abortive costs, cost of finding temporary accommodation and any additional costs incurred in securing another property.

You are not being magnanimous in agreeing to complete on your sale. You are contractually obliged to do so. Your seller is in a completely different position and hopefully will get sound advice from their solicitor and not be bullied by you into doing something very foolish.

[/quote]
Nobody is obliged to complete as we haven't exchanged our buyer has basically said a date if we don't go for it they will take their business elsewhere as their landlord will only extend their lease by 6 months minimum I believe. Plus their mortgage expires which is a standard month extension which still takes us passed her new date. We will do simultaneous exchange and completion with them on Friday regardless.

I am saying the same to our vendor she exchanges and completes by middle of March or we will take our business elsewhere as at the end of the day this is a business transaction, her property is appealing as we could extend and we like the area.

Another property is available it is slightly more money needs a lot less work but as it for sale by a small scale developer he has searches in place and we could complete very quickly.

Delayed searches insurance is very very common now with the market moving so quick a large number of banks will also accepted vs the situation before COVID where it was unheard of. Our bank accepts them so if we go for the new build it is the route we will take if necessary.

At the end of the day we are purchasing an asset we will make it a home we like her house but not enough to be messed around when her documentation to her solicitor clearly states that she is not doing an onward purchase.

Our buyers and ourselves have been ready since the second week of January so we have been reasonable with her.

We don't actually mind moving out to wait if she had said she was doing the onward purchase from the start. My issue is she has communicated in writing she was happy with the original dates then after that has decided to change them and not tell anyone until the last minute.

This is our first attempt at simultaneous exchange and completion and it will be our last. If we had pushed for exchange in January with the long completion we could serve notice to complete on her. Lesson learned on that part.

So we will be putting it to our solicitor and hers on Monday (like our buyers have to us) she has three options
Indemnity insurance which we will cover
Expedite her searches at her or our cost
Move out and then complete on her onward purchase

She has until 12pm on Tuesday to respond after that we will withdraw and look for something else. From actually talking to her (it's a very small town it's perfectly normal round here our buyers have my mobile number and added me on Facebook hours after the offer was accepted) she was not made aware of the issue by her solicitor or any other options.

I am going to bow out of this for the evening and will up date on tomorrow but for the final time her solicitor has had ample opportunity to do the majority of the searches she is waiting on the local authorities search which tells you very little hence the insurance is so cheap! it wouldn't even cover the cost of a takeaway pizza, it's that cheap Kirsty would be proud she could use it in a Tweet!

I have also recently learned that the property she is buying is a developers resale so she could have site of his searches!!!!

The top and bottom in my opinion is she hasn't packed as her solicitor has said we would be fine with it without actually asking the rest of the chain if they will wait.

OP posts:
bellac11 · 20/02/2022 21:28

Why are you so obsessed with her packing situation? Are you trying to sell bubble wrap or something?

PurplePansy05 · 20/02/2022 21:43

The top and bottom in my opinion is she hasn't packed as her solicitor has said we would be fine with it without actually asking the rest of the chain if they will wait.

Because most normal people would be fine with it!

Your seller has a right to buy a house, you know. She can change her mind. And prior to exchange she's not commited to your imaginary schedule.

Why don't you just pull out and buy the other house, everyone will be relieved.

Catfox1 · 20/02/2022 21:44

Has the developer purchased the property in yet? Some market when the part exchange new build isn’t ready yet. I’d get the agents to check.

brainhurts · 20/02/2022 21:50

Op have you heard of packing services ?

GoingBacktoSchool123 · 20/02/2022 22:21

Ok OP, you’re now taking utter bollocks.

If you haven’t exchanged on your sale the you haven’t been served 2 weeks’ notice to complete. You’re also delusional if you think your buyer can exchange and complete simultaneously when there is a mortgage involved. It just doesn’t work like that.

So either you are totally clueless and need your solicitor to explain things to you properly or this is a wind up.

Voice0fReason · 20/02/2022 23:02

I'm sorry but everyone has family and friends who will put them up. Our house now is small but if any of our friends needed somewhere to stay I would clear the dressing room at the drop of a hat.

hahahaha!
This is just hilarious!

Sorry OP, the world does not revolve around you.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 20/02/2022 23:27

There’s so few houses on the market it took my parents 4 months to find a house (7th house they’d offered on after being outbid every time. They offered £20k over asking but someone else offered £100k over. It was madness). I’ve always aimed to be moved within 6 months but a year max and I think in the current climate that’s more reasonable. I’d never move without searches - that would be insane. YABU.

sarahc336 · 21/02/2022 06:21

Op you can't just tell her to vacate her home, she has agreed to sell but she hasn't sold it yet. This kind of opinion of a buyer baffles me, are you being bullied by your buyers? If so maybe you need to put the brakes on them a bit as they have no right to force you out of your home op xx

CellophaneFlower · 21/02/2022 06:33

@sarahc336

Op you can't just tell her to vacate her home, she has agreed to sell but she hasn't sold it yet. This kind of opinion of a buyer baffles me, are you being bullied by your buyers? If so maybe you need to put the brakes on them a bit as they have no right to force you out of your home op xx
I don't think she's being bullied. I think she's paranoid about losing her sale, despite an earlier post declaring she doesn't want to ruin a first time buyer's experience 🙄 Most people would just stand firm and tell them to get their mortgage offer extended, but for some reason OP finds it far easier to move in with 1 of her many friends and family that apparently we all have available.
CellophaneFlower · 21/02/2022 06:38

Not entirely true. As soon as I had an offer on mine, I went out viewing plenty of houses. Not one EA was hesitant because I hadn't actually sold.

Had you accepted the offer? People are meaning sold as in having an offer accepted rather than money passing hands so to speak.

CellophaneFlower · 21/02/2022 06:41

@GoingBacktoSchool123

Ok OP, you’re now taking utter bollocks.

If you haven’t exchanged on your sale the you haven’t been served 2 weeks’ notice to complete. You’re also delusional if you think your buyer can exchange and complete simultaneously when there is a mortgage involved. It just doesn’t work like that.

So either you are totally clueless and need your solicitor to explain things to you properly or this is a wind up.

Simultaneous exchange and completion even with a mortgage has become a thing since Covid. Not advised, but definitely doable.
FantasticFebruary · 21/02/2022 08:35

@bellac11

Why are you so obsessed with her packing situation? Are you trying to sell bubble wrap or something?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
PeakyBlender · 21/02/2022 08:50

This is crazy. You can't say oh move in with someone else.

And if your buyers mortgage offer needs extending from 28feb anyway, what's the rush? Just wait. They'll extend it for at least 3 months.

vickyc90 · 21/02/2022 14:42

Well sorted being blunt gets your somewhere she doesn't want to lose the house she is buying so has took the indemnity and we've gave her 7 days extra on what we originally agreed but will be exchanging once the policy is in place so she has to go as we can then serve notice to complete.

What an absolute nightmare it really needs to be dates agreed on offer to stop chains collapsing if you don't have all issue resolved by then take an insurance policy

OP posts:
eurochick · 21/02/2022 15:03

It sounds like you are bullying this woman. I'd have told you to go swivel by now. But you've got what you wanted so you can pat yourself on the back.

kirinm · 21/02/2022 15:18

@eurochick

It sounds like you are bullying this woman. I'd have told you to go swivel by now. But you've got what you wanted so you can pat yourself on the back.
If any of this is true of course.

Personally I think there's a change your buyers mortgage offer will expire and you're looking at weeks of delays.

brainhurts · 21/02/2022 15:22

Well done bullying and stomping your feet worked you can be very proud of yourself

peanutbuttertoasty · 21/02/2022 15:40

Think your expectations are dramatically unrealistic in this market. 3 months is a very short time in which to find a house right now.

peanutbuttertoasty · 21/02/2022 15:45

@vickyc90

I think we are going to put it on the table tomorrow that she either: Moves in with family or rented to wait for the searches. Or Takes the indemnity insurance and moves in three weeks time. Or We will pay the expediated search fee of £120 and she will have them in 48 hours.

I feel like she or her solicitor has been dishonest with the whole process this isn't the only issue she has caused that we have had to sort and the principle to us means more at this point. We won't pull out yet but won't be telling her solicitor that and will be implying we will be if she doesn't move. We will also be asking to exchange ASAP with a fixed completion date or money our way towards storage.

Feel like if we say oh okay we will wait for you darling she will take forever so hopefully that focuses her mind that we ain't waiting to make it easier.

If she decides moving to our time line isn't for her so be it but have a feeling if we play nice she will drag this on forever and would rather know that now rather than another month down the line.

This isn't the first time we've bought and sold every other time everyone in the chain has just got on with it ASAP. Both these houses are standard built in the last 20 years estate houses so it's not like her searches will turn up anything interesting. All she is waiting for is the planning and if the road has been adopted which is publicly available information.

This sounds like an excellent way to build enmity and get your offer rejected and the house returned to market
peanutbuttertoasty · 21/02/2022 16:00

BiscuitBiscuitBiscuit

Hope she's warned the neighbours about you OP...