Would you drop this buyer?

[Ehatshouldido]

A week ago, we told our buyer we needed an exchange or else we were pulling out. I hated doing it, but the reason was that they’ve strung us along for five months now. There always seems to be a legitimate sounding reason for not exchanging - waiting on something from the bank, their solicitor having covid, etc - and I do believe that they try but that their solicitor isn’t very good. But now we’re on one week later and they STILL HAVEN’T exchanged!!

I’m finding it extremely stressful. We have school places for our children at the new school (well, we can’t take the places because we don’t live there yet - but I’m so paranoid another family will move and grab the spots before we get there!) and we’re renting before we buy in the new place and have missed the hard-to-find good rentals!

Today our buyers said that we’d be able to exchange on Tuesday - maybe - if all “goes well” and our EA (who has been very good) went on to defend our buyer’s position, probably because they don’t want to lose their commission.

But I don’t believe them about exchanging on Tuesday. We told them we’d drop them last week and we didn’t, so they called our bluff, I guess, although it wasn’t really a bluff - I just keep believing them when they tell me “in the next couple of days”.

What would you do? Obviously if we drop them we’re back to square one, but we’re in absolute no-man’s-land at the moment. Now tempted to let out our house and just rent in the new area. But we do have to sell it eventually and it’ll be harder to sell once tenants are in?

DH starts a new job on Monday and he’ll have to commute - it’s 2.5hrs each way, but luckily they’re being good about wfh part time. I’ve quit my job, last day last week with a big goodbye, and have nothing to go to as I was planning on settling in and then looking for a new role. And the kids have actually said goodbye to their school friends! They got goodbye cards and we had a little goodbye party for their best friends before the Easter holidays! (Although they still have their place and can go back on Tuesday, as embarrassing as that’ll be!).

I just don’t know what to do. I can’t believe how stressful it all is.

We can’t afford the mortgage and rent as well - our mortgage is £2k a month and rent is even more than that in the new place.

I think this might be the most stressed I’ve ever been!

@Heronwatcher

Good luck, you’ve done the right thing. I am sure you’ll find a new buyer really quickly. Just a thought, if prices have risen could you find the money to pay for a 6 month rental of something basic in your new area (a 2 bed flat or something) so your kids can take the school places and your DH can avoid the commute? You’d probably save a substantial amount on petrol and at least the school situation would be one less thing to worry about. You could come back to London for weekends?

We’d have to get into a bit of debt to do that right away - and after five months of this sale (and two months of the other one), I’m so nervous that the next could fail too and then we’d be stuck.

I know it seems like I’m overreacting, but the stress of this sale has affected me so badly!

I am so sorry to read this - I don’t know how some people sleep at night. Best of luck with the forthcoming viewings

I was in this position selling our last house. My wife was 34 weeks pregnant when the third agreed exchange date passed so I issued an ultimatum via the estate agent. I had actually already terminated the EA some time before because I caught them lying and breaching the code of conduct and they had found this buyer before the notice period, but I'd already had a new EA marketing it before I accepted the offer.

The minute the deadline passed at 9am the new EA started remarketing it. They exchanged over lunch the very same day.

To exchange the day after a double bank holiday everything had to be done and ready by Thursday pm and their solicitor needed to have the funds in their account (know as have done it before)

Similarly when we completed on a Monday a few weeks ago we pulled the funds down on Friday to make sure that it happened early in the day

Your solicitor should have been in touch with theirs on Thursday and copied you in to the email asking them to confirm they had the funds to exchange.

@IDontHaveAnOutingHobby

To exchange the day after a double bank holiday everything had to be done and ready by Thursday pm and their solicitor needed to have the funds in their account (know as have done it before)

Similarly when we completed on a Monday a few weeks ago we pulled the funds down on Friday to make sure that it happened early in the day

Your solicitor should have been in touch with theirs on Thursday and copied you in to the email asking them to confirm they had the funds to exchange.

Our solicitor sent an email asking for confirmation of funds and asking to exchange so many times - including last week. Their solicitors just don’t reply to that question! Sometimes they ask others - ie: for things we’ve already provided, and sometimes tumbleweeds - no reply at all.

I wasn’t expecting an exchange today to be honest, but they gave us nothing - not even an acknowledgement of any contact. So I now think they were never serious buyers. I think they’ve been stringing us along until they decide whether or not they really want the flat.

I think you have done the right thing, fingers crossed for a quick re sale .

As people said be clear don’t budge and I bet they do as asked - your house could have made 10-50k in 8 months so could relist and make money? Sales do seem to be taking 5-7 months at the mo good luck 🤞

Sorry flat - our is outside London and made 50k in 2 years bonkers wishing you happier sale this time round and don’t be kind at the expensive of your own happiness

Expense

@Ehatshouldido I feel so much for you - this was me a couple of months ago and the stress was horrific. I spent days just sobbing with the stress of it all. We managed to get ours through but it ruined the end of my maternity leave totally.

Third time is a charm, I bet your next sale goes off without a hitch!

Thank you all!!

I can’t believe the stress - I have been getting chest pain from it. I am not a particularly big stresshead either!

I had a random idea this evening that might be a bit stupid!! What do people think of short term letting our flat out after it’s viewing day? The rent could pay for our rent in the new place. Is that a risk?? Would a new buyer dislike that? (Or would they just not need to know?)

Personally I think that would be a bigger risk than just borrowing the money to pay for 6 months rent. Unless you personally know someone (like a family member etc) and are sure they would be no trouble and look after the place. Firstly you may need to do other viewings after the open day (second viewings etc). There are also various people who may need access after you’ve accepted an offer, for example surveyors, builders, the buyer (to measure up etc) who will find out and might report back to the buyer. Anyone living in the house also has to sign something for your solicitor which says they will give vacant possession on completion. Finally what would you do if they trashed the place or refused to move out? Looking at 2 bed flats in bath you can get nice stuff for £1.5k a month- I don’t know what your financial situation is but in the grand scheme of things a 6 month rental won’t add that much. I am sure your place in London will sell (especially if you’ve been under offer twice) and you could compromise in other areas, such as doing your own packing, not taking a big summer holiday and you would save petrol money anyway. Plus if you ended up having to pay for private school for a year it would definitely cost more! The only thing you could consider depending on where you are in London would be letting your house out as a film set or as a corporate rental for 2-3 weeks, or for something like the tennis/ rugby, which is far less risky.

Oh and you could also see if your current mortgage company would let you have a mortgage holiday or go interest only for 6 months- freeing up some income for rent.