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Original poster

Reasons for buyers pulling out

29 replies

RosieLeaLovesTea · 22/05/2022 13:01

Hi all
what are reasons for buyers pulling out? I’ve been reading people’s experiences on here and I am
shocked that people would pull out so close to exchange or on the day. But o can understand it if people are feeling messed around or getting no where.

When you have invested in the process and are so close why would people pull out?

OP posts:
ChessieFL · 22/05/2022 13:05

Mortgage gets refused
Bank won’t lend enough
Survey flags issues
Personal circumstances change
Ongoing chain falls through

Those are the main reasons I think

OUB1974 · 22/05/2022 13:13

We pulled out because our seller lied about having building regulations for their garage conversion. They wasted so much time in telling us they had it and strung us along for ages, before we realised this.

Our surveyor said the conversion looked poor quality, so make sure it was signed off. So we pulled out. Everything had been going on in the background until then, so the whole chain was ready to go apart from this one piece of non existent paperwork. It was 2 weeks before we exchanged. It didn't help that their solicitors were very rude about our requests.

We continued with our sale and moved in with family for a while.

actiongirl1978 · 22/05/2022 13:17

We just pulled out of buying a house that had been on the market for 7 months (unusual in this climate).

The survey was dreadful.

We were buying it to be an air bnb (not coastal location or a place where people try to do long term rentals)

So we pulled out. I expect that we weren't the first buyers to get this issue. The estate agent didn't seem surprised.

SW1amp · 22/05/2022 13:17

ChessieFL · 22/05/2022 13:05

Mortgage gets refused
Bank won’t lend enough
Survey flags issues
Personal circumstances change
Ongoing chain falls through

Those are the main reasons I think

None of those should mean pulling out v close to exchange though…

I think OP means the buyers who make all the right noises and dates are in for moving, and then they get a call from the agent to say the buyer is pulling out with a vague excuse about a change in circumstances

I’ve only known it happen once, when a friend pulled out a few days before exchange
She had originally wanted to buy a house but was persuaded by the agent to look at a large flat which she offered on
as it got closer, she said she just had a sinking feeling she was making a big mistake so pulled out

she lost an absolute fortune in legal fees but she had also paid a deposit to have built in wardrobes installed and lost the money

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 22/05/2022 14:42

We might pull out very close to exchange. All the legal paperwork is done. But awaiting a survey on the subfloor. It could be a days work and £1k to put right, or it could be six months of work and nearer £30k to out right. If it is the latter, we are pulling out. There are other issues with the house, but ultimately it isn’t worth spending the best part of £35-40k to put right and the vendor will not negotiate.

KarrotKake · 22/05/2022 14:50

Changed her mind....
I was, and still am, furious. She lost us so much time, and in the meantime the bottom has fallen out of the market here 😭

2bazookas · 22/05/2022 14:51

Illness, death, marital crisis, financial disaster, unexpected support required by distant elderly parents , arrest, imprisonment, getting sacked or made redundant, change of plan by employer. Sale of previous home fell through. buyer chain collapsed.

SpeedofaSloth · 22/05/2022 14:54

Many years ago I pulled out of a purchase about a week before exchange due to a relationship breakdown.

trailrunner85 · 22/05/2022 14:56

Our buyer "changed his mind." In retrospect, there were signs. Very young, clueless, FTB. Was being given the money to buy by his family (cash) so had no skin in the game in terms of a mortgage offer or his own property to sell.
Essentially he was a very wealthy man-child who thought he wanted to play at houses but then decided he couldn't be arsed. No reason given other than that; on the day we were meant to be exchanging.

abbey44 · 22/05/2022 15:16

A few years ago I was selling a house to a couple whose own house was under offer and they wanted a quick completion. Suited me, so everything went full steam ahead and we were due to exchange and complete on the same day. The Friday before, they called me to check everything was ok and that they couldn't wait to move in. I told them the removal company was booked (full pack and move) for the Monday, the cleaners were booked for the Thursday and the house would be ready for them on the Friday. On the Monday morning, the removal company (big lorry, five men) arrived to start packing, at the same time that I got a call from the agent to say they'd had an email from the buyer pulling out. No reason, and they then turned their phones off for a week so couldn't be contacted. I had to pay the removal company in full (£5K), plus the legal fees, which just added insult to injury.

It turned out they'd seen another house in the village, which they moved into a couple of months later. I never did get an explanation (or, obviously, an apology), but I'd much rather they'd been honest and said they'd changed their mind when they called me on the Friday. I think it was a completely shitty thing to do.

Original poster
RosieLeaLovesTea · 22/05/2022 17:22

@abbey44 I’m so sorry that happened. How awful for you and they clearly had no morals.

OP posts:
Snowpaw · 22/05/2022 19:01

My cousin had a buyer pull out from her house purchase a day or two before completion / removal because "the process was taking too long". Even though it was due to end in a couple of days!! My cousin was so cross. I reckon it was a cover for a different excuse, but it was a shitty thing to do.

Paranoidandroidmarvin · 23/05/2022 10:32

The buyer for our house years ago pulled out on exchange day. Messed us around for ages.
we were young and stupid then. Now I wouldn’t have put up with it. U learn with age.

Webbedlife · 23/05/2022 16:41

I had a buyer pull out with my previous house. She was clearly getting cold feet anyway and the survey made her more nervous (older house, coastal location). I quickly found a second buyer who wanted to rent it out so they were probably less fussy.

SweetNcrunchy · 23/05/2022 17:05

We threatened to pull out of buying this house we are in now. The vendor clearly lied and said the roof was in an absolutely fine state (it is a stone tiles roof of local stone on a listed building). The survey said otherwise. He was still swearing blind it was all fine and wouldn't budge on price. So we said we will pay £xxx and no more or we will walk away. The lying old bastard huffed and puffed but did reduce the price, still complaining bitterly.

After moving in we went up into the loft and there were old fertiliser bags nailed to the rafters over all the holes and cracks, and about 10 massive buckets collecting rainwater. 😲😡

BookwormButNoTime · 24/05/2022 08:06

We pulled out last October after the survey. Roof problems and asbestos were identified but the vendor refused to let specialists round to assess and quantify the costs to fix. They wouldn’t accept a lower offer either. We could have been left with a £40k hole so walked away.

Property remained on the market until January then went under offer again. That sale also fell through in April for the same reason. So we went back to them and surprise surprise they were now prepared to let the specialist surveyors in. Turns out it’s only a couple of grand to fix and we offered a lower price than our original offer anyway so just absorbed it. So the vendor basically wasted five more months of it being on the market and got less money by being unreasonable.

They were totally crazy though. On the day of exchange they sent a bill through the solicitors for the light bulbs, loo rolls and “bulbs that had been planted in the garden but you can’t see them”. Even their solicitors were laughing about it (and no we didn’t pay). When we got the keys there were no light bulbs and the garden had been dug up 😂😂😂. The most petty thing though was it was a probate sale and needs a full refurbishment. They wanted money for the carpets (laid in the 80s) to which we said no. They had, indeed, removed them and then poured paint on them before putting them in the skip so “we couldn’t use them if we tried”.

So a bonkers vendor can also put people off. Glad we stuck with it but it was a really painful process.

RazorstormUnicorn · 24/05/2022 08:23

It's happened to me loads!

In 2018 our buyer stopped answering his phone a week before exchange. No one ever found out what happened. I guess he changed his mind and didn't even have the balls to tell anyone.

Our house didn't sell again, so after 6 months we took it off the market. In 2021 when the market went crazy we tried again and sold immediately.

That buyer had to pull out because his buyer couldn't get a mortgage on that property.

Got a new buyer almost straight away, they pulled out three months later, no reason given. They did apologise though. Got another buyer who wanted it go through by Christmas. No problem I thought. I am all ready to go. Turns out, the people who we were buying from only just found a property they liked and no one had told me!

We eventually moved in Jan 22 and I was a bag of nerves in case someone pulled out again. So stressful but the house we are in now is lovely. If we move again, I will seriously look at doing it in a way we are chain free.

Thesefeetaremadeforwalking · 24/05/2022 08:31

The only 'short notice' one I heard about was from a couple who viewed one of our properties in the past.

They said their buyer had pulled out a week before completion because of a 'boundary issue'. They lost their onward purchase and so were living with relatives and had their furniture in storage.
They had bought items for the new house but they might not be able to use them.

They were desperate to buy but sadly ours wasn't what they wanted.

I thought they were to be commended for not going round and knee-capping the potential buyer....

justtryingtogeton · 24/05/2022 08:35

Our buyer pulled out because on our 5 yr old house, which had an in-date valid10 yr electrical certificate, they had concerns about the electrics and wanted us to pay for a new certificate. The house was built in 2015, they had had a bad experience with a London based Victorian rental. I said if you're concerned then you're more than welcome to get it checked, get an electrical report or an electrician to inspect. We're not paying for a new certificate when we have a valid one. They went quiet for a week and then pulled out. All legal were ready.

fring · 24/05/2022 08:39

They had, indeed, removed them and then poured paint on them before putting them in the skip so “we couldn’t use them if we tried”.

wow!

Roselilly36 · 24/05/2022 08:42

We have bought and sold, quite a few times over the years, only ever pulled out of one purchase due to a very adverse survey. If we say we are going to sell, we do, other than the exceptional survey one, we have bought every property we offered on at the price we originally agreed, never messed anyone around.

SurpriseSurprise · 24/05/2022 09:01

We had one, I can’t remember the whole story now, but basically it was lady going through a divorce claimed she was a cash buyer. Turns out she was hoping for money from her marital house, but didn’t know that her soon to be ex husband was going bankrupt so there was no equity left it in. In her wisdom she then decided she would sell her mums house as her mum had recently gone into care, and use that money instead 😳 her solicitor, on finding out the truth, told her to pull out immediately. She didn’t even have the authority to sell her mums house

Footgoose · 24/05/2022 13:57

@trailrunner85 . That’s awful. I feel your pain . In a similar situation today . Been waiting for 3 weeks to exchange . FTB , young man , single just who just went quiet . Wouldn’t talk to solicitors / EA / us. I found out via a mutual but distant friend he was literally sulking as he couldn’t move in on the date he wanted . The completion date has been delayed by 7 weeks ( not our fault , actually his survey wasn’t done until 14 weeks after offer) . Ultimatum given. Still waiting. We will re market if nothing happens today . I could cry . EA specifically asked us to give him a chance as he had made offers before but no one accepted as he came across quite young and not mature.
Not sure I would accept an offer from another FTB who doesn’t have A family to worry about.

trailrunner85 · 24/05/2022 18:44

Really sorry to hear that, @Footgoose . It's so stressful isn't it. Agree I would avoid selling to an uncommitted FTB again.
If they've gone through a mortgage process or at least done something to demonstrate they're serious then it's a bit more reassuring. But sometimes I honestly don't think they realise how they're turning people's lives upside down with the mind-changing. Or they don't care.

Footgoose · 24/05/2022 19:03

@trailrunner85 . Thank you, sitting here drowning my sorrows. We didn’t exchange . Gave him every chance . Waited 3 weeks for him to decide. Gave him a date today to complete before his mortgage application dead line expired. Means our house might not be finished but we committed to move out anyway.
stressed we had to exchange today to satisfy our builders long stop completion offer.
He agreed in principle but come today, completely blanked request for funds / exchange.