To whom do I direct my ire - sellers or estate agent?!

vanguardian · 2022-05-23T11:19:04+00:00

We had an offer accepted on a chain free house on 31st March. The house was sold as chain free, the estate agent said it was chain free and the seller wanted to move "as soon as possible." The house is currently inhabited but the vendors are going to move in with a family member, all good. I moved quickly with searches and survey and my solicitor has been on the ball from the start. Clearly, it is now approaching eight weeks since offer accepted, so clearly this hasn't been as "ASAP" as I was led to believe. My solicitor has been puzzled by why things haven't seemed to move on the other side with the degree of "ASAP" urgency they said they wanted. I have just come off a call with my solicitor [angry]. It turns out that yes, the vendors ^are^ indeed going to move in with a family member... into the family's member's new home... which they are currently in the process of buying... and they do not yet have an exchange date for! [shock] My solicitor has not been able to ascertain the length of their chain or when they will exchange! I'm furious. I wanted to move in quickly due to relocating for work, and have been assured by both the vendors and their estate agent that we were all on the same page. What should I do next?

Thesefeetaremadeforwalking · 23/05/2022 12:24

Some estate agents are members of a trade organisation that will investigate this sort of issue.
However, you should approach the Estate Agent first with your concerns and see what they say.
Advertisements should be truthful and if they are misleading you could have a claim under ASA ruling - www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html

ChicCroissant · 23/05/2022 12:26

If you still want the house, it's likely that you'll have to wait unfortunately. You can ask the seller if they would be willing to move out earlier but I assume they'd have suggested that already if they were thinking about it.

It would be difficult for the EA/Solicitor to get any information about the other sale because it doesn't really involve their client, they are not the one buying it, so they are a bit limited there. What a frustrating situation for you, OP.

Herbyhippo · 23/05/2022 12:27

Call the estate agent and ask if they know there is a chain. Often sellers say they will move in with relatives but when they realise what the hassle of two moves entails they change their mind.

The agent will find out the chain length for you. The agent doesn’t get paid until completion so they should assist you as they don’t want it to take months either!

SunshineAndFizz · 23/05/2022 12:44

I'd be inclined to give them a date you need to move by - it's their issue if they need to be inconvenienced/find somewhere short term to live - not yours.

Original poster

vanguardian · 23/05/2022 14:28

Thanks all. I have been trying to get hold of the estate agent to find out if he knew about this and if so to what extent, but he hasn’t got back to me yet.

It’s not just the issue of having to wait longer to move but the fact that now there is much more uncertainty. Chains are collapsing all the time. It could ruin the whole transaction.

OP posts:

Dillydollydingdong · 23/05/2022 14:34

Couldn't your vendors move out and go into rented for as long as it takes? Ask the EA to suggest it to them.

Cattenberg · 23/05/2022 14:43

Unfortunately, sellers are often reluctant to move into rented accommodation. One reason is that assured short-hold tenancies are for a minimum of six months. Our system really sucks, especially in England and Wales.

RidingMyBike · 23/05/2022 15:39

Hello! We're in the same situation. We were meant to be exchanging today but it hasn't happened yet.

We are buying a 'chain-free' property, and wanted to proceed asap, then it emerged (via our solicitor's digging) that our vendor is waiting for probate to be granted on his onward purchase. After a few weeks, vendor then said he'd move into temporary accommodation to allow our purchase to complete. This was meant to happen next week. He now says he can't move by then, is going on a 3 week holiday and can't complete before end June (it was originally meant to be late April/early May before the probate issue was unearthed).

Basically we're stuck. We've spent money on surveys, solicitor etc and there is nothing else suitable on the market so it's not like we can pull out and have something else to pursue.

RidingMyBike · 23/05/2022 15:44

Oh and the EA tried to push the blame onto us/our solicitor because the paperwork had 'taken so long', then the vendor didn't have enough time to get a move organised for the end of May.

It hasn't, we've kept him informed, done everything promptly and it's all ready to go. Vendor could easily have outline booked a removal company and confirmed with them nearer the time. We have a sneaking suspicion he hasn't done anything at all about moving out.

Eastie77Returns · 23/05/2022 15:58

You have my sympathy. The house buying/selling system here is awful. Last Summer I had an offer accepted on a house with a vendor who had 'already secured an onward purchase'. It then turned out he was still looking and couldn't find a house for himself and an elderly relative so months of waiting with no progress.

I found another property which was definitely chain free as the owner had died and his children were selling up. Probate all sorted according to the EA. My offer was accepted so I instructed solicitors and prepared for my shiny new chain-free purchase. And then the whole thing collapsed as the vendor turned up. Just like Lazarus. He was not dead and didn't want to sell. EA offered a half hearted apology and said "these things happen"!

Tryagain2020 · 23/05/2022 16:08

Eastie77Returns · 23/05/2022 15:58

You have my sympathy. The house buying/selling system here is awful. Last Summer I had an offer accepted on a house with a vendor who had 'already secured an onward purchase'. It then turned out he was still looking and couldn't find a house for himself and an elderly relative so months of waiting with no progress.

I found another property which was definitely chain free as the owner had died and his children were selling up. Probate all sorted according to the EA. My offer was accepted so I instructed solicitors and prepared for my shiny new chain-free purchase. And then the whole thing collapsed as the vendor turned up. Just like Lazarus. He was not dead and didn't want to sell. EA offered a half hearted apology and said "these things happen"!

He wasn't dead?!?!!?!!!!! Just wow.

You have my sympathy OP. My last two transactions were supposedly chain-free which then, after many delays, turned out to be lies. Soooo frustrating. I guess it depends on how much you want this house.

Cattenberg · 23/05/2022 17:51

Eastie77Returns · 23/05/2022 15:58

You have my sympathy. The house buying/selling system here is awful. Last Summer I had an offer accepted on a house with a vendor who had 'already secured an onward purchase'. It then turned out he was still looking and couldn't find a house for himself and an elderly relative so months of waiting with no progress.

I found another property which was definitely chain free as the owner had died and his children were selling up. Probate all sorted according to the EA. My offer was accepted so I instructed solicitors and prepared for my shiny new chain-free purchase. And then the whole thing collapsed as the vendor turned up. Just like Lazarus. He was not dead and didn't want to sell. EA offered a half hearted apology and said "these things happen"!

I’ve been waiting for nearly a year to buy a house and the problem is the probate sale at the top of the chain. A few weeks ago, we were all told that the probate had finally been sorted. Except that it wasn’t, because someone then spotted that the deceased’s long-dead spouse was still on the deeds to the property. So that will take several more weeks to sort out.

I’ve never heard of the deceased turning up during probate, though! Why did his family think he was dead?

Minimalme · 23/05/2022 19:28

I thought nothing about the UK housing market could surprise me but the undead seller...bloody hell!!!!

BlueMongoose · 23/05/2022 20:53

RidingMyBike · 23/05/2022 15:39

Hello! We're in the same situation. We were meant to be exchanging today but it hasn't happened yet.

We are buying a 'chain-free' property, and wanted to proceed asap, then it emerged (via our solicitor's digging) that our vendor is waiting for probate to be granted on his onward purchase. After a few weeks, vendor then said he'd move into temporary accommodation to allow our purchase to complete. This was meant to happen next week. He now says he can't move by then, is going on a 3 week holiday and can't complete before end June (it was originally meant to be late April/early May before the probate issue was unearthed).

Basically we're stuck. We've spent money on surveys, solicitor etc and there is nothing else suitable on the market so it's not like we can pull out and have something else to pursue.

As probate isn't all that quick at the best of times, and can easily run into unexpected complications, I don't think people should market probate properties until probate has been granted.

BlueMongoose · 23/05/2022 20:55

Eastie77Returns · 23/05/2022 15:58

You have my sympathy. The house buying/selling system here is awful. Last Summer I had an offer accepted on a house with a vendor who had 'already secured an onward purchase'. It then turned out he was still looking and couldn't find a house for himself and an elderly relative so months of waiting with no progress.

I found another property which was definitely chain free as the owner had died and his children were selling up. Probate all sorted according to the EA. My offer was accepted so I instructed solicitors and prepared for my shiny new chain-free purchase. And then the whole thing collapsed as the vendor turned up. Just like Lazarus. He was not dead and didn't want to sell. EA offered a half hearted apology and said "these things happen"!

How on earth did they get probate without a death certificate????😧

Eastie77Returns · 24/05/2022 07:02

I really have no idea what happened with the not dead vendor. I assume the EA must have requested a death certificate so I don’t know how the confusion arose or how the children thought they could sell the house from under their father. The EA apologised and said there was a “complicated family dynamic”. The vendors first wife had died and he remarried. The children were apparently worried his new wife would inherit the house and were trying to force a sale. None of it made sense.