Moving mess

[foibles2011]

Ok I'm at a loss 😪we have been trying to move for 2 years now from our 1920s semi that we renovated from the ground up. On paper it looks great but it just doesn't work for us and due to me being unwell (chronic condition) is too much for me to maintain.
We put it on the market initially and it sold first day for full asking price but the buyer dropped out a week later having "changed their mind" so it went back on the following week and sold again first day for full asking - we found an amazing house the following week and had our offer accepted but the seller then took the house off the market suddenly! And before survey our buyers dropped out AGAIN - "changed mind". We managed to find new buyers and a better house that we had our offer accepted on and after a very complex 5 months we were ready to exchange on the Friday when our sellers pulled out on the Thursday and the whole chain collapsed!
At this point we were done and decided to stay where we were for the time being.
This year (April) we put the house back on the market after adding a downstairs loo and utility and again sold for full asking on the first day - we found a house that needed a bit of work but options were limited and had our offer accepted - a fortnight later after we had paid for our survey but before they had had theirs our buyers pulled out AGAIN!
Honestly I'm heartbroken. There's nothing wrong with the house, surveys done have been fine, pricing is obviously fine.
How are we meant to get out of here?? I haven't spoken to our sellers yet I'm too worried about their response but obviously I have to.
I just don't know what to do anymore 😔

I feel your pain.
Still thinks it's a joke that in England people can make an offer without having to be liable for a 10% deposit.
Just baffles me.

A lot of it is driven by the crazy market. So buyers are panicking and offering on whatever is available because there isn't anything but then next week something does become available.

I miss the days where you viewed a few houses & had more than 1 viewing & could then think about it rather than best & final the next day.

You need to find more serious buyers who love your house. Is there a lot of competition around your price point.

Thanks for the replies - @alwaysmovingforwards I agree I would happily put down a deposit on a house I loved to show I was serious!
@druto there is next to nothing on the market here at our price point and what does come on is generally the result of a divorce 😳 its a nightmare!

Xxx

I think it's quite unusual to have 3 out of 4 buyers pull out for changing mind.

@druto starting to think the bloody house is cursed 😣

What position are these buyers in? Is it worth not jumping on a first offer, seeing what comes of viewings on the first week or two, then choosing the most concrete/proceedable buyer, even if they're not the highest?

It sounds like they've rushed in to make an offer to beat other people? We're trying to buy ATM and have had viewings where we've seen the before and after viewers for our slot and the EA has 'made us aware there are already x offers on the table'. All of which puts the pressure on to rush in with an offer, and a higher one.

@RidingMyBike all the buyers have been proceedable according to our EA which is why we have chosen them - each time we have had multiple offers at asking price - the most recent one was over and chosen the ones who have been "in the best position"- most recent chain free - according to our EA.

I'm starting to wonder whether its the EA not fact checking or the buyers just outright lying 🤔

Is the EA verifying their position? We have an offer accepted and had to provide evidence of funding, mortgage agreement in principle etc and ID to get our offer accepted.

My smoothest house sale was the time I sold to a couple expecting twins. They were very motivated to get on with it as fast as possible!

Honestly this is it in a nutshell.

We are due to move in three weeks, it's been nine months of an absolute fucking nightmare.

Buyer number 3 is an investor. I've met him and liked him, he is respectful and owns a modest portfolio. The house is a much better rental than sale he brought his team round to check out the work to be done. So much more efficient than the two previous buyers who were both FTB, nervous as fuck and panicking at some ivy that just needs ripping down.

Also, our onward purchase know we will buy their property come he'll or high water because of our personal circumstances.

Get your EA to find 'that' buyer op. Good luck!

@RidingMyBike and @Minimalme I'll be making sure before accepting any future offers that estate agents have copies of all of the above and frankly I'm at the point of wanting sit down meetings with prospective buyers myself 🤣

I’m wondering if it’s running costs if the house? Maybe they have seen a newer build and decided that it would be cheaper to run than a 1920s?

Please tell me you’ve changed agents within all this mess? You need an agent who will manage your buyers closely. We pulled out a house partly because of survey but the rubbish-ness of the estate agent tipped me over the edge as a buyer.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 it could well be running costs given the current economic situation.

@SafelySoftly no we are still with the same agents - they are meant to be the best?!

It’s the agent, not the house. We had the same with one agent - supposedly the best but so competitive amongst the agents within the office / chain that they were targeted on how many appointments they booked- a recipe for a lot of totally unmotivated buyers looking for something different. The offer we accepted from them was a “cash buyer” - imagine my surprise when the sale fell through because the mortgage company wouldn’t lend as he didn’t even have the deposit (they’d accepted a company bank statement as evidence of funds - so not personal money). Get a good local agent - look to see who is selling a lot in the area.

You need to change agents, this sounds like too much of a coincidence and frankly what have you got to lose!