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Original poster

So fed up with the first time house purchase. To pull out???

14 replies

HannahTheBanana · 08/08/2022 20:30

Hey Mumsnet!

You bunch have been a great support when I was going through a miscarriage and then successful but complicated pregnancy… I thought I’d turn to you for some advise, a kick in a butt or just sympathy with our first purchase!

So we have been looking intensively since 2019, then covid hit, we all know the score. We have been completely priced out from London so looked at commuter towns. Found a really great property in Faversham! Put an offer on, 3 bed accepted for £450k, £50k over the asking price. Huge demand, we went to best and finals. It took 6 weeks for the vendor to arrange for the the second viewing (always bad time etc). Anyway, we got on with the solicitors very fast, done the survey etc. All promptly completed. We then hear that the vendor is looking for a property to move to as she’s getting divorced and really wants to sell, needs the proceeds etc. The seller put an offer on a place that hasn’t been accepted. And then couple of weeks ago the agent emailed us saying that she’s put another improved offer on the same place. And now awaiting the decision. We said to the agent, that the vendor needs to either confirm the date when she can move or if she’s willing to go into rental accommodation. Our mortgage offer expires at the end of October. This has been going on since mid April. Today we found out that in fact she has never put an improved offer on the house! I’m so annoyed, frustrated and just sad. All the communication has been going on through the agent…
My biggest worry is my daughter’s childcare arrangement. My mum who is looking after my daughter now, is going back home at the end of October and we are in a pickle… Not to mention the interest rates climbing up and making the purchase not so attractive after October if we were to extend it…
any advise? Shall we pull out now? Technically we’d need to be super lucky to complete so quick considering that this has been a total drag and waste of money and time so far!
is it possible to find another place and complete so fast? Any good positive stories? I’ve tried to stay positive throughout but I’m just done now I think… :-(

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 09/08/2022 07:15

HannahTheBanana · 08/08/2022 20:30

Hey Mumsnet!

You bunch have been a great support when I was going through a miscarriage and then successful but complicated pregnancy… I thought I’d turn to you for some advise, a kick in a butt or just sympathy with our first purchase!

So we have been looking intensively since 2019, then covid hit, we all know the score. We have been completely priced out from London so looked at commuter towns. Found a really great property in Faversham! Put an offer on, 3 bed accepted for £450k, £50k over the asking price. Huge demand, we went to best and finals. It took 6 weeks for the vendor to arrange for the the second viewing (always bad time etc). Anyway, we got on with the solicitors very fast, done the survey etc. All promptly completed. We then hear that the vendor is looking for a property to move to as she’s getting divorced and really wants to sell, needs the proceeds etc. The seller put an offer on a place that hasn’t been accepted. And then couple of weeks ago the agent emailed us saying that she’s put another improved offer on the same place. And now awaiting the decision. We said to the agent, that the vendor needs to either confirm the date when she can move or if she’s willing to go into rental accommodation. Our mortgage offer expires at the end of October. This has been going on since mid April. Today we found out that in fact she has never put an improved offer on the house! I’m so annoyed, frustrated and just sad. All the communication has been going on through the agent…
My biggest worry is my daughter’s childcare arrangement. My mum who is looking after my daughter now, is going back home at the end of October and we are in a pickle… Not to mention the interest rates climbing up and making the purchase not so attractive after October if we were to extend it…
any advise? Shall we pull out now? Technically we’d need to be super lucky to complete so quick considering that this has been a total drag and waste of money and time so far!
is it possible to find another place and complete so fast? Any good positive stories? I’ve tried to stay positive throughout but I’m just done now I think… :-(

I think you have been a bit too laid back about chasing this sale tbh - 6 weeks for a second viewing would have given me the message that this vendor was not committed to the sale. And this has been going on since April? I would have lost my patience by the end of June tbh with the lack of progress.

I definitely think you should be viewing other properties - you should have been viewing other properties for a while. And tell the estate agent that you are going to be viewing other properties since the vendor seems so uncommitted to the sale. Don't spend any more money on pursuing this sale unless your vendor agrees to move into rented or something. It will be very hard now to complete by the end of October on another house, just about possible maybe but unlikely. But it's worth a look to see what else is around - well overdue, in my personal opinion.

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 09:06

Thanks for your response. Yep, I feel like a very naive first time buyer. I thought that’s how things move along in this housing market. Not that I trust the omens but when we were going to view it first time, I had a cycling accident on the way to the viewing. The second time our car broke down on the way there too… and effectively we didn’t see the property. Oh gosh. We just might need to look elsewhere now and accept that we have to find a cheaper property etc… thanks for taking your time to respond!

OP posts:
Glitterheart · 09/08/2022 09:12

We had a very similar situation to yours - highly popular commuter town, 40 viewings, 11 offers - our offer was accepted (well over the asking price). We were told that the vendors were on the cusp of offering on houses for months and months… all the while the property prices continued to increase. We paid for surveys, etc, and 6 months later the vendors came back to us and asked for 30k more as the market had changed since our original offer ☹️ We couldn’t afford any more and lost out to a cash buyer who could offer a higher amount. However we looked again and found a lovely house in the same town which we were successful buying and all went through smoothly and still living here 8 years later! Sorry not a very positive story but it’s a ruthless game and sadly you may be better to walk away….wishing you all the best with it all x

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 10:24

@Glitterheart That sounds like a positive story at the end! And one that I am hoping will be the case for us too. I just cannot believe how this pulling out at the last minute is even possible. I was talking to my colleague, who is from Japan, and she said that back in Japan if buyers or sellers pull out after the offer is accepted, there is a fine to pay so people are discouraged from doing that. And once you agree to the price you stick to it! I wish this was the case in the UK. I am pretty sure that 'our' vendor won't be able to get a better offer in the current market. But that is none of my worries now. I am just tired only thinking about going through the whole process again! Especially because we are looking for a house that is a far distance away from where we currently live. Thanks for your response though, it's a happy ending story which is exactly what my worrying mind needs right now! x

OP posts:
NellesVilla · 09/08/2022 10:28

Pull out now and don’t waste any more time on this.

Start looking again and maybe broaden your criteria and search radius. Or can you rent in the area you like for a bit, so when a suitable property appears can be quick to move? A friend did this and managed to buy a little flat near Brighton.

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 10:59

I think that might be the way to proceed! At least it'd be easier to view a property if we live close by! Also it'd be easier to find nursery for my daughter without moving her twice.

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 09/08/2022 12:19

But also you do need to communicate with your estate agent that you are considering viewing other properties or pulling out completely. It is their job to keep the sale on track and they won’t want to lose their commission. They need to put a rocket up your vendors. If your vendors lose you as buyers they may not be able to get such a good price again with the way the market is going, and the estate agent needs to remind them about this

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 12:30

@Twiglets1 we did but I feel that the estate agent is crap. He's too nice and apologetic, I don't think that he's strong enough to be heard, if you know what I mean...

OP posts:
Kite22 · 09/08/2022 12:46

I agree with both of @Twiglets1 posts.

You don't need to formally 'pull out', just tell the EA you are viewing other properties as this vendor is clearly not interested in the sale. Don't spend any more on it, but you can keep it on your radar.
I would have been chasing them long before now though.

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 12:51

@Kite22 yes! Our solicitor is going to let them officially know that we won't be able to proceed after our mortgage offer expires. And maybe I didn't make it clear in my original post from yesterday, but we have been on it, chasing the EA at least twice a week since April!

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 09/08/2022 13:00

HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 12:51

@Kite22 yes! Our solicitor is going to let them officially know that we won't be able to proceed after our mortgage offer expires. And maybe I didn't make it clear in my original post from yesterday, but we have been on it, chasing the EA at least twice a week since April!

But with respect you shouldn’t have left it until August to start looking at other properties especially with a mortgage offer expiring at the end of October.

Pirl · 09/08/2022 13:09

Slightly different scenario, but when our buyer appeared to be messing us around we set a short deadline for completion and fully intended to walk away if they didn't meet it, we'd just had enough of the never-ending stress. It focused everybody's minds and suddenly all problems were overcome...🙄

Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 13:16

@Twiglets1 Yes, I totally agree. We put all the eggs in one basket. Very naively and stupidly. Lesson learnt.

OP posts:
Original poster
HannahTheBanana · 09/08/2022 13:17

@Pirl this weirdly doesn't seem to have any effect on our vendor. I just think she doesn't want to sell her house full stop, she might need to because of the divorce but she doesn't want to.

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