I am in the middle of a chain of three. I had a first time buyer purchasing my flat and will be buying a flat that is currently rented as part of a portfolio. The chain began back in August before the big changes in the economic outlook. The flat that I am buying is quite unique and I bid 15% over the asking price to secure it, though was only in competition with one other bidder because it has limited appeal. I am moving to gain more space but it is not out of necessity.
We were ready to exchange this week until I got a call from the EA yesterday. My buyer has emailed from abroad to say that he wants a 12% reduction on my flat. He gave spurious reasons (like saying that he didn't know it was leasehold - it was advertised as leasehold!) and has been uncontactable since. The EA now tells me that he has tried to withdraw twice before now and had to be talked back into the process, which is news to me. This started back in September and if I had known, I would not have gone ahead with spending on surveys, etc. I am not willing to negotiate with his gazundering because of the way he has gone about it, nor do I think he would be reliable even if we did continue. He is ignoring calls and emails from the EA.
Separately, the estate agents have been really aggressive with me throughout this process. I have had several calls accusing me of delaying that turned out to be due to my buyer. Yesterday, we agreed that I would go back on the market and I said I would not be ready for viewings by tomorrow. The EA was openly angry with me and demanded to know what I could possibly need to do tomorrow instead (I am wfh and have confidential meetings that can't be rearranged. I have said we can restart on Tuesday. The gazundering had only just happened!). She is the same person who did not tell me that my buyer started to wobble back in September and I am pretty pissed off that she has not only handled this badly, but has also repeatedly been aggressive towards me when I have been a perfectly easy and efficient client.
On top of that, last week I had an email from my solicitor who has suddenly left her job and handed my case over to a colleague on the cusp of exchange. An introduction was promised but I have not heard anything from the colleague which now seems pretty remiss.
I currently have two options: find another buyer ASAP or withdraw altogether. My vendors have said they are willing to wait and I am not surprised, since there is no urgency for them and my offer was high even back in August. However, I am not sure this will last and am not getting any information from the EA.
WWYD at this stage? This is not a necessary move and part of me now thinks I should just pull out altogether and stay where I am. However, I still love the property. If I do go ahead, how do I handle the crappy behaviour from the EA? I've just had a rubbish experience and they are treating me as though I am the problem.