Buyer dragging their feet.. help?!

[llihl13]

Hi everyone, I could really do with some advice here as I’m starting to pull my hair out and I’m not sure if I’m worrying unnecessarily (it could be my crazy hormones this month.)

I accepted an offer on my house last Wednesday from a cash buyer. From the beginning they have been notoriously bad at answering the phone when the agent has tried to call, whether that was when booking viewings, talking about offers etc.

Anyway, offer accepted Wednesday and the agent still hadn’t heard anything from them by Friday about solicitor details. Finally they got back to the agent end of the day Friday with their solicitor details. Memorandum of sale got sent out Tuesday.

Had a call from the new build developer I’m buying from on Thursday to say they’d called buyers solicitor and the solicitor said the buyer had not yet instructed them. Since then, the agent has tried to contact the buyer to get an update and they haven’t answered any of their calls. I called agent this morning and they said they will keep trying and to give it a few days as sometimes people just don’t have that sense of urgency (even though they know we are needing to exchange within 4 weeks).

Am I right to be worried here? Granted they have been slow at communication from the beginning, but it isn’t giving me much hope that they are serious. What should I do moving forwards?

No plan B to be honest, my naive self thought it would all just be smooth sailing.

I would be happy to wait until a time that suits the buyer but I don’t know how that would work with the new build. If they want us in by end of April, we can’t have two mortgages. Now I’m stumped… 🤕

I also suspect they haven't instructed the solicitor because they want a second viewing first to be sure, which is common practice. I think your EA is being disingenuous and we went through exactly the same when we were selling our last place to a cash buyer, when our EA put their needs and demands before ours. EAs want to hang onto CB whatever it takes because not needing a mortgage makes the process smoother and the sale should be done quicker.

I also don't think 1.5 weeks is particularly long, especially if they haven't had a second viewing to make sure. The only reason you're super stressed about it is that the developer is trying to push things along as fast as possible.

I got really hacked off in our last sale/purchase as the agent for our seller was incredibly pushy about moving things along and managed to royally piss both us and our buyers off when 4 months into the process our seller hadn't even completed the chain at the top.

You could well be right, but why wait almost 2 weeks between offer and the second viewing? Surely you would want to know sooner rather than later.

Did your cash buyer pull through? Were they slow at instructing?

I share your worry about exchanging.

We moved into our newbuild 13-months ago but reserved 12-months before that. Our developer insisted on 42-days from reservation to exchange and BOY did they hassle us! At one point the sales person rang us at 5pm on a Saturday to say that if we didn't exchange soon we would loose the house, what were we supposed to do at 5pm on a Saturday?!?!?! 😡
I contacted the solicitor on the Monday (the solicitor recommended by the developer) and they said to take no notice as the sales people were known for being over zealous (calmed us down but ruined the weekend).
Anyway we finally exchanged (a few weeks after the 42-day deadline) and a year later when speaking to our new neighbours it turns out they all got the same treatment.

If you are doing all you can, the buyer turns out to be genuine (just a bit slow) and the sales team can see this you will probably be ok.
In our case it was the sales team who did all the chasing and were told things by various solicitors about the chain that they had no right to know!

Who is your developer?

I agree put the property back on the market, the buyer just doesn’t sound committed to the purchase. I expect given the market has changed and they are in a good position as a cash purchaser they may be playing the field. Good luck.

So do I give them more time and hope for the best? Or because of the short time frames do I get the agent to put it back on the market and hope the buyers hurry things along? Gosh I’m so confused…

Second viewing is common practise, I've just sold a house to a cash buyer and he had three viewings in the end. Think you are being a tad optimistic though as it still took 4 months from offer accepted to completion.

It’s a constant stress isn’t it!

Our developer is Bloor - same developer as the house I’m currently in. They were pushy last time and we ended up going over the 4 week period but they didn’t mind because the sale was progressing nicely. I really just need the buyer to give us an update so the developer doesn’t see red and call it off after 4 weeks.. :(

Thank you, definitely something to consider next week.

I'd missed the cash buyer bit. That simplifies things quite a lot, the buyers solicitor should be able to start the ball rolling straight away.. and I would expect things to start happening next week if the buyer is aware that you need to move quickly and is on board.

Yeah, more than happy for them to come back and see it to be sure. Just in the meantime would like some communication!

Out of interest, was your cash buyer slow? Or was it just the whole process was slow?

Yes, another viewing is common but it’s not common to delay even instructing a solicitor for this length of time.

We've both bought and sold a house in 6 weeks from going on the market and DH wasn't in even in the country when we were buying. It absolutely can be done but both sides have to be on it. Obviously with no chain too!

I'd put yours back on. If they're cash buyers there's no reason to not answer calls etc if they're genuinely interested in proceeding.

Also, I’m in the process of selling and first buyer was with cash. He had a solicitor lined up on the same day he offered.

The whole process, more the solicitors I think than anything as we had good estate agent who chased everything. Afraid I can't actually remember exactly how long it took him to instruct a solicitor but I wasn't in any rush as it was an inherited house. I think we had exchanged solicitors details with the estate agent within a week. Hope it goes well for you💐

They did, but it took five months because while they were a cash buyer, it turns out some of their cash wasn't readily available. The EA knew but didn't tell us because they didn't want the sale to collapse. But we were buying a probate so there was no rush.

As for the wait between second viewing, presumably it's because they don't live in the area and can't just nip round one evening and can only do weekends? Do you know where they are locating from?

Instructing a solicitor isn't all that's needed quickly. If they plan on having a survey done then that also needs booking in asap. How confident are you that the agents have properly qualified them as cash buyers? Agents should have seen bank statements in their own name with funds to cover the full purchase. I would make sure they have done that and check that with them by email. So often it turns out not to be the case and you really don't have time to much around. Just because they won't be paying a mortgage don't assume they'll be happy to complete months before they relocate. They'll be responsible for council tax/insurance/utility bills whilst it's empty plus the risk element of an empty property. Where are they living now - rented/with family/another property they own. Don't assume anything. Send agents an email making your timeline for instructing solicitors and surveyor clear. Reiterating that you are buying a new property with very tight deadlines and make that all part of accepting the offer or the house continues to be marketed. I'm pretty sure we had a timeline of how soon a surveyor needed to be instructed after offer acceptance when we last bought.

I guess there are lots of things to consider with a cash buyer that I hadn’t thought about. Where does the money come from is a start 😂

They live about 3 hours away so that could well be a reason they haven’t come sooner. Although they did do the original viewing in the week and not a weekend. Gosh I’m so done with it all already!

Thanks, this is really helpful. I think I’ll draft out an email with dates to send the agent on Monday - don’t think I’ll get anything out of them now as when I called this morning only one person was in!

I think he currently lives with parents. The agent did say they asked for proof of funds when they asked for the solicitor details but that they didn’t send it. But agent said not to worry as the solicitor would soon look into it. So who knows where the money is coming from. I’ll make sure I include that in the email.

My worry is sending this email will be off putting to the buyer, as some people have mentioned here. But I think there will come a time I have to stop worrying about that and put my foot down!

My only concern is if the buyers are serious and just taking their time, it will pee them off that we’ve put it back on the market already. We didn’t have much other interest so to lose them from being impatient could put us in more trouble 🤔

@llihl13 I think if that pees them off and they pull out, it means they weren't serious buyers. It's not the lack of progress as such, it's the lack of communication that I concerning.

*find

I am currently buying a new build - 4 week exchange period is standard when buying one. They accept delays as long as you are seen to be actively making progress but as long as you complete as soon as the house is completed.
I am currently in the worst situation where I have done everything I can and am completely ready to exhange but my buyers and my estate agent have never seemed to understand the urgency. We reserved our new build before Christmas, our buyers only applied for their mortgage Tuesday before last. I told the agency to tell them to apply as soon as I reserved the house! The developer has given a final exchange date of this Friday or we lose the house, at which point I will refuse to sell to our buyers as they have ignored the urgency for 2.5 months and messed me around. It is so stressful to have no control.
It is a concern that they haven't even instructed their solicitor, I would be putting lots of pressure on the estate agents to get this sorted and for them to understand the urgency of the situation.

If they’re moving for work I assume they’re not that close to you, so it’s not a case of popping over easily for a second viewing - they probably also want to check out the wider area too if they’re not local.

I honestly think 1.5 weeks is nothing whatsoever, and thinking you’ll exchange in four weeks isn’t going to happen.

I strongly suspect anyone thinking this is slow, or that 4 weeks is achievable hasn’t bought/sold a house very recently. Our last sale took 6 months yet on paper looked incredibly simple.

I think the more info you give the more unrealistic you sound, so they have a six hour round journey - of course they’re going to need some time to arrange a second viewing.

It’s irrelevant whether the first viewing was a weekday or weekend, not everyone works Mon-Fri, 9-5…