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Original poster

Under offer but nothing to buy

21 replies

Areyootakingthepish · 30/04/2023 15:49

Anyone been in this scenario? What did you do?

Nothing coming on remotely what we want! We are quite limited due to school catchment.

Anyone got any advice as to what worked for them? Or do we just wait it out?

OP posts:

Sarahconnor1 · 30/04/2023 15:52

Yes, and we ended up taking ours off the market and staying where we are for now.

RM2013 · 30/04/2023 16:19

You may have to wait it out but how long would your buyers be prepared to wait? If you’ve been open with your buyers and let them know that you haven’t found anywhere and have a fairly limited search area at least they know the situation.

Good communication is always key in these situations- hope you find something soon

hexsnidgett · 30/04/2023 16:22

Yup. Nothing to even look at. Very glad we are rented for a bit. Although not enjoying paying rent.

Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 30/04/2023 16:23

Areyootakingthepish · 30/04/2023 15:49

Anyone been in this scenario? What did you do?

Nothing coming on remotely what we want! We are quite limited due to school catchment.

Anyone got any advice as to what worked for them? Or do we just wait it out?

I feel like your buyers may be a bit pissed off? Are they aware that you have no property to purchase?

onlyforthispropertythread · 30/04/2023 17:12

If you have accepted an offer then you need to accept that at some point you are going to have to move to somewhere else.

We have just withdrawn our offer (full survey cost, resulting builders visit and, of course, solicitors fees incurred).

Vendors point blank refused to consider renting and haven't yet found anywhere.

So we have pulled out.

Of course, they are now hugely amenable to exchanging asap and going into rented, but as it stands, our offer is withdrawn.

We made an offer to buy their property which they had said was for sale, not to hang around for months and months on the off chance that they saw somewhere they liked.

Twiglets1 · 30/04/2023 18:01

onlyforthispropertythread · 30/04/2023 17:12

If you have accepted an offer then you need to accept that at some point you are going to have to move to somewhere else.

We have just withdrawn our offer (full survey cost, resulting builders visit and, of course, solicitors fees incurred).

Vendors point blank refused to consider renting and haven't yet found anywhere.

So we have pulled out.

Of course, they are now hugely amenable to exchanging asap and going into rented, but as it stands, our offer is withdrawn.

We made an offer to buy their property which they had said was for sale, not to hang around for months and months on the off chance that they saw somewhere they liked.

Why wouldn’t you re engage with the process of buying their house now they have offered to move into a rental?
No point cutting off your nose to spite your face.

CupEmpty · 30/04/2023 18:04

It can be difficult tho as in my area you can’t view houses until yours is under offer/ you are proceedable.

houses don’t come up that frequently. I’m not trying to mess anyone around but we are stuck in a weird limbo of not being able to find anywhere….

Stopsnowing · 30/04/2023 18:06

As I couldn’t view until I was under offer it wasn’t my fault there wasn’t anything suitable. I ended up staying put.

GOW56 · 30/04/2023 18:10

Vendors point blank refused to consider renting and haven't yet found anywhere.
I would also refuse to rent. Our mortgage is fully paid,it could take a long time go find something suitable and renting would just mean throwing money away and meanwhile house prices might be increasing.
I would be completely honest with the buyers though. And leave it up to them to decide if they want to proceed.

Pepperminttt · 30/04/2023 18:16

I’ve been the buyer in this situation and my advice is to keep your buyers updated on your search.

We waited months for our sellers to find somewhere and then pulled out. We might have waited longer if they’d been better at proactively updating the EA/us (definitely wasn’t the EA’s fault, he was very good about chasing them for updates).

onlyforthispropertythread · 30/04/2023 18:24

@Twiglets1

Because we had told them numerous times that if they wouldn't consider renting then we would withdraw. They didn't come back with any sort of compromise and absolutely refused to even consider it as a potential solution. So we pulled out.

They were trying to call our bluff by digging their heels in and hoped that we would just go along with it and say "Oh, OK then, we will wait indefinitely - possibly until the end of the year".

We are comfortable with our decision, I was simply trying to point out to the OP that not everyone will wait around indefinitely.

Sarahconnor1 · 30/04/2023 18:29

If you have accepted an offer then you need to accept that at some point you are going to have to move to somewhere else.

If they are in England, legally they don't have to do anything.

we couldn't move into rented, they are hardly any available, dont allow pets, and they are seriously expensive. So we had to stay where we are

Frenchlady2023 · 30/04/2023 18:30

We lost our buyer after a year … sorry not what you want to hear! We offered on house after house after house.

eurochick · 30/04/2023 18:32

We had this situation. Our buyers were pretty patient but eventually pulled out. We took our house off the market but kept a close out for the sort of houses we wanted coming up. When our current house did, we offered and then got our house on asap. It went under offer in a few days, as it had before. A lot of places won't let you view unless you are under offer, but then you can end up in the OP's situation.

BungalowLil · 30/04/2023 18:34

We moved into rented but it was hard to find somewhere (we have a dog which made it harder) and expensive. Just about to move out of rented to a house we finally found which we like almost a year later.

Could you review your criteria for your purchase? As you can't be flexible on area is there anything cheaper than needs work? Why are you moving? Is it possible to stay?

onlyforthispropertythread · 30/04/2023 18:37

I would be completely honest with the buyers though. And leave it up to them to decide if they want to proceed

That's absolutely fine if that's what you stick to, but the time to negotiate is before the buyers withdraw, not after.

We withdrew because they said they absolutely, under no circumstances would consider renting. We took them at their word - fair enough, their choice. We made it crystal clear that we would withdraw and they still wouldn't budge. Now it seem, they suddenly, magically will be able to rent somewhere after all.

onlyforthispropertythread · 30/04/2023 18:39

If they are in England, legally they don't have to do anything.

Well of course they don't legally but in order to sell your house you have to actually move out of it at some point.

paddingtonbear1 · 30/04/2023 19:44

OP how long have you been looking? We're currently in a similar position. We want to keep our buyers but haven't found anywhere yet. Renting in our area is expensive and difficult especially with pets.

Original poster

Areyootakingthepish · 30/04/2023 19:51

Thanks for your replies.

we were totally upfront about it all, they’re in rented and we only went under offer 10 days ago, and I’m already sweating 😂

like lots of people have said you have to be under offer to view/put in an offer!

yes we have started to consider properties that need work but I’ve got two kids under three! We could move in with family but again not ideal. Also need to port our mortgage (6 years left on a 2% deal!) so may not be feasible anyway.

moving as need more space and can’t extend or do anything more with our current property.

OP posts:

CellophaneFlower · 30/04/2023 20:02

Honestly, OP, don't stress! It's a horrible business all round. Now the market has cooled a bit, some people will accept offers if you haven't sold yet, but then it's the same situation but in reverse if you can't then find a buyer.

It's definitely pressure, but don't feel pushed to buy a house that isn't suitable. As others have said, just be honest and then the decision is theirs - how long they're prepared to wait. Only if I knew my house wouldn't sell quickly again or I was struggling to get an offer accepted, would I consider renting/moving in with family.

GOW56 · 30/04/2023 20:53

in order to sell your house you have to actually move out of it at some point.
Of course but only if you have somewhere to move to.

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