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Original poster

Exchanging tomorrow. Buyers just pulled out

321 replies

Newhousename · 14/08/2023 21:29

It’s not about money apparently . They just went off the house. The night before. After five viewings and months of paperwork. &@£$**>%€

anyway. Trying to be practical. Does anyone have experience of those we buy any house type organisations? Please. Or any other thought that could help.

OP posts:
Unexpectedlysinglemum · 14/08/2023 23:17

I had to pull out of a house two weeks before exchange (my username is clue to the reason!) I felt so sorry for the vendors and I kept an eye on the house on right move and it was relisted and sold within a week- this was since mortgages have got wild too so there is hope for you! X

SingingSands · 14/08/2023 23:17

I'm sorry OP, it's an awful thing to happen. Our buyers pulled out on us the day before exchange too.

We re-listed (the man we were buying from gave us 4 weeks to try and sell again), but it was the 2nd of January by this point and nobody was viewing or offering. The stress of it all got to me and we pulled out of the market.

We are still here, 7 years later. Maybe it was fate after all. It didn't feel like it at the time though!

Lenor · 14/08/2023 23:27

I’m so sorry. This happened to us. Twice. It’s so, so shit but all worked out in the end.

Soonenough · 14/08/2023 23:31

Buyer was at house , measuring for curtains , ordered wallpaper to match. I knew her so it was OK with me , due to exchange in two days. Went home , had a fight with her DP and pulled out day before.

stayathomer · 14/08/2023 23:34

Just to play devils advocate 15 years ago we found out my dad was dying. Less than a week later we were meant to sign for an apartment. People told me I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, I said it’s pretty much a done deal, it’s too late etc even though I had been having doubts as it was so far away from everyone. we still have the apartment, couldn’t sell, have to rent it out, were on the floor for years money wise. A property is a huge thing. I’m so sorry for you, but if they had doubts, I’d always say it’s never too late to pull out

Stressybessyboo · 14/08/2023 23:34

Oh no I'm so sorry, that's awful!
Please avoid the house buying companies, they'll offer you under value but still enticing enough, you'll go through all the rigmarole of selling and they'll try and knock you down considerably just before everything goes through. A disgusting tactic that gets people to the vulnerable point of almost selling!

KievLoverTwo · 14/08/2023 23:36

I am so sorry this happened to you, and I am shocked to read how common this is

(one 20 mins before exchange, wtaf?)

Threenow · 14/08/2023 23:39

Evenstar · 14/08/2023 21:46

I think there should be a financial penalty for time wasters like this, our system is not fit for purpose.

We lost a sale at an advanced stage many years ago, we lost £800 in legal fees and our onward purchase because our buyers lied on their mortgage application.

I hope you sell again quickly 💐

You seem to have strange property buying laws! Where I live there would be financial penalties for doing this.

billybear · 14/08/2023 23:42

get back on market now, will sell quick try and use their surveys etc to save time, shocking how do people sleep doing that to people

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow · 14/08/2023 23:46

StandUpForYourRights · 14/08/2023 22:09

What a shit system we have in England. The Scots have a much better system

It is shit, but I do believe in fate, there will be a reason, you just don't know why yet. Things always happen for a reason.

I don’t understand the system you have. I’m in the US. There are substantial penalties in place for backing out. I had to take charge of the selling of my mother’s home and a month in the buyers tried this. They would have lost thousands if I chose to keep part of their deposit, which I informed their agent I would be doing. When they knew I wasn’t taking kindly to their late change of mind they quickly decided to continue.

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow · 14/08/2023 23:48

In the US, once the seller accepts the offer, the buyer has a short period of time to get loan approval and a home inspection done. Once they proceed beyond that point, backing out cannot be done on a whim.

Walesagogo · 15/08/2023 00:13

Dablikeacrap · 14/08/2023 21:59

A family members experience was that they offered at 10% below asking and then at exchange they reduced their offer to 25% below asking

Similar to someone I know.Buyer pulled out a week and tried bartering to knock the price down, seller decided not to sell to them after. Dirty trick. Seller lost the house they were buying but in the end got one they preferred even more.
OP, thats shit but maybe something better will come along if you've also lost the one you're buying? Can't believe the cheek of some people, if its a couple maybe one of them wasn't sure all along and then just couldnt do it and had gone along with their wife/husband at first. Seen that scenario too annoying as it is.

winterfire2021 · 15/08/2023 00:15

In Australia you pay a 10% deposit when the initial contracts are signed, but they are usually 'subject to a building inspection' and sometimes 'subject to finance'. If the building inspection reveals a significant issue, or the buyers can't get the finance they need, they can pull out without penalty. But for just a change of mind, etc, they forfeit the 10% deposit to the vendors, which given Australian house prices is a hefty sum!

turkeytwizzlerss · 15/08/2023 00:18

winterfire2021 · 15/08/2023 00:15

In Australia you pay a 10% deposit when the initial contracts are signed, but they are usually 'subject to a building inspection' and sometimes 'subject to finance'. If the building inspection reveals a significant issue, or the buyers can't get the finance they need, they can pull out without penalty. But for just a change of mind, etc, they forfeit the 10% deposit to the vendors, which given Australian house prices is a hefty sum!

The banks guarantee the money as well so you don't be in a chain. When a house is sold, it's sold.

TheMadGardener · 15/08/2023 00:23

So sorry OP.
Our case wasn't as bad as yours but in 2016 we lost our buyer about 2 weeks before we were expected to exchange. He pulled put because he had lost his buyer.
We nearly lost the house we wanted because when the sellers found out we had lost our buyer they were very upset and said they might take their house off the market. Our estate agents got them to agree to wait one week to see if we could find a new buyer quickly.

Our estate agents then sent every potential buyer they had in our direction and 3 days later a family offered to buy our house but for a bit less than our previous buyer. We accepted as we could afford the cut and didn't want to lose our new house.
It delayed the process for about an extra month while more paperwork was done for the new buyers but we got the house in the end.
It was stressful but not as stressful as our previous move where we had exchanged but on completion day our buyer failed to complete as he didn't have the money ready to transfer. Our stuff was actually in the removal van when we found out he couldn't complete. It was a nightmare. The removal company took our stuff into storage and we spent 4 nights staying with friends. 4 days later he did complete and it cost him a fortune because he had to pay penalties and reimburse our storage and extra removal costs and compensate us for days taken off work. (We had a very good solicitor, he didn't!) Luckily the house we were moving to was already vacant so it didn't affect our sellers so much.

Moving is a nightmare!

caringcarer · 15/08/2023 00:25

That's not good OP. I hope you find a new buyer quickly.

AffableApple · 15/08/2023 00:26

I suspect it was a financial reason and the buyer was trying to save face. We were given a nonsense excuse by our buyer who pulled out, but we read between the kines as shr gave a slightly different version to another party. So many sales are falling through. It's a crazy market atm. I hope your EA gets on the phone immediately to anyone who expressed an interest.

ClematisBlue49 · 15/08/2023 00:32

So sorry to hear this. What a nightmare moving can be...

If you do want to consider selling to a property buying company, make sure they are a member of NAPB:

https://napb.co.uk/

I daresay it isn't foolproof, but they have a code of practice which I think offers some assurance that the price offered won't suddenly drop for no reason.

But it's probably best not to make a decision straight away. Give yourself a few days to regroup, then get back on the market and see what happens first.

Home - The National Association of Property Buyers

The National Association Of Property BuyersThe National Association of Property Buyers We are a group of professionals committed to providing the highest possible standards in the property buying sector. Formed in 2013 the Association has worked closel...

https://napb.co.uk

turkeytwizzlerss · 15/08/2023 00:42

Scotland enters the chat

Sleepydoor · 15/08/2023 01:08

WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow · 14/08/2023 23:48

In the US, once the seller accepts the offer, the buyer has a short period of time to get loan approval and a home inspection done. Once they proceed beyond that point, backing out cannot be done on a whim.

Same in Canada. Usually all conditions, like inspections and financing are dealt with early on and at that point you lose your deposit if you walk away from the transaction. It's almost unheard for a buyer to back out at the last minute. You can also sue if a buyer for damages if they breach the agreement. Your system sounds very stressful and unfair.

GoldenSpangles · 15/08/2023 01:22

In NZ, you sign a contract. It might have some conditions as to solicitor's approval, inspection etc. Once those conditions are met, and it's likely to be be in days rather than months to meet the conditions, the contract goes unconditional. Some contracts are totally unconditional because all things necessary have already been checked or arranged - an unconditional offer will be preferred over one with conditions such as being subject to valuation. The settlement date is set in the contract and then it's full speed ahead because you are bound to settle the purchase on that date. You would have paid a deposit by that stage too so if you don't complete you'll forfeit the deposit and be liable for other losses too. We do not have a deed system - we have a register which is now online - so solicitors are not examining a chain of deeds. The whole idea of purchasers or vendors pulling out at the last minute is totally foreign to us. We don't tend to have long chains either - we would probably not entertain binding ourselves to a contract which was conditional on you selling your house or finding another house to buy.

Threenow · 15/08/2023 01:27

GoldenSpangles · 15/08/2023 01:22

In NZ, you sign a contract. It might have some conditions as to solicitor's approval, inspection etc. Once those conditions are met, and it's likely to be be in days rather than months to meet the conditions, the contract goes unconditional. Some contracts are totally unconditional because all things necessary have already been checked or arranged - an unconditional offer will be preferred over one with conditions such as being subject to valuation. The settlement date is set in the contract and then it's full speed ahead because you are bound to settle the purchase on that date. You would have paid a deposit by that stage too so if you don't complete you'll forfeit the deposit and be liable for other losses too. We do not have a deed system - we have a register which is now online - so solicitors are not examining a chain of deeds. The whole idea of purchasers or vendors pulling out at the last minute is totally foreign to us. We don't tend to have long chains either - we would probably not entertain binding ourselves to a contract which was conditional on you selling your house or finding another house to buy.

I'm in NZ and I am always startled by how difficult and frankly downright strange the English system is. A woman came to my work recently to sort out paperwork for selling her flat in London - it was like a book, nothing at all like our fairly straighforward contracts.

GiddyUpH · 15/08/2023 01:59

It happened to us and worked out way better for us in many ways in the end - fingers crossed for you too.

LovePoppy · 15/08/2023 02:03

Freyya · 14/08/2023 22:45

I don’t see why an offer should be legally binding though. You learn things in the conveyancing process that you don’t know when you view and offer.

Show quote history

Where I am you get 10 days to do your sue diligence. Once that’s done and signed off, it’s legally binding. You pull out you pay all the fees and forfeit a deposit, usually around 5-10 percent

LovePoppy · 15/08/2023 02:03

Due, not sue