Come and have a moan about flakey buyers

404usernotfound · 2023-10-06T09:33:08+00:00

Please come and wallow with me and have a moan about flakey buyers. We’ve been selling a property. We were about to market it when the buyer approached us. After stringing us on for 3+ months past the agreed completion date they have just pulled out at the very last minute with no reason given. Clearly they were just time wasters. Fortunately we can still just go ahead and remarket, and will likely get more on the open market, but I don’t understand how someone can have the nerve to string someone on for so long for no reason.

Olinguita · 06/10/2023 11:14

I have a horrible feeling that our third buyer is about to pull out any moment now. Selling a London 2 bed flat with a view to upsizing to a small house. I know flats aren't an easy sell at the moment but it's an unusually big flat, it's in very good condition with neutral decor and we have priced it very competitively and will be taking a loss.
Our buyers are all FTBs and keep on quibbling about points that really should have been hashed out before they made the offer, having panics and then pulling out of the deal. We have bent over backwards to give them full info about the leasehold arrangements and other key points and have always answered questions in a timely manner.
Our second buyer asked for completion on a very tight deadline and we pulled out all the stops to be able to get the deal over line for them, only to have them bail on me several weeks in.
I honestly don't think any of our buyers ever intended on going through with the purchase. It's nothing to do with things showing up on the survey as we never even got to that stage! We don't have cladding and the block is a low-rise.
I find it utterly bizarre. It's like they are treating the process of making an offer, appointing a solicitor and getting an MoU out as just being a way to throw their hat into the ring. It's like the offer acceptance process means absolutely nothing. I know they are free to bail at any time but this level of flakiness is make our flat sale SO much more painful than it needs to be.

Original poster

404usernotfound · 06/10/2023 12:00

@Olinguita that sounds really stressful! I hope things resolve for you.

I agree about first time buyers being less serious now. Ours was actually a wannabe developer, but listening to first time buyers at work I think there is a desperation to get on the ladder which is driving people to jump in when they haven’t really thought it through. I do have sympathy for them … but it’s hard as a seller to be n the receiving end of it.

OP posts:

Ihateslugs · 06/10/2023 12:14

We’re selling my late mothers house ( probate is through) and our buyers pulled out on the day we were due to exchange!

Due to my mother putting half the house into a Trust in our names ( four siblings) their conveyancer insisted that all four of us signed the paperwork despite legally only two of us were required to sign - our solicitor quoted the relevant case law but they still insisted. So, in order to expedite the sale to meet the buyers deadline, we paid for the paperwork to be couriered to my sister in the US and returned by courier in three days. The buyers had sold their house, did not need a mortgage and were renting short term so were very keen to move in. So it was a shock when they pulled out.

The estate agent has just told us that they did the same thing on another local property, pulling out at the last minute, in order to make the offer on our house. It also seems that while hassling us to exchange quickly, they had already made an offer on a third house as within four weeks of our sale falling through, they completed on the new house and have now moved in. Seems like they had money to burn for surveys, legal fees, searches etc.

Original poster

404usernotfound · 06/10/2023 12:37

Wow @Ihateslugs that is so bizarre!

It’s almost the equivalent of buying several dresses when online shopping, knowing that you will return all except one.

OP posts:

BlueMongoose · 06/10/2023 12:40

Ihateslugs · 06/10/2023 12:14

We’re selling my late mothers house ( probate is through) and our buyers pulled out on the day we were due to exchange!

Due to my mother putting half the house into a Trust in our names ( four siblings) their conveyancer insisted that all four of us signed the paperwork despite legally only two of us were required to sign - our solicitor quoted the relevant case law but they still insisted. So, in order to expedite the sale to meet the buyers deadline, we paid for the paperwork to be couriered to my sister in the US and returned by courier in three days. The buyers had sold their house, did not need a mortgage and were renting short term so were very keen to move in. So it was a shock when they pulled out.

The estate agent has just told us that they did the same thing on another local property, pulling out at the last minute, in order to make the offer on our house. It also seems that while hassling us to exchange quickly, they had already made an offer on a third house as within four weeks of our sale falling through, they completed on the new house and have now moved in. Seems like they had money to burn for surveys, legal fees, searches etc.

What hateful buyers. And why did the HA not warn you they had messed other vendors about?

Ihateslugs · 06/10/2023 12:46

I also think the EA should have warned us, we had other people interested so might have accepted their offers had we known. They are a pretty rubbish EA so we plan to change as soon as we can, have to wait a few more weeks to the end of the initial contract period.

iovebread · 06/10/2023 23:14

that really sucks if buyers are pulling out without a reason. they should at least say why. only thing i can think of: cold feet. a lot of buyers are convinced house/flat prices will go down so they don't want to commit their hard-earned deposits into a high interest mortgages for a home that will go down in price. especially FTB who feel they have more to lose as it's their first home purchase.

this is the reality of the market. it sucks but buyers can give you their fair share of poor sellers too. i wish there was another way all of this could be done but the fact is it's a buyer's market right now, with buyers who are nervous about committing to fixed term mortgages that might drop and at the same time, prices are expected to drop further. 2024 will be painful for sellers

iovebread · 06/10/2023 23:16

Ihateslugs · 06/10/2023 12:14

We’re selling my late mothers house ( probate is through) and our buyers pulled out on the day we were due to exchange!

Due to my mother putting half the house into a Trust in our names ( four siblings) their conveyancer insisted that all four of us signed the paperwork despite legally only two of us were required to sign - our solicitor quoted the relevant case law but they still insisted. So, in order to expedite the sale to meet the buyers deadline, we paid for the paperwork to be couriered to my sister in the US and returned by courier in three days. The buyers had sold their house, did not need a mortgage and were renting short term so were very keen to move in. So it was a shock when they pulled out.

The estate agent has just told us that they did the same thing on another local property, pulling out at the last minute, in order to make the offer on our house. It also seems that while hassling us to exchange quickly, they had already made an offer on a third house as within four weeks of our sale falling through, they completed on the new house and have now moved in. Seems like they had money to burn for surveys, legal fees, searches etc.

ugh a-holes. i completely understand why you'd be p'd off with these guys!!