Buyer has went AWOL on completion day

[Streeeesssseeed]

A previous sale fell through so we went onto sell via auction to a cash buyer as estate agent said this was a quick, easy and sure fire way to sell. Ended up taking 10K under valuation but needed a quick sale. Contracts exchanged at the end of auction with completion to take place within 28 days. 28 days is today and was supposed to be completion day (confirmed last week) but buyer hasn’t transferred the remaining funds. His solicitor can’t contact him, our solicitor is having no luck. Stress levels are so far through the roof I could cry right now- has anyone experienced similar? The only thing our solicitor has said at the moment is that they’re never had this happen with an auction sale before which wasn’t particularly helpful!

thank goodness for that OP.

I don't understand how someone can be that thick...

He knows he's paying all the extra bills, right?

Plus isn't it breach of contract or something, you should be legally entitled to something for that? What does your solicitor say?

Great news!!!

Get yourselves in and crack open some bubbly to Christen your new home!

🎉🥂🍾

Aw congrats op glad you got a positive outcome. What an insensitive git the buyer is though.

Great news, did you manage to keep your stuff on the moving vans overnight?

What a relief! So so stressful for you. Enjoy your new home.

Congratulations @Streeeesssseeed , enjoy your new home

According to our solicitor he’s agreed to fund our removals fee (I’m sure the bill for overnight storage will be eye watering!) and our hotel stay last night- kind of wished I’d checked into the Hilton now ha! Although it was a very brief conversation and I have no written confirmation so who knows what will happen.

We currently have a take away on the way and I’m about to crack open the wine. Give me an hour then my English really will be awful 😂 😂

@Streeeesssseeed Enjoy your takeaway and wine tonight
Get that in writing tomorrow though! Legally, he has to cover all the losses, pretty sure, and possibly other things.

i'd love to say your solicitor will know but we seem to be in strange territory with so called professionals these days.

Success! What a roller-coaster!

Although I am puzzled about the solicitor being part of the EA's auction package - I thought it was illegal for EAs to recommend solicitors.

As for commenting on people's grammar I do think that is the height of bad manners - we do not know what education the poster might or might not have been able to access, whether they have dyslexia, whether English is a second language for them or which part of the country they come from.

@Streeeesssseeed so pleased it all got sorted.

Our EA said they could suggest solicitors if we needed (but we had one already) and also suggested surveyor.

Brilliant news!!!! 👏

I'm really glad it's sorted. We were due to complete 2 days before a long planned holiday with maximum family and our buyer (not auction) went AWOL on the day, fortunately we'd moved out beforehand. I ended up attempting to communicate with our EA on a mobile in the middle of the N Yorks Moors (it was years ago) and remember shrieking "he's got until a week today and after that I don't care if he pays in Krugerrands he's not having it!" in an utterly deranged fashion.

Enjoy your well deserved wine.

I’m really happy for you! 🎉🎉

Ive been checking, hoping that you had a good news and you weren’t back to square one.
So to your new house!!

Great update .

Glad you got it sorted and it’s all come good quickly for you OP.

Its actually really quite common on auction sales, the buyers at auction are often very familiar with property purchases (eg developers, property companies etc) and do not view the completion date as being as set in stone as on a standard sale and particularly as they know that contractually they have 10 days to complete once notice to complete is served on them before they risk losing their deposit etc. Also when not buying it as their home the don’t have the emotional investment. If they are still sorting out their finance etc, which is the normal situation, then they can be very relaxed about it.

Including an auction sale in a chain with home purchases is very risky and not recommended, but needs must sometimes.

I have two English degrees. First and distinction.

You are being unreasonably pedantic.

I’m pleased you go it sorted OP.

For anyone reading this threat in the future in similar circumstances, much of the advice give is simply incorrect.

Whilst the auction contract (and equally a contract by private treaty) contains a contractual completion date, time is not ‘of the essence’ meaning that the contract cannot be terminated due to the failure to complete.

It is therefore necessary for the seller’s solicitor to serve Notice to Complete which makes time of the essence. If, and only if, the Buyer fails to complete within 10 working days of the Notice being served, the Seller can terminate the contract and keep the deposit. If losses exceed the amount of the deposit then an additional sum can also be claimed.

If the OP had an onward purchase which also failed to complete, they would be at risk of their Seller serving Notice to Complete on them and the potential consequences that follow. The OP would not have been excused for their non-performance by virtue of their buyer having been at fault.

So pleased for you OP, buying and selling is bad enough but a buyer disappearing on completion day must be dreadful.

Enjoy your new 🏡

Yay! Great update.

My parents were downsizing to a bungalow years ago and were due to complete on 18th December. Money didn't arrive as solicitor had gone on holiday! they eventually completed and moved in on 23rd December but that was a sweaty few days.

Cash buyer, auction, now gone quiet. They have probably been picked up by police for money laundering

@Hmm1234 have you read the OPs posts?

That'll be a no!

sounds like emergency bridging loan situation if you want the new build. Although why they are loosing patience with you is beyond me - they are just being arses its not like you could have done anything differently for a different outcome.

This happened to
my downstairs neighbours, and they were leaving the county for work. Plus they had a new born!
thry ended up letting their flat and put it back in the market . But super stressful for them. The flat still hasn’t been sold, but at least they’re getting rent.