House on the market - can I pull out?

[Lilly242]

Basically we've got our house on the market and have accepted an offer from a potential buyer and have put an offer on the next property which also has been accepted. This week we've been informed by our mortgage advisor that our mortgage application for the new house is a potential decline due to some affordability flags which they haven't shared details and is being passed to another team for fresh pair of eyes. If the bank declines or comes back offering much less than what we need in order to buy the next house, then us selling at this point, is pointless and we would rather not sell. Im not sure if we would still have to pay EA if we pulled out due to not getting the mortgage we need?

We are receiving pressure from our EA and the buyers solicitors to start the selling of our house. I don't really want to tell them of whats happening incase the potential buyer pulls out of uncertainty. The bank said they'll give a decision in 2 weeks from now.

So my question is can sellers pull out from selling their house, without incurring the cost/fee?

Thank you for reading and any thought are welcome. Please no sarcastic comments looking for helpful advice

Read the contract you signed with the EA. But I think if you have accepted an offer, and then take the house off the market, you may incur a cost as the EA has marketed your house. If I was a buyer I wouldn't want to wait another two weeks with no action, so if they pull out your immediate problem is solved.

Thanks @muddyford. I'll see if I have electronic copy of it. When you say if the buyer pulls out our immediate problem is solved, sorry for sounding stupid but how's that?

Most estate agent contracts dont charge you if you take your house off the market - but do check your contract. At this early stage nobody has spent much money. You could try another financial advisor to see if they can get you a mortgage.

Agree with PP I wouldn't wait for 2 weeks without any info or action either if I was your buyer- I suspect they will make this decision for you OP.

Read your contract with the estate agent. It may be that if they have found you a buyer who is ready, able and willing, and you pull out, then you are liable for their fees anyway. But if the buyer pulls out, then you are not.

Your immediate problem seems to be that you can't sell at the moment but may incur EA penalty charges if you take your house off the market while it's under offer. If your sellers withdraw you can then probably take the house off the market with no charge. But you need to check your contract.

Hugely rare that you'd incur estate agent fees for pulling out. I'm not sure why everyone here seems so convinced just accepting an offer puts the seller into some kind of point of no return, while a buyer is free to pull out at any stage. The deal is not done until exchange and circumstances can change for anyone. Pull out if you need to.