Handhold? our buyers just pulled out on exchange day :-(

[MissCherryCakeyBun]

just had a call from the agents and our buyers have pulled out.... I feel sick 😥
we were due to exchange today and we have already moved into our new house so have been playing a juggling act to cover everything and now this.
7 months since we went on the market and everything was fine and this just out of the blue. The female buyer (Married couple) has decided she isn't sure about the neighbors.

if I put up a link could you have a look and see what we could do to make it more appealing?

Worth noting its now totally empty of furniture in the house so those photos are a bit different and we have asked for new Garden photos to be taken showing it in the summer

We don't have the funds to dress the house with furniture and we had all the walls repainted and the carpets cleaned after we moved so its all fresh....Its also more expensive than others locally due to new wiring/heating floors etc. in the last 5 years and the very large home office/studio in the garden

I have some nice pots with plants and flowers to go by the front door for more curb appeal too.

sorry for the rambling post just needed to vent
Original Listing.... check notes above about changes :-)

Just noticed OP said the prospective buyers didn’t even have a survey done.

As a renter, is this normal? I thought it was a ‘must do’ rather than a ‘nice but not necessary’?

There really should be a financial penalty for prior that pull out within a certain period of exchange date- it’s really not acceptable.I know that doesn’t help you now….
if you need the sale- drop the price, mow the lawn, declutter the garden, jet wash patio. I’d also tile paint the bathroom floor and kitchen tiles. Loose the inner curtain and fix catflap. Paint white any strong colours. Hope it sells soon!

So sorry to hear the buyers pulled out :( That must be devastating :(

Going forwards, as others have said, I’d personally get the photos redone for a quick sale. The three-bedroomed house nearby looks nicer.

The general impression from the current photos is that the previous owners fled in a hurry, leaving random furniture behind. Picture 7 is a low point with the taped-up cat flap and what looks like a piece of boarding hanging off below the sink (?).

Other thoughts:

The carpets look mouldy (it’s the pile, but a buyer doesn’t know that…).
The furniture isn’t ‘staged’ to help a buyer imagine living there.
The home office (photo 22) looks like it’s part of the house and contains the fridge-freezer (!).
The home office needs to be on the floor plan.

Sorry this happened to you, how traumatic! There are lots of positives to your house and I like the room proportions for example and the fact you haven't tried to squeeze 3 beds into a house that only has space for 2 proper bedrooms.

However, it does look a little tired decor wise - I feel like you have put money into important things but maybe neglected more frivolous things like painting the interior of the house/carpets/curtains etc that make a house visually appealing. Things like electrics ought to be more important but actually buyers only notice superficial things at a first viewing and will make up their mind often based on things like decor, rightly or wrongly.

I particularly feel like you could pay more attention to the garden area, make that look more appealing with the lawn mowed etc before new photos are taken and tidy it up so it looks like an appealing place to sit in warm weather.

Pots at the front will help a lot. May be a problem to water as you aren’t there though.

Remove that utility photo, that’s the easiest and biggest win.

Take off that saggy curtain.

Get a different angle on the bedroom photo so the wardrobe doesn’t look out of place. Maybe from the space next to the wardrobe?

On a modernish house a lot of people just have a valuation.

OP there is no mention of the house’s biggest selling point - NO CHAIN!!!!

I am in Scotland and a buyer pulled out on me 2 days before it was meant to be final so it can still happen here.

My sale is meant to be completing in two weeks and that made me feel sick to read. It must have been so stressful for you, I'm sorry.
I gather it's more common in England, I think it's 1 in 4 that fall through vs 1 in 10 in Scotland.

and i asked for advice on this? all i will say is we did and thats all I have to say

Mortgage companies impose a basic survey.

Apart from that, no, it's not mandatory. Frankly, surveys don't tell you that much, worth having, but madness to trust them implicitly, too many things they can't see.

How quickly did you get an offer last time?

I’d work out how much it is costing you to have this house sitting empty each month and then consider dropping the price of a quick sale. If it’s priced well you be be picker about how you sell to and hopefully the agent can help you pick someone who won’t mess you around

I understand you are upset, but no need to be rude.

No one can give you advice, it's too late anyway, it's done.

It's the neighbours, isn't it? We had to do that once.

Oh OP that sucks. The buyer says she’s worried about the neighbours. Does she have reason to be? Is there anything obvious happening next door such as scruffy garden, junk etc, or a dispute, or the buyers have been round in the evening and heard a loud party or smelt weed?

Don't even get started on the English system. It's a joke. England and Wales are the only countries in the world that still use leaseholds. It's crazy. There a new build houses being sold where the owner doesn't own the land - merely the shell structure, which is worth relatively little. Our housing system is a mess.

The buyer obviously saw the house and was ok with the price up until exchange.
Op, what issues did the buyer have with the neighbours?

Easy cosmetic things - cut the grass, power wash all the paving in the outside area - it looks dirty and tired, I'm assuming all that outdoor clutter has gone? It's good you're having new photos done of the garden, but FGS make it look neat and tidy first. The pot plants idea is a good one, although the front looks fine to me. A nice tree in a pot though or a flowering plant would be nice for the photos.

Indoors, make sure the curtains hang properly - those gaping bits at the top look messy, get rid of the awful bit of old cardboard over the cat flap, and yes, look at the price. You say it's more expensive than other similar properties locally and that will affect whether people are interested or not.

Oh this is horrible. I'm so sorry. I feel so much rage on your behalf.

Will you have to move out of your new house? I would be crying constantly if I had to give up my dream home.becsuse someone went back.on an agreement. You'd think after 6 months at some point during that time they'd have aired their concerns?

Is there anything off putting about the neighbours house or gsrden? Don't hey have loud dogs or a front l garden full of scrap? What an odd reason to give!

Picture looks fine,.agree with previous posters about curtains and cat flap. Also the price for.that area is a little high, especially now.6 months on from when you last sold. I know that's.nkt.what you want to hear.

Good luck

OP I know this isn’t quite what you asked for, but I work in property sales and it’s quite common for selling agents to “digitally dress” properties (aka superimpose furniture in an empty room). They can make it look really realistic - maybe something to consider if you end up getting new pictures done!

I mean this as constructive criticism and not 'having a go' but it doesn't look newly done at first glance (which is all people give houses on Rightmove unless they're interested). The kitchen and bathrooms look dated, the furniture is mismatched and the paint looks faded (might be the lighting?). I also initially thought there was mold in the corner of the sitting room on the first photo because the carpet has been brushed the wrong way.

I would have the photos redone with no furniture and hoover lines in the carpet as I don't think they are showing the house in its best light.

I also think you need to reconsider the price as it seems that a lot of the work you've done (e.g. rewiring) is hidden so people won't realise that while they are perusing RightMove - they will just think it's overpriced. Maybe consider a guide price or OIEO?

That's so frustrating OP, did you have much interest before it got taken off the market for your buyers?

I'm sorry OP that is shit
Have you declared a dispute with your neighbour that has just come to light?
How much interest did you have?
Could agent check if potential previous buyers are still interested?
Firstly NO ONWARD CHAIN should be stated at the top of listing in bold
Some need to proceed quickly
The photos don't show any " must have this house" potential to buyers
Have you got an unbiased friend who can go round it with fresh eyes?
It doesn't look clean fresh or bright so declutter furniture remove curtains
Highlight the home office on the listing
I really don't mean this unkindly but it doesn't look like it has had a total refurb, so I don't think that is relevant
Jetwash patio
Ultimately drop the price.. it would pay off
Maybe market to first time buyers who don't need a family home

There is no such thing as an exchange date, it is a made up concept that people rely on - you only have an exchange date once you have actually exchanged contracts and then it is that day. To refer to an “exchange date” ahead of time is making people feel like things are more committed than they really are. The day is no different to any other day going through the conveyancing, until you actually exchange contracts then ta dah you have your exchange date.

But to the op - it sucks when a sale falls through when you feel you are nearing the end of the process and hope you get a new sale through soon

The neighbours seem to be the elephant in the room…

I know you're saying you did a full refurb but honestly it looks quite dated throughout. If I was interested in buying that house I'd be looking at basically ripping out the kitchen, bathroom, flooring, getting ceilings plastered, etc.

As far as I can see, your only option is to drop the price.

The buyer may have pulled out because the bank have withdrawn the loan agreement, in other words the bank thinks that the property is no longer worth the asking price.