The all-new buyers/sellers waiting room (continued x5) thread!

[BirthdayRainbow]

Hi I took the liberty of starting a new thread as I couldn't answer on the last one.

@kirinm I am glad you've decided I pull out. I wanted to suggest it but didn't want to stress you out. I hope the next house you view is the one and it all goes smoothly.

@ingkir I have just read all the search results. My son has helped with a couple of questions, I've left a message for my friend to help with something else and I am waiting for the solicitor to ring me back as they've attached someone else's details to the end of the paperwork 🙄. I'm distinctly unimpressed as of course potentially someone has mine and the whole stream could be wrong. Looking at what the emails say it is likely it is a one off but I needed to tell them. The receptionist was going to put me through to the solicitors secretary until I said why I was ringing. Already over the time of when she said she'd be back.

I still have a few things outstanding but I won't exchange until I have answers so I'll wait it out.

Sorry to hear that and I sympathise. We've got the opposite. Waiting for bottom of chain to get their head out of their arses. We were told enquiries had been sent and found out this week they hadn't and now it's will be done in a couple of days so all very vague. We have limited sight of that part of the chain so relying on our EA who should be all over it and isn't. I've upped the frequency of my emails to apply more pressure and try and get the chain committed to targeting a completion date in December. I'm moving away from 'do you have an update' to 'did this person do this specific activity that they said they would do on this date' as I feel the process needs a more directive approach. Top of chain is almost ready to go and vendor wants early-December, which we would love too.

I know the second guy isn't getting the gig. Still no quote anyway. I've got someone else coming the week after next to quote for me. Then I'll decide.

Well we have provisional agreement to exchange on Monday (deposit is in at the bottom of the chain and all paperwork good to go). I bloody hope this is it, but first I need to get through one weekend of anxiety - it's going to feel like a week! Need to keep busy.

Still waiting for our exchange and completion dates even though all paperwork done and everything in place. To add more fuel to the fire my literal dream home went on the market today. 25k more than the one we’re buying, but down the road from the kids school and a beautiful period property. We have made friends with the lovely elderly lady we are buying from so not only would I feel AWFUL pulling out of the sale this late on, but we’re not guaranteed to even get the dream home. Apparently the agents phones haven’t stopped all day since it went live so they reckon it’ll go for way more than asking price. Worse case scenario would be we lose our buyers (and it took months to get offers), lose the dream house and back at square one. So we are sticking. Someone please tell me we’re doing the right thing! Really gutted that this house has only came on the market now…

So we're all ready for exchange. We've been ready with our buyers for about 3 weeks just waiting on a few enquiries from our sellers which are now in. Everyone is ready to go in the chain. We were meant to exchange beginning of this week with completion agreed for November 18th. EXCEPT our sellers were secretly doing an extra survey on their onwards purchase which has apparently come back unsatisfactory and they've pulled out 😭

I have no idea why there is a shark on my post. My phone obviously senses how much I want revenge!

@0hshutupshirley the accidental jaws had me cackling 😂but I'm so sorry you found yourself in this shit situation!

Is there any way your sellers would go into rented? if not, can you as to not lose your buyer?

@iloveyoubutilovememore I personally couldn't live with myself pulling out at that stage of the process, and as you said there are no guarantees that it would work out for you guys (outbid, bad survey etc). I think you are 100% doing the right thing - if we lived in Scotland you'd have no choice anyway.

I know a lot of people will say its a business transaction and not to get personal, but it totally is personal! Id rather be a person of my word (unless there was an extreme circumstance - bereavement/divorce etc that means plans change). So in summary 😂I think you are 100% doing the right thing staying put and karma will reward you.

Nope. We asked that. Even offered them £15k to cover 5 months rent for them (we can't as we have young kids and pets) the answer was no.
To be honest I'm not entirely sure they're actually committed to selling at all. They've been a nightmare on quite a few bits. Changing their minds on things. Even trying to sell us their 20 year old cooker for £500 (which is exactly the same - only older - as the one that we're leaving for free for our buyers.
The thing is if they'd just been honest maybe everyone could have waited. But our buyers have to move out of their flat by Monday - because they thought we were there!!! So now the whole thing has gone tits up.
I don't think I actually trust our sellers now at all.

@iloveyoubutilovememore you are 100% doing the right thing. A bird in the hand and all that

@0hshutupshirley Is there anything else on the market that might work for you? If there is I would be tempted to pull out on them!

Noooooo! What a nightmare I'm so so sorry.

Just drove past potential new house, vendor was loading stuff into his van from the garage which now only appears to have 2 motorbikes inside (previously had 6), taking this as a positive sign he is getting ready to actually move. He had mentioned needing to sell a couple of things and we presumed it was at least a couple of the bikes...

Graduation day for me!
Sitting here with a (large!) glass of wine in our new home having exchanged and completed today. It can be done. Many many scary moments along the way, a big health scare and a reduction in what we were hoping to get for our old home, but we're in the house of our dreams so absolutely worth it. Good luck to everyone on this thread which kept me going at times and hopefully you will all get there soon!

Well done @standardmum !! Congratulations and all the best on graduating! Enjoy your new home 🏅

@iloveyoubutilovememore i think you should try and get the new house.

@iloveyoubutilovememore how did you feel when you read my previous post? I did it on purpose in the hope that your gut feeling gave you a decision. Either yay, go for it or no chance.

Congrats @standardmum .

I just had a shock. My vendors have had some work done which I requested, good job as a fault was found and my solicitor is asking my buyers solicitor if ready to exchange. Hmm just dawned on me she means the people buying mine and not the ones I'm buying off. Need to reread.

I may be in the minority but I’d pursue the dream home. You aren’t ready on the other house…it’s the nature of the process that you can withdraw until exchange. The chain could collapse for any reason anyway and not due to you.

There is nothing stopping you trying for the new house whilst also continuing with the current one. You could get very lucky and the dream home chain pulls together quickly.

It’s like winning the lottery; you have zero chance of winning if you don’t buy a ticket.

@BirthdayRainbow my initial response was no don’t do it! Thank you for that. Ultimately I think it comes down to personal morals I just couldn’t do it to the wonderful lady who we are buying from. And we can make it special so I’m sticking. If this house came up earlier I think we may have changed however I’m a big believer in everything for a reason and all that

How do people decide or negotiate who pays for things? We are in the middle of a chain thats meant to be exchanging next week. Our vendor refused to pay for electrical safety tests etc and our buyer is now requesting extra documentation, insurance and a retainer fee but refusing to contribute to any of the cost. So we are having to pay for everything on both sides! We are pushing back against a few things as some of them are ridiculous. I was so close to pulling out today and cried to my husband !

@Imgoingtothebeach I think it would be fair if you paid costs associated with the house you are buying (and same for your buyers, they should pay costs relating to your currently property). However, people can be bastards so it basically comes down to a game of chicken - does your buyer want the house more than you want to sell it? Risky game to find out though.

I had similar. I've done and paid for everything to make sure everything in my house is checked, repaired and upgraded if necessary. My vendors pushed back on one thing I wanted and said no to another. I made it clear I wasn't exchanging until the former was done. If they wouldn't pay then I would but they had to organise and be in as I'm miles away and it was do it or I walk.

@Champere and I'm thinking of people like my FIL who at 85 has just paid out £3000 on rented holiday accommodation to move to in order to facilitate exchange /complete- plus solicitors fees plus searches on his forward going property- I'm sorry but there is always something 'coming on the market' that you might prefer but my own view is if you have offered and just 'change your mind' pre exchange for no logical reason a law needs to come in to pay costs.

@Crikeyalmighty Believe me I understand: I have been in this hellish process for five months. But at the end of it; no one in a chain owes anyone anything until exchange. If the perfect affordable property comes up I’m not going to put my family’s happiness on the line to do a stranger a favour. And I’m not a bitch I promise!

Would a family's happiness be put on the line by withdrawing from a house they were all perfectly happy with 20 seconds before they noticed one that's (surmised to be) a bit more aligned with the taste of one member of that family? It's not a bomb site in Syria versus Chatswood. I don't think I'd want to cause appreciable cost and potentially enormous disruption to perhaps lots of people on such a flimsy self-exculpating basis.