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Vendor pulled out at exchange

97 replies

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 17:07

Vendor pulled out 30 minutes before exchange. Devastated.
I’ve spent over 3.5k in legal and survey fees.

please tell me it gets better. I’ve wasted 5.5 months to get to this point

OP posts:
Tiggerty · 04/11/2024 21:24

Our first sale fell through but somehow, magically, the extra time gave the chance for our dream house to appear on the market. I hope, like us, you'll look back and feel it was all meant to be.

JennyForeigner · 04/11/2024 21:26

Absolute fuckers, really sorry this happened to you.

If it makes you feel even a little better, I didn't know about homebuyers insurance until very recently and only by reading Mumsnet assidulously. It's a small patch on a completely shit system but not as well known as it perhaps should be.

isthesolution · 04/11/2024 21:30

@JH20000 I know you feel nothing but anger for the buyer but consider getting your solicitor/estate agent to request that they give you the searches as a good will gesture. It'll speed up your sale once you get a new buyer.

Coconutter24 · 04/11/2024 21:32

DelphiniumBlue · 04/11/2024 17:15

Get your solicitor to ask the vendors to re-imburse you at least for the searches and survey. They may well say no but it's worth a try.

No one is going to hand over that amount of money when they don’t have to

Shwish · 04/11/2024 22:08

Coconutter24 · 04/11/2024 21:32

No one is going to hand over that amount of money when they don’t have to

Why? It's not like the searches are worth anything to them if they've pulled out. I bloody would. I imagine anyone with a conscience who pulled out at the last minute costing the seller thousands would be happy to hand over a couple hundred quid worth of searches that are useless to them anyway.

Starseeking · 04/11/2024 22:18

This happened to me a couple of years ago, before I bought my current house.

Mine took 7 months from accept of offer to the vendor withdrawing from the process on the day of exchange, 7 days before completion.

The vendor, who was in her earlier 80's decided after 7 months of stringing me along that moving house was all too much for her 🙄🙄🙄

I have to pass that house regularly on my way to the alternative house I bought, and as far as I can tell, the lady still lives there, rattling around on her own in a great big house that would have been ideal for a family (mine lol!).

My sympathies OP, the day it happened to me I was speechless for pretty much the whole day.

Coconutter24 · 04/11/2024 22:30

Shwish · 04/11/2024 22:08

Why? It's not like the searches are worth anything to them if they've pulled out. I bloody would. I imagine anyone with a conscience who pulled out at the last minute costing the seller thousands would be happy to hand over a couple hundred quid worth of searches that are useless to them anyway.

Do you mean hand over the search results or surveys? Handing over the surveys is different to just transferring an amount of cash.

rainingsnoring · 04/11/2024 22:37

@isthesolution @Shwish @Coconutter24 the OP says that the vendors have pulled out, not the buyers. I don't think the vendors will be handing over any searches or surveys!

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 22:53

So the estate agent called late this eve to say the vendor had revealed to him that she just changed her mind, no real reason as to why, just didn’t want to go through with it. She’s had 5.5 months to tell me that, why fucking 30 mins before. Utter time waster.

OP posts:
Clockworksatsuma · 04/11/2024 22:57

This happened to DH and I four times in a row when buying in 2021! We ended up living with our parents to save our sale. It was so stressful but the house we ended up in is the nicest. I’m glad we used an online conveyancing farm and didn’t pay any fees in the lost purchases besides searches.

DearGoldBee · 04/11/2024 22:58

Cornflakelover · 04/11/2024 17:42

Yes it’s. Called homebuyers insurance

don’t buy a house without having it
your basically gambling on people you don’t know being honest and trustworthy when hundreds of thousands of pounds are involved

😂
I don’t know why more people don’t buy it when buying a house - you are dealing with the general public who are stupids and deceitful at the best of time 😂
most solicitors offer it as part of the service

You can buy it online as well but you have to purchase it within 2 weeks of MOS from the estate agent

you can pick the level you require depending on what survey you have and solicitors fees

my son paid 70 through his solicitors

it coverd up to 1k in general survey
5k in Solicitors fees
2k in other fees you may have incurred like Rutgers survey - booking removals

his chain almost fell apart right at the last min and the sellers had to pull out but they luckily kept my sons a buyer and they managed to buy another place the following week

had it fell apart then all of my sons cost which were around 3k would have been covered

Edited

The most obnoxious use of emojis I've seen in a while.

Soonenough · 04/11/2024 23:03

Just changed her mind and left it that long
to say so . Terrible. So very unfair and stressful . This system needs to change .

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 23:10

Soonenough · 04/11/2024 23:03

Just changed her mind and left it that long
to say so . Terrible. So very unfair and stressful . This system needs to change .

Bet she wouldn’t be changing her mind so quickly if she had to cover my legal and survey costs..

It’s ridiculous. Changing her mind yet waiting until the last possible moment. I get that sometimes it falls through but it infuriates me that the process just lets it happen with no real penalty for shitty excuses.

OP posts:
Pixiedusty · 04/11/2024 23:18

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 22:53

So the estate agent called late this eve to say the vendor had revealed to him that she just changed her mind, no real reason as to why, just didn’t want to go through with it. She’s had 5.5 months to tell me that, why fucking 30 mins before. Utter time waster.

That's awful behaviour. Honestly don't know how people live with themselves knowing they have essentially messed people about for close to half a year. Were they at least apologetic? Perhaps there is a blacklist of such time wasters amongst local EAs...

Anyway as others have said and at the risk of sounding cliche, it might be fate and a better option comes along - I had a sale fell through after being gazumped, and few months later bought another place that was in every way better than the initial one, so here's hoping the same goes for you OP!!

SatansBobbleheadedDashboardOrnament · 04/11/2024 23:25

Pixiedusty · 04/11/2024 23:18

That's awful behaviour. Honestly don't know how people live with themselves knowing they have essentially messed people about for close to half a year. Were they at least apologetic? Perhaps there is a blacklist of such time wasters amongst local EAs...

Anyway as others have said and at the risk of sounding cliche, it might be fate and a better option comes along - I had a sale fell through after being gazumped, and few months later bought another place that was in every way better than the initial one, so here's hoping the same goes for you OP!!

There is a blacklist, of sorts. Estate agents recognise the time wasting buyers and the sellers... and they talk. Fuck around and find out. A couple missed out on buying our house for this very reason. Hopefully it'll bite her on the arse @JH20000

TiredCatLady · 04/11/2024 23:38

I’m so sorry OP, that is absolutely shit behaviour from the vendor.

Fingers crossed for this to be a blessing in disguise and the perfect house comes up for you.

JH20000 · 05/11/2024 00:36

I would love for her to be on some sort of list for when she inevitably decides to sell again in 6 months.

I’ve never felt so angry before at someone, it’s really quite painful really! I guess I’m just angry at the audacity of it all, the pure cheek to mess people around. There was no apology either.

OP posts:
KievLoverTwo · 05/11/2024 02:40

There is a little thing you can do actually. You can pin a marker on the address, call it its name eg 24 smith street, and leave a 1 star review for the house.

I own the marker for the rental I am about to leave on google and it’s going to get a shocking review when I leave - all of which are not disputable because I have an extensive paper trail and dozens of videos.

If you are too afraid to leave a review, get a bunch of mates to also mark it as one star. It will sow the seeds of doubt in a lot of buyers minds.

Zoopla also don’t care if you say you own a house and you go in and adjust the house size, number of rooms, sq m floor space. Within two months when it catches up with itself and tank the alleged zoopla value. It’s perhaps on the vicious side but if you really need revenge to get over it, it’s very easy to do.

You could also post copies of the EA letter saying she is pulling out with 30 mins to go to every EA in the area “just thought I would warn you this is not a serious seller.” Someone will still try to sell their house, but I have been told there are actual EA black lists, and most people won’t want to waste their time.

Mark Kermode has a saying that I remind myself of when I am tearing my hair out “it will be alright in the end. And it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”

So often when we are shat upon it’s a learning experience. About ourselves. About gut feeling. At spotting red flags. Or even just realising you were clutching at straws and the floor layout is awful and you won’t consider it again. Or that an EA is not doing a good job, etc etc.

Be patient, remember to breathe. Do something lovely this weekend. Spoil yourself.

That better house with an amazing seller is waiting for you, you just need a little bit more time.

Give yourself time off til Feb when the serious sellers start flooding the market.

Sending hugs x

Coconutter24 · 05/11/2024 07:29

rainingsnoring · 04/11/2024 22:37

@isthesolution @Shwish @Coconutter24 the OP says that the vendors have pulled out, not the buyers. I don't think the vendors will be handing over any searches or surveys!

Thanks, my original comment of ‘no ones going to hand over that amount of money’ still stands then because the vendor isn’t likely to hand over money for the inconvenience

Shwish · 05/11/2024 07:34

Coconutter24 · 05/11/2024 07:29

Thanks, my original comment of ‘no ones going to hand over that amount of money’ still stands then because the vendor isn’t likely to hand over money for the inconvenience

No fair enough the seller isn't going to hand over someone else's paperwork. You're wrong about "no-one" though. I would. And I know at least one person IRL who was given searches by a previous buyer who changed their mind - not the survey though. Although I think I'd want my own survey anyway

rainingsnoring · 05/11/2024 07:41

Coconutter24 · 05/11/2024 07:29

Thanks, my original comment of ‘no ones going to hand over that amount of money’ still stands then because the vendor isn’t likely to hand over money for the inconvenience

I agree, it's very unlikely. Sadly, the system is a mess, with both sides being able to pull out at the last minute without any financial penalty. I can understand that circumstances can change if sales take a long period of 4/5/6 months, and that people have to make the correct decision for them, but pulling out 30 minutes before exchange without even an apology is horrible behaviour.

DogInATent · 05/11/2024 08:58

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 23:10

Bet she wouldn’t be changing her mind so quickly if she had to cover my legal and survey costs..

It’s ridiculous. Changing her mind yet waiting until the last possible moment. I get that sometimes it falls through but it infuriates me that the process just lets it happen with no real penalty for shitty excuses.

How long did things sit pending Exchange after you were ready to proceed?
(i.e. after the survey was done, the searches came back, and you were prepared to sign on the dotted line?)

MooFroo · 05/11/2024 09:02

@JH20000 can you sell your searches to the next buyer? I think that is a thing and can speed up the sale for the next person.

Mildura · 05/11/2024 09:10

MooFroo · 05/11/2024 09:02

@JH20000 can you sell your searches to the next buyer? I think that is a thing and can speed up the sale for the next person.

The vendor of the property they were hoping to buy has withdrawn from the transaction.

Any searches the OP has carried out for the property aren't of any use to anybody as they are for a property that is no longer being sold, so there isn't a 'next buyer.'

BitOutOfPractice · 05/11/2024 09:12

JH20000 · 04/11/2024 22:53

So the estate agent called late this eve to say the vendor had revealed to him that she just changed her mind, no real reason as to why, just didn’t want to go through with it. She’s had 5.5 months to tell me that, why fucking 30 mins before. Utter time waster.

I got the same reason. Apparently it “just didn't feel right” 20 minutes before exchange. I was so angry.

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