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Original poster

How Long is Acceptable to Wait for Seller

26 replies

Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 17:53

Hi All,

how long would you say it’s acceptable for a vendor to take to find a property?
I have accepted an offer from a cash buyer for my property, and my buyer has accepted an offer from a FTB for her house. The issue is that the vendors of the house that my offer has been aceepted on has not yet found a property to move into. Its been just over 3 weeks since the offers were accepted and they are still looking. As far as I know they have been to lots of viewings but have not liked anything. I don’t want to rush them but I am worried about the whole chain collapsing because they have not found anything. Would it be unreasonable to ask them to move to rented/family, as my our downwards chain is all good to go. Also when they do find a property there may be a chin involved in the house they like, so technically this process could take months which risks the sale of my house and my buyer’s house. Its doesn’t make sense for me to move to rented as I am all ready from my end, I have a buyer and I have my offer accepted on the house I want to move to, and it seems unfair as I woild have to pay £5k early redemption fee to the bank ( I am porting the mortgage) and thousands on rent.
Thanks

OP posts:
Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 17:57

Would it be unreasonable to ask them to move to rented/family

go for it
but be prepared for them to pull out and chain collapses anyway

Fuckthecamelyourodeinon · 15/03/2025 18:22

Our vendors took 6 months - depends on what they want and what the market is like.

Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 18:22

How long did it take you to find yours op?

Buttonknot · 15/03/2025 18:24

The chance of them moving out to rented / family is really low IMO. You can ask, but at the end of the day it's a matter of deciding how long you're prepared to wait. (Yes, I have pulled out of a previous purchase for exactly this reason.)

Original poster
Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 18:30

@Ketchupbroc we viewed the property we liked before we went under offer. As soon as we found a buyer we put in an offer on ours. So not long at all

OP posts:
Original poster
Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 18:31

@Fuckthecamelyourodeinon were your buyers happy to wait that long or were you a first time buyer?

OP posts:
Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 18:33

Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 18:30

@Ketchupbroc we viewed the property we liked before we went under offer. As soon as we found a buyer we put in an offer on ours. So not long at all

You accepted an offer from a buyer in a different situation so…. Yep you’re going to have to wait or put property back on market

fairydust11 · 15/03/2025 18:47

Personally I think 3 weeks isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, I would give longer than that, they possibly didn’t look before finding a buyer, so maybe are only starting to look now.
I would have a timeline of possibly 3-4 months & if they haven’t found anything by that stage I would maybe suggest rented which I think is acceptable after a certain timeframe.
I do think expecting your buyers to find a property in less than a month is unacceptable especially if the market is slow, I wouldn’t panic just yet, obviously if the months are dragging by then I would, but it’s only been a few weeks.

What is the market like where you are & for what they are looking for?

AnotherEmma · 15/03/2025 18:57

It depends how much you want the house you've offered on and whether you're prepared to risk losing your own buyers. If I were you, I'd keep looking for another property with no onward chain. If your sellers find somewhere, all good, but they might not.

FWIW, DH and I have been trying to find a house to buy for nearly a year now - we want a specific area (for schools) and there are very few suitable properties that go on the market. We had accepted an offer on our house but couldn't find anywhere (we did make offers on a couple of houses but didn't get them) and our buyers eventually pulled out after 6 months. We now have new buyers and have decided to go ahead with the sale as we've found a suitable rental. It's not ideal but at least we'll be chain-free if and when we find a suitable house.

Buying a house is so expensive when you factor in stamp duty, legal fees etc - it's an expensive mistake to make if you buy a house you're not happy with and end up moving again.

You can ask your sellers to consider renting if they haven't found an onward purchase within a certain time frame (and it depends on the market where they're looking; based on my experience I'd say no less than 2 months, preferably at least 3) but of course there's no guarantee they will agree to it and they're not obliged to, either. That's why you should keep looking - and if you find somewhere to buy with no onward chain, you can always pull out of this one.

Original poster
Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 19:10

@fairydust11 the market where we live is ok. We are buying a 4 bedroom from
them, and they are looking to upsize to somewhere with more space. I have seen quite a few that are big houses and I am assuming tge sellers went to see them as apparently they had a day full of viewing on the weekend but didn’t like anything.

OP posts:
TwirlyPineapple · 15/03/2025 19:20

Three weeks is nothing, you’re being incredibly unreasonable. We’re very organised and have a list of several properties we want to view the second we get an offer (I don’t believe in viewing before we’re procedable as it wastes everyone’s time). Depending on schedules, we might not literally be able to view those properties within 3 weeks, and that’s with a clear shortlist in place.

Original poster
Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 19:28

@TwirlyPineapple I completely agree 3 weeks is nothing, and I don’t expect the sellers to find something in 3 weeks as it is a big commitment. All I am asking is for opinions on how long would be expected and peoples opinion that have been in a similar situation. I absolutely love the house we have made an offer on and don’t want to lose it hence the worry about timelines.

OP posts:
BinChicken25 · 15/03/2025 19:31

3 weeks! Honestly where I live you’d be lucky if one of the type of house we were looking for came up in 3 months never mind 3 weeks.

AnotherEmma · 15/03/2025 19:32

Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 19:10

@fairydust11 the market where we live is ok. We are buying a 4 bedroom from
them, and they are looking to upsize to somewhere with more space. I have seen quite a few that are big houses and I am assuming tge sellers went to see them as apparently they had a day full of viewing on the weekend but didn’t like anything.

They sound quite picky. There can't be a huge number of houses on the market with 5+ bedrooms. It is early days but do keep looking for yourselves in case they don't find anything. People wanting to upsize from a 4-bed are unlikely to want to rent! Can you imagine how much the rent would be on a 5+ bed property!

Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 19:35

AnotherEmma · 15/03/2025 19:32

They sound quite picky. There can't be a huge number of houses on the market with 5+ bedrooms. It is early days but do keep looking for yourselves in case they don't find anything. People wanting to upsize from a 4-bed are unlikely to want to rent! Can you imagine how much the rent would be on a 5+ bed property!

Show quote history

Hands up

I am “picky” when it comes to buying a house

Fuckthecamelyourodeinon · 15/03/2025 19:37

@Naz2019 no we weren't FTB. We sold our house several times only to have buyers pull out after a month, two months, three months, while we were getting out bid on everything in our price range. We moved into rented to stay in the school catchment area after we offered on the house we bought (elderly couple, needed to take their time to find their final bungalow, not flakey and we felt they wouldn't pull out) and then moved again 6 months later when they found their house. Can't recommend moving twice in 6 months with a toddler, 5 year old and three kittens..

FondantFancyFan · 15/03/2025 19:44

I deliberately looked for a chain free property to avoid this situation, the chain can go on for ages. Ours is a relatively short 2 house chain and we're looking to complete in April all being well. It is hard to say how long it will take because your buyer will now have to find a property. The chain can go on for quite a long way until someone breaks it by going into a rental or buys a chain free property like my sellers did.

fairydust11 · 15/03/2025 19:47

Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 19:10

@fairydust11 the market where we live is ok. We are buying a 4 bedroom from
them, and they are looking to upsize to somewhere with more space. I have seen quite a few that are big houses and I am assuming tge sellers went to see them as apparently they had a day full of viewing on the weekend but didn’t like anything.

It’s hard to say if the market is ok, maybe they have a particular idea of the type of property they want in mind within a certain budget, or maybe they want to see more properties before making a decision.

I do personally think you need to give them a bit more time.

If for instance they haven’t found anything by the end of May, beginning of June, then yes I would be getting a bit anxious.

Have you explained your concerns to your solicitor, you could ask them to pass on a message with a time frame in mind, it might not make a difference but it might give them the focus needed.

Good luck.

AnotherEmma · 15/03/2025 20:16

Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 19:35

Hands up

I am “picky” when it comes to buying a house

Show quote history

Yes, me too! As I said in an earlier post, it's an expensive decision to get wrong!

Original poster
Naz2019 · 15/03/2025 20:18

@Ketchupbroc I have said in my post that I don’t want to rush them. Of course its an important decision. The aim of this post is to get an idea of a reasonable time to expect as this is our first time being in a chain and we don’t want to out unreasonable pressure on the vendors.

OP posts:
Ketchupbroc · 15/03/2025 20:26

AnotherEmma · 15/03/2025 20:16

Yes, me too! As I said in an earlier post, it's an expensive decision to get wrong!

Show quote history

so you saying “they sound quite picky” didn’t have any negative connotations?

cardboardvillage · 15/03/2025 20:27

We once waited 9m and then found a different house

Gunz · 15/03/2025 20:31

How motivated is your Vendor to move? I came across one who had got his house on the market 'not in a hurry to move' as was waiting for the right bungalow to appear on the market - that could be months away. I am keen to move as I dont want to spend the summer cutting lawns, hedges and settled in a house before Autumn - so was constantly on RM looking for houses.

friendlycat · 15/03/2025 22:18

I’m afraid you just have to wait for however long it takes or pull out. Chains are hard to deal with sadly.

Nextdoor55 · 15/03/2025 23:28

It's not long if you're looking to move to a home, we sold 6 months ago, we've had our onward sale fall through no fault of ours. We have now put an offer in on another house, it's empty so closed chain. Our buyers are happy to wait.
I'd say give them another 2 weeks then reassess, but even that isn't long really. Just keep getting updated on it.