Offer accepted but unsure if vendor is serious seller

[Rockschooldropout]

We had an offer accepted on a house three weeks ago several hours away (relocating back to be near family )
we are cash buyers as I’m using inheritance.
we initially offered on another property which was chain free but the survey threw up a multitude of extra issues we didn’t have the money for including severe damp so we withdrew .. already financially down due to that survey and conveyancing costs so being cautious this time .
We’ve told the solicitors we have another house but have asked them to hold fire for now , we won’t be booking a survey until the chain is complete

we viewed a lovely house that had just gone on the market , we were told vendor was an elderly lady who was selling to relocate back to be near family for support . We were told vendor was prepared to move in with her daughters if needed if we ended up in a long chain , we offered the asking price as the house was immaculate and recently renovated plus in a fantastic area so we knew it wouldn’t stay on the market long .
However when I called the next day to give my solicitors details I was told that she had now changed her mind and wasnt relocating and although reluctant to leave her house , she realised it wasn’t practical for her so was now looking locally and also the idea of moving in with family was off the table as they were hours away .
we did wonder if she’d been pressurised to put her house on the market as 3 weeks have passed and she still hadn’t at least appointed a solicitor so the MOS can be sent , we are told she’s gathering quotes , every time we ask but this has been going on for 3 weeks .
We’ve no idea if she’s viewed any other properties either . Obviously we appreciate the chain needs to be complete before anything can happen and we need to let her find a house but I’ve a niggling feeling she’s going to withdraw and I wonder if we should continue looking

It sounds as though she's wobbling about the move, which is common with older downsizers. I think this will come down to whether you love the house so much that you are prepared to wait for her to work through it and decide what she wants to do. If you want to move soon though, you may need to move on and look for something new. I'd be reluctant to spend any money on conveyancing or surveys unless you knew she was serious and had a proper plan. You don't want to get caught up in someone else's emotional turmoil.

I would continue looking I think. There are a few concerns aren't there, changing story, no solicitor, vendor hasn't found a new place yet. She may be genuine, but it feels like there's a fair amount of room for this to go wrong.

DM and grown up kids , my DF died last year

Thank fully not in a rush to move as I’m currently having cancer treatment for breast cancer , however we don’t want to sit around for months wasting time if vendor isn’t serious.
Definitely not spending any money on surveys or conveyancing at this stage

The change in story alarmed us tbh ! I think it’s that which left me unsettled

Honestly I think this sort of situation is a nightmare. We’ve lost 4 houses all due to older people (sometimes not that old/ frail - 70s) struggling to let go and faffing us about. I get it’s hard but it’s also inconsiderate.

I would leave this one on the table but actively look for something else. Gut tells me there's no chance she's moving, and having just moved 120 miles myself, a flaky vendor is not what you need!

Sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis and good luck with your treatment.

We've viewed three houses over the last 3.5 years where folks aged 70+ claim to want to move closer to their children.

Not a single one of them sold - not even now, years later.

One of them still has a 'for sale' sign outside the house but isn't on the EA's portal or Rightmove. We drove past it the other week and they're clearly still living there. Theirs were exceptional circumstances though: their house is worth 300-350k and the area to which they need to move, similar is 700k plus.

I think where the person in question is meant to move to is important. I would dodge offers on houses with extremely long distance moves, and after my past experience, people moving from the North to expensive areas in the South!

Working on the basis that you love the house but can't wait to infinity, I would call her bluff via the EA: we need to move by 18th August, it's not negotiable, and if the vendor can't meet that, our offer is off the table.

That said, you've got no guarantee that the EA won't just lie about it. Maybe you need to ask the vendor in person. I find that putting folk on the spot like that surprises them and results in the truth.

(sorry, sellers!)

Also, worth flagging that I think it's a risk that they can be unrealistic about what is involved. I don't want to over-generalise about a generation as there will be a lot of difference within it, but buying and selling property has changed a lot. Our vendors expected to be done within a couple of months and proposed a completion date whilst most of the chain was still dealing with enquiries and hadn't yet instructed their surveys. I don't think they were prepared for the complexities of the buying and selling of leasehold properties at the bottom of the chain.

When I spoke to my mum about starting to think about moving on from her house, she seemed very surprised to hear that she'd be expected to produce documentation for every piece of work that has been done to the house 😫, so I suspect this is going to cause panic when the time comes and I'm trying to prepare her now so she isn't overwhelmed. The mix of leaving the house where you've raised family and lived in with a partner who is perhaps no longer alive combined with the sheer craziness of the conveyancing process is a lot to handle.

Uggh that’s so frustrating 😞 we really love this house because it also comes with the most outstanding view ,and we were told vendor loves it too ,having only just bought it three years ago she doesn’t want to move but has to (house is not practical )

@Gekko21 I think we felt more hopeful as she only bought the house a couple of years ago rather than being someone who had lived there for decades , but I think she may have been pressured into the idea of moving “near family “

Interesting that she only bought it a couple of years ago, but I guess a lot can change in a couple of years and maybe her family are trying to think ahead. I know that I'm trying to get my mum to start to wrap her head around moving to be nearer us even though there isn't yet a pressing need.

Apparently she had quite a bad fall last year and ended up in hospital , it was that which led her to realise she needed to move (apparently)
my dad died last April and in the run up I’d tried my best to get him to move from his huge delapidated period house but he would not budge 🙈

I don't know why you wouldn't keep looking anyway. You are presumably going to be spending hundreds of thousands of pounds, wouldn't you want to know if something even better came to market?

Keep the offer on the table. Look for other properties, if you find something better pull out. If you don't find anything better then you still have that one on the hook.

Careful our first house sale collapsed because the seller NEVER instructed a solicitor, it dragged on for 6 months before we gave a final ultimatum and called it.

Luckily we only had very minor fees and hadn't done a survey so didn't lose much but it was our first time and I had fallen in love with the house (had been following it for years since it was last for sale when we didn't have the money) so it was devastating at the time.

Since then we have only really looked at empty no chain houses.

I agree with the others. Keep looking and don't spend any money at present.
Unfortunately, this seems to be quite common with elderly vendors. They can't make up their minds and end up totally mess others in the chain around. It would discourage all buyers/sellers from messing around if there was some kind of financial commitment, even a small one, at the offer accepted stage but I can't see that happening soon.

Without doubt im
not parting with any more money at this stage, we are already out of pocket by £1500 😞

@housethatbuiltme that must have been gut wrenching when that happened 😰 we’d prefer a no chain house but the ones we’ve seen aren’t suitable, however we have noticed one has popped up in the same area chain free which we may look at

@tropicalroses Oh I’m still looking online .. just in case ! We are limited as to viewings though as next time we could view houses would be Easter hols , I have however said to my DH that if there is anything we like worth viewing at Easter, we will do anyway .. especially when seller is dragging her feet

Very annoying for you. All the best with your treatment. That's your priority for now!

Thank you , I’ve had surgery and chemo and am having immunotherapy now , we are going to arrange some other viewings when I’m visiting over Easter as I called yesterday and was told Solicitors had been appointed and the memo of sale was being sent immediately but still nothing by today and I feel the estate agents are just fobbing us off to keep us hanging