Massively messed about by EA/seller. Price reduction?

[Gigwidow]

We're in the process of buying a house with only us (FTB) and seller (moving in with partner) in the chain.
We started the process in June and the estate agent has hassled us, and our solicitor at least bi-weekly to get us completed by the end of August. It was very ambitious but for whatever reason, the EA and his seller were keen to get things done and dusted by then.
DH and I MOVED MOUNTAINS to make this so, we work in outdoor events and there have been times over the summer that we've had to sneak off site, miles from anywhere, to print something at a library and post special delivery to stick to their schedule. In short- it has been a massive headache and the EA has been an absolute thorn in our side.
Come end of August, we agree a completion date and exchange week before, we do a pre-exchange viewing and the next day our solicitor contacts their solicitor to exchange and we are told "they are not ready to exchange due to issues further up the chain".
WHAT BLOODY CHAIN?!!! We have been misled about the existence of a chain. Apparently there are actually 5 in the chain and one is buying a new build which hasn't finished being built!
I'm so cross and upset, we have had such a lot of stress in order to stick to their schedule, we have given notice on our rental and will now need to move into short term rental, with 2 small DC, in the meantime, at great expense.
I know people have to do this all the time when giving up rental properties to buy somewhere, but we have a lovely, flexible landlady who would have waited for us to be ready, but we didn't want to mess her around and the EA has been so pushy that we acted in blind faith. She now has another tenant waiting in the wings.
We have no idea when completion will now happen, and my husband is all up for backing out and moving into another rental.
I know that nothing is legally binding until exchange and therefore, can't ask for compensation- but could we ask for a reduction in price of purchase at this stage to cover our costs for rental, having been misled?

What did your solicitor advise you? Did your solicitor not know about the chain?

Ofcourse you can say something such as due to the misleading information in regards to the chain (that is if your solicitor was mislead in regards to this) then this has caused additional rentals to be owed and you would require this money off of purchase price. You can ask. They can say yes or no. However if I was you I'd want to know exactly what my solicitor knew and when, because if they knew there was a chain and didnt communicate that I wouldn't be happy they agreed to the dates and if they didn't know about the chain id be asking when this came about,

I'm so sorry to hear this - it must be disappointing, inconvenient & frustrating for you.

It does seem strange that the EA was pushing for the sale to be completed by the end of August when not everyone in the chain is in the position to buy. The people buying the new build must have known that it wouldn't be ready weeks ago.

It's also strange that the EA wasn't honest about the chain. Have you tackled them about their lack of transparency? If so, what did they say?

As FTB you are in a good negotiating position as the chain stops with you. I would suggest that you have a strong honest discussion with the EA asking for realistic timescales.

I would also continue viewing other properties so that you have a plan B - and let the EA know this. Knowing that you may chose to pull out of the purchase may focus their minds on being open & honest with you & to do everything possible to make sure that the sale goes ahead quickly.

Good luck - buying a property is one of the most stressful things that you can do. Who knows - you may see somewhere that you prefer at a better price & decide not to go ahead with this one?

That's terrible! They've treated you really poorly here.

I guess it depends how much you want this house. You could ask your vendors to break the chain and move into rented with the threat of pulling out if they don't do this? Or pay your costs for moving into rented. That seems very fair to me. But if they say no then you would either need to follow through on your threat or continue with the purchase.

Thanks all. Really helpful replies, good to know I'm not being over emotional about this.
Solicitor was also blindsided. They were also let to believe there were only 2 of us involved in transaction.
I did confront the EA who blustered and waffled and insisted that it was the case originally when we agreed the sale, but the vendor decided to tie it all in with purchasing a house with his partner part way through and the EA didnt know about this. Utter rubbish! I've no idea why he was so pushy though. Maybe he just wanted his commission?

Really feel for you @Gigwidow
Just wanted to we had similar (although nowhere as stressful as your situation) and only became aware we were in a chain when the top of the chain threatened to pull out.

We pulled out all the stops to be ready to exchange within 48hrs only to be told our sellers weren't ready.

My solicitor did read the riot act and told the EA to get his house in order!

I really hope things work out for you without too much further stress.

Nope. I’d either:

1. insist THEY break the chain by moving into rental if need be

2. back out and look for something else. Is there anyway you can talk to your landlord to see if there’s scope to stay?

100% this. Speak to your solicitor to tell them to pay forward breaking the chain or money off house price due to compensate for rental money or your pulling out. Wither you do pull out or not up to you but that behaviour isn't on

This. They have lied to you for months and put you through completely avoidable stress. You did mistake in giving notice to your landlady before exchange but you are FTB so it's a common mistake to make.
I'm team DH here. Back out and find another long term rental unless they agree to reduce what you are paying significantly.

The EA explanation sounds plausible. This is why so many chains fall apart. You would be reasonable to ask for a reduction, reasonable to pull out too as you are going to be out of pocket big time or you could insist on the sale going through and they move into rental. I know which way I'd jump.

We had something similar when we were selling.

EA recommended buyer as they were chain free FTB.
Process got a bit bogged down and on the day we were expecting to exchange on our sale, it was revealed that they were not FTB and actually had a house to sell which had only just received an offer on.
The whole process lurched on for another 6-weeks or so as every time we said we wanted to stop the sale and remarket, the EA convinced us it was "about to happen" and not to rock the boat.
Eventually it did happen but it was incredibly stressful but the EA claimed they did not see the problem.

Turned out that the EA (small, country agent) and our (recommended by EA) solicitor we actually partners (different names) but this only came to light late in the process.

Yeah why do you have to be the one moving into a rental when they have caused the problem. Go back to EA give them a date for completion that means you don't have to move into a rental and say if they don't meet that date you will pull out/or they pay your rental costs/reduce the price by that amount.

I'm furious on your behalf. What absolute lying arseholes. I like pp idea of telling the people you are buying off to break the chain and rent. Otherwise, unless it is absolutely your dream house, start looking at other houses.

Yes, you can ask for a price reduction, and it’s a reasonable thing to ask, but bear in mind there is no guarantee you’ll get it, and it could mean they have to negotiate a reduction on what they’re paying up the chain, further complicating things.

If it were me, I think I would give them a deadline for exchange (eg a week from today) and completion (perhaps slightly longer, eg a month), and say if exchange does not go through on that day you will start viewing other houses.

It is reasonable for them to be the ones to have to move in to rented, given they are the ones messing you around. I’ve moved out to keep my sale before when the people above me in the chain delayed things, a friend of mine has just done the same thing. A chain larger than 3 is a nightmare, best thing is for someone to break it.

I am* *sorry to hear this and hope you can come to some agreement (financially or otherwise) that suits you.

However, there are some lessons to be learned here for the future:

We started the process in June and the estate agent has hassled us, and our solicitor at least bi-weekly to get us completed by the end of August.

The Estate Agent has no part in deciding when your transaction will complete. Their role is to advertise properties and find buyers. Once they have done that, the actual legal work starts and the estate agent is no longer part of the actual conveyancing process. They can talk to all parties up and down the chain but any information they have is based on what someone has told them, but may not be the truth.

DH and I MOVED MOUNTAINS to make this so

You are just one cog in the wheel. If your solicitor has asked you to do something, then yes, do that as soon as possible. But if other cogs in the wheel don't do things quickly, then the transaction can only go as fast as the slowest cog.

Come end of August, we agree a completion date and exchange week before, we do a pre-exchange viewing and the next day our solicitor contacts their solicitor to exchange and we are told "they are not ready to exchange due to issues further up the chain".

Your solicitor won't know anything about a chain above your seller, but it is entirely possible that the Estate Agent did know, since they are acting for your sellers in the sale of their property. I definitely would be asking the EA why they didn't inform you as soon as the additional chain was added. You can't claim any compensation from the EA for this as they don't act for you. But you could renegotiate the purchase price to take into account the amount of financial loss this has caused you.

WHAT BLOODY CHAIN?!!! We have been misled about the existence of a chain. Apparently there are actually 5 in the chain and one is buying a new build which hasn't finished being built!

Since new builds notoriously overrun their expected build complete date, I would be pressurising the party buying the new build, to break the chain. New builds usually exchange on a "long-stop completion date", which means that the completion date is on notice and could be many months ahead. Not good for buyers below with their mortgages expiring.

we have given notice on our rental and will now need to move into short term rental, with 2 small DC, in the meantime, at great expense.

This is unfortunately on you. Solicitors advise never giving notice on a rental before exchange. Don't ever do this. Do not listen to EAs on this advice. You have left yourself in a pickle trying to sort another rental for an indeterminate time. Could you have a chat with your landlady about staying on for a while yet?

We have no idea when completion will now happen, and my husband is all up for backing out and moving into another rental.

Well, unless the party buying the new build splits the chain, so you can proceed, you will be waiting until the new build is ready to move into. Do you know at what stage the build is at currently? If you don't, ask the EA to find out. But take "with a pinch of salt" what they tell you.

I know that nothing is legally binding until exchange

Correct and another reason not to give notice on your rental until exchange has taken place. You could certainly renegotiate the purchase price because of being misled, but ein mind that it was your choice to hand in your notice when you hadn't exchanged, though the seller might be willing to reduce the price since they failed to disclose the additional chain.

Ultimately a lot of EAs will always try to push sales through even if they think there is a relatively low probability of it succeeding because a 25% chance of getting commission is better than no commission at all.