Buyer threatening to pull out

[ThePandoricaOpens]

We've had a long slog with selling our house. Put it on the market a year ago and it sold this April. The people we're buying from didn't find a property until 6 weeks later, which was a little annoying, but I totally get it! We still haven't completed - there's 6 people in the chain, we're ready to go and the 2 below us are ready to go, there's one outstanding query on the property that we are buying, which our solicitor is chasing daily!

We've just had this from our buyer 'Hi, hope you're doing okay during this stressful waiting game. We've heard from the EA in May that you may have an option to move in with your parents, may I ask why it's not the case anymore?
I've started looking at no chain houses as this is too stressful for me.)

The bit where they say the out EA said we could move in with parents should never had happened, we categorically told the EA (she's since left) that this couldn't happen - there's no way we can do this as we have a dog and 2 cats, my son also has ASD and is getting extremely stressed. They've been told this previously by our EA, but they just keep bringing it up! The people at the bottom are stressing as their mortgage offer runs out in October. Our solicitor says we are just a couple of weeks away (if that). I just think they're bluffing but don't know what to do?

The problem is you are not actually ready to go are you? You still have an outstanding query that is not yet resolved.

The biggest problem is the chain may fall apart with the bottom of the chain and their mortgage offer expiring very soon. It depends quite when in October it expires. This is key in keeping your section of the chain together.

I think everyone has their breaking point and given your buyer was given the incorrect info about you being able to move out and had this at the back of her mind I think she maybe is approaching hers.

With the combination of that and the expiring mortgage offer looming else where in the chain I think you need to get this wrapped up this week. As others have said what is the enquiry? Ring the estate agent and ask them to get onto the solicitor who hasn’t responded and tell them the chain is close to falling apart and they need an answer immediately.

Do everything you can do to placate your buyer, it is in fairness you who aren’t ready . I think a lot of people are worried about the budget and in recent days some mortgage lenders have increased their rates a bit. Think you need to get this wrapped up this week now one way or another.

OP, what is the query that’s so important that six months in, it’s holding up the whole chain? My sister sold her house twice and the buyers pulled out because through no fault of her own, there were problems down the chain and the buyers got fed up of waiting. I’d do everything in your power to get this query sorted and your house sold, otherwise your whole chain will collapse and your buyers will look elsewhere.

What's the query?

You need to go mad to get this resolved. I dont blame them for looking at pulling out.

We had offer accepted in October and got keys pre Christmas. 6 months is nonsense.

You need to phone daily, copy in managers, ask how to escalate, stress the importance of this to the whole chain.

If the query is related to anything mortgage related then go ape shit with them.

We wrote to say we were pulling out after nearly six months as we couldn’t cope with the stress. We are sensible people and needed the move as relocating. In the end the vendors cut the price substantially to keep us in the chain. Don’t assume people are always bluffing, we were not at all, this has been so hard.

Bit of an update on this one - our buyer was bluffing and has since apologised. I knew I was right to hold my nerve! However we found out this week that the buyer at the bottom of the chain doesn't actually have a deposit. They have known all along and have only just disclosed this. They want to exchange and complete on the same day which is just ridiculous as we (or anyone else) can book a removals company until contracts have been exchanged. We've said no as have our buyers. So they now want to exchange with nil deposit and I'm not sure what to do. This is SO stressful and is making me ill, my mum died a year ago right in the middle of all of this, so I'm really struggling. If we pull out now we will still have to pay solicitors fees and EA fees.

Well it's better news than finding out someone has a property sale that they didn't mention I suppose.
If they really can't make the deposit though - exchange and completion on the same day is the way. I wouldn't want to exchange on nil deposit.

We did exchange and completion on the same day for the same reason - again they didn’t own up till the last moment - and if you want this to get over the finish line you probably have to do that or a zero fund exchange / take soliciter advice

yes it is a nightmare with removals - we were lucky in that everything was going to storage anyway so it went a few days early and we camped in the house

but once it’s done it’s great you can move on - better than breaking the chain now.

I have heard of cases where people above in the chain ‘loan’ the deposit to the bottom in the rung. Unusual but not unheard of depending upon the value of deposit. Could this be an option agreed between lawyers?

Otherwise just all agree the date for exchange and completion and book removers? Stressful but can be done. Good luck.

If they don’t have a deposit how are they planning on getting one?

This doesn't make sense. How can the buyer not have a deposit? No one gets 100% mortgages any more, so the balance of the price must be coming from somewhere. If it is coming from the sale of somewhere else, then they're not a first time buyer.
The options are that they get the money from somewhere, eg borrow it, or I think there's a deposit guarantee scheme, or at least there used to be. The only problem with that is that the buyer then has very little to lose if they then don't go ahead.
Otherwise, if you really can't exchange and complete on the same day ( and not sure that I would) then someone has to take the strain and move into rented temporarily. If for example your buyer exchanged and completed with his buyer AND then exchanged with you at the same time to complete say a week later, that might work. Your buyer would have to move into a hotel for a week but if they had exchanged with you, so they would know it's only a short term measure, they might find that acceptable to get the deal through.

Forgot to say, you will be in a much stronger position once you are in a position to exchange. At the moment, it's all hot air, until all outstanding issues are resolved, this is all theoretical. If there is still one issue outstanding on your purchase, that hasn't been sorted out in 6 months, what makes you think it will be sorted in the next few weeks? If there is certainty, then why can't you exchange now? There seems to be a considerable lack of clarity from everyone involved.