Hello everyone, for context I am 30 and a FTB in London. I am currently living at home with mum and have been able to save up a deposit for a flat because of this.
Back in September I viewed an amazing amazing 2 bed flat in South Croydon - it is a duplex in a Victorian house conversion, stunning interior and genuinely massive. Made an offer straight away and that offer got accepted. Long lease and vacant + chainless. Very quickly got my mortgage approved and got a good solicitor to do my conveyancing.
Recently my solicitor gave me an emergency phone call to inform me that he discovered that it will be a subsale/flipped purchase. It turns out that I am not buying directly from the current owner - instead I am buying it from the estate agent who is buying it from the current and original owner and selling it on to me the very same day. This was not made clear to me at all at any point by the estate agent. It is utterly unprofessional and dishonest behaviour.
Anyway, the current issue is that my lender will 95% refuse to release funds as it is a flipped sale and they require the current owner to have owned the property for a minimum of 6 months. My solicitor has had to report to Nationwide. The middleman's (estate agent's) solicitor is refusing to provide information for the following enquiry: how much he is paying for the property. This seems very fishy and it is clear that he is flipping the property to make a profit - very unethical when the original seller could be getting the full amount I am paying OR I could be paying what the EA is paying for it. In addition, the estate agent was not totally honest about service charges, however I liked the property enough to not be put off by it.
I viewed two new properties just before Christmas and really liked one of them (maisonette, recently refurbished, no service charge or ground rent). Have decided I will make an offer after the new year.
I am on one hand tempted to see what Nationwide will say and perhaps just continue with my original purchase (if they even agree to release funds!) purely because I have spent time and money (nearly 3k!!) on the purchase through surveys and conveyancing. On the other hand, I have self respect and don't like doing business with people who lack openness and integrity. Furthermore there are plenty of flats for sale and I have my pick.
What would you do in my position?
and: How could I get the seller to pull out rather than me pulling out? Reason I ask is because if I pull out I will not be able to claim homebuyers insurance and I absolutely deserve to get some of the money back as I have been strung along and lied to this entire time!