We only bought our house 18 months ago, but because of an unexpected need to change my job, we want to move again. Before we moved here the sale of our previous house fell through FIVE times due to people losing buyers, losing mortgage offers or simply changing their mind.
Today the sale of this house has fallen through for the THIRD time. My partner has been in tears most of the afternoon. We already lost one that we wanted to buy, now we'll probably lose another.
First world problem I know, at least we have a house and jobs, many are facing losing both at the moment, but does anyone else find it this hard to sell a house?
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Yep. Had the sale of my property fall through twice already. Once because someone changed his mind after about a month of agreeing a sale and the second time because the buyers mortgage fell through (he had a mortgage in principal but the lender suddenly changed their mind on the amount of deposit required).
Being in a chain is just too stressful. Next time I do this, I'll sell up before even looking at other properties. If I have to rent to bridge a gap, I will.
I did just that out here where I bought the house that I am now in and the first house is now up for sale at the top price I can reasonably expect to achieve. Everything is much more relaxed.Originally Posted by Christian
I had a low ball offer from some toe rag and and drafted a letter that the estate agent passed on back to him. Basically I told him that I only deal the quality buyers and I would not accept any subsequent offers from him. Evidently his missus gave him a lot of earache over it and I took great pleasure from that.
I bought my villa at a very good price because I could take my time and knocked 25% off the price. I couldn't have done that if I had to buy quickly as you have to if you have to vacate the house you have just sold.
You blocked someone from offering on your place because they low balled you and then went on to knock 25% off the place you subsequently bought?
You take umbrage when you reckon you’ve had a low ball offer as a seller. But it’s fine to low ball someone when you’re buying.
The man. The myth.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Classic.
OP - we had the same when we sold the last house.
Luckily it didn’t result in us losing the house we wanted as the seller of that one was building a new build and wasn’t in a rush to move out as they had so many delays.
We had two buyers pull out when they looked into the ins and outs of buying our listed thatched cottage that was built in 1605.
In the end, the buyer insisted on a completion date that our seller could not agree to so we had to move into Centre Parcs for 3 weeks and put our entire house contents into storage! (It was the best value place we could find to live for 3 weeks!)
They say moving house is the most stressful thing. It sure is.
In Scotland I think they have a deposit system where the buyer has to put up a deposit once their offer is accepted. I’ve no idea why England has not adopted something similar. It seems so unfair that a buyer is essentially able to ruin people’s lives and plans/dreams by simply changing their minds after having agreed to do such a life changing thing.
I’m currently in the process of selling a buy to let and I find myself nervously opened each email from the solicitor or agent, expecting to find the buyer has pulled out.
Good luck. Stick with it. Or as another said....sell up, move into rented and then start looking for a new house.
The hypocrisy is strong with this one!
Do as i say not as i do - must have been a manager in a previous life!
We were faced with a similar situation so I know the pain it can cause. One potential solution that we ended up doing was buying our new house and keeping our existing home. It meant paying two mortgages and extra stamp duty(which you can reclaim) however it saved all the heart break.
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Yes but I was in a position to tell him to jump off a bridge, and I did because I could.
Sold one of mine through modern method of auction, simple and quick and cash in bank in 56 days
RIAC
Surely the only thing that matters is the final selling price. Who cares what offers are made leading up to that...
It's just a matter of time...
Can you not see the hypocrisy Mick?
You were the lowballing toe rag in the sale you got ffs.
You really have no self awareness.
Well obviously but I just could not give a damn which I admit is an hypocrisy.
On the other hand if I ever sold a watch it would be serviced by Rolex beforehand because I could not stand the accusation of selling a defective watch.
Horses for courses.
Last edited by Mick P; 12th October 2020 at 19:08.
He pissed me off and property is nearly always money in the bank. I am quite happy to keep it empty as prices out here are slowly moving upwards.
The Scottish system is not that great. Most of the houses are sold on the Offers Over system. The price that it is offered at is generally the valuation. Offers are generally n the 10-15% above listed price. I have seen up to 25% over. When this was happening in England it was called gazumping.
I have seen people move up here, try to buy house after house, paying £1,000 a pop for each survey, and fail. Then they have gone south to England for a week and bought one there, and moved away.
Great wind up Mick. Well played.
It must be happy hour at the ex-pats bar. It's only open until 10pm though, so got to get 'em in quick …
House-buying and selling is definitely stressful, especially during the current of uncertainty regarding the bloody virus.
I've agreed a sale on my house, I`m very confident the buyer will come through, so I`m looking to move around the end of November. The Bungalow I bought in August after a very protracted saga is progressing well, it's taking all my time up but it's almost habitable; heating system now works, bath works, bog works, most of the kitchen works. Just approved the plans for the extension today, hopefully the build will begin in January and be completed by March-April. Not the best time of year but my priority is to get it done ASAP.
Owning two properties brings its own stresses but hopefully the advantages (for us) will outweigh the drawbacks, we're not having to fret about losing the house we want and that's a big plus. Thankfully, with the relatively modest property prices in my area it's a more viable proposition than in some parts of the country but I`ll still breathe a huge sigh of relief when our sale completes.
We've been looking to move too a bungalow for 2 or 3 years, but nice ones are hard to find in our area and that's why we ended up taking on a project. At 62 and 61 respectively myself and Mrs W are still fit enough to do the hard work required, once it's finished we can put our feet up and enjoy it, it's the final hurrah for us and we don`t intend to move again!
As for low-ball offers, I can empathise with Mick's comments. We had one from a couple who claimed our current house needed £30k spending. I told the Estate Agent to reject them as a buyer and to tell them not too bother making another offer, we already had 3 potential buyers at close to asking price!
The whole saga has been a roller-coaster ride, starting in October 2019 and hopefully reaching conclusion very soon!
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 12th October 2020 at 21:12.
It depends on the market. In a burgeoning market, the offers-over system prevails, but otherwise can be fixed price, or 'offers around'.
The offers-system is nothing like gazumping. The offers are sealed and opened at closing date. The contract is signed (missives) much earlier in the process, and once signed - each party is committed to the sale, and can be liable for the other party's costs if they pull out.
Gazumping in England carried on right up to the day of move in many cases - and a purchaser could even be gouged out of another (say) £25k even with no other offer - if the seller perceived that the purchaser was 'vulnerable'.
The Scottish system has for many years now (6+) operated a "One survey system" - arranged for and paid for by the seller.
To my mind the Scottish system has always been better with higher integrity (or maybe it's the people).
Have just done this - the 56 days arrived on September 11th still not a penny in the bank apart from the auction fee has been paid by the buyer of course... Glad yours went better still not even at contract with the buyer so it isn't always as infallible as they make it sound.
How does it work. Buyer pays auction house, they pay you, like any other auction?
House goes up for sale with agents like normal. You have a start price and reserve.
Start price is typically 10% under reserve and a date is set for end date. Bids roll in and you can accept any at anytime or wait till strongest that tend to roll in close to end date as people bidding get excited and go for it.
One of my mates had a end terrace valued at around £100k by 3 estate agents. Went to modern method of auction (MMA) and sold for £119k. He paid £395 and £1500 solicitors fees. The buyer paid all other fees.
Mine that I sold went for £6k over my desired price and cost me less than £1800 in solicitors fees total.
RIAC
Was thinking was of a traditional auction.
Thanks a lot for correcting my misunderstandings of the system. I had thought that the Energy Efficiency Rating was the only part that the seller paid for. Every day is a school day.
Interesting thread. I have a rental coming vacant very soon and plan to post for sale to release some capital. The property market seems to be moving well at the moment, possibly stored up demand, or covid boredom? Fx that I get it moved on quickly and painlessly.
Good luck to OP with your sale.
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I am a mortgage adviser and it is a minefield out there at the moment. Lenders changing the criteria for income all the time and it’s causing issues for people getting the funding required to buy. Hope you get some success soon.
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Don't get me wrong - I think there are some legal hurdles that might not have been cleared cleanly (i.e. - claiming against the writer of the report, when you weren't the one to commission and pay for it), and if memory serves - the idea was rejected in England (and poss Wales and NI) for that principal reason.
In Scotland - you can be the successful purchaser very quickly, especially in the cities - and an offer to purchase subject to selling your own property, is just a 'note of comfort' and is not taken seriously. That might not suit a lot of people where they need to have completed missives on their own sale before submitting an offer on a new property.
Also - it is a fallacy that an accepted offer is binding. Only once the missives have been signed is it binding.
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