Selling a home

Hello kath48 I do know what you are going through we have moved several times but the last one (four years ago) was the worst although we nursed (literally) my daughter through her house move last year. I don't know that there is any respite from the agony of waiting and not knowing. All I can say is I hope it turns out Ok and we are here if you need to talk/shout/scream at someone.

oops should have sent these

Is your buyer employing delaying tactics? Has their mortgage offer been received and if they have somewhere to sell have they got a buyer? Have a word with your solicitor and see what he/she thinks.

Is the agent still actively marketing the property? A lot of agents don't once an offer has been received. Instruct them to do so and then let your buyers know that you will sell to the first person who is able to exchange contracts.

It is such a stressful time - I can only wish you good luck!

My DD has just been through it all - happy outcome I am glad to say. And we are struggling to sell my father's bungalow with no takers a year after his death (and lots of outlay on it going down the drain!).

My DD was subjected to this barrage of questions - some are now legal requirements - and they did cause delays.

If you think the underlying problem is that the buyers are dragging their feet as they have had second thoughts, it might indeed be a good idea to make sure the property is still being marketed - it might concentrate their minds a bit. It is like a game of poker, with no-one wanting to show their hand - a nightmare!

I do so hope that you finish up near your family and that all goes well.

We last sold a house 25 years ago, in London at the height of the then property bubble. We 'sold' the house 6 times! Each time to buyers who lied and deployed every trick in the book to secure the purchase. It was a mad time! Cost us, until we said no sale until the money was assured with evidence given to our solicitor.

Now we are contemplating selling to downsize, we are put off because we still have strong memories of the last time!

On the purchasing side, our DS bought a house, a couple of years ago and only found out at the last moment, that there was a debt CC charge on the property. Fortunately this was revoked before he sign the contract. Some questions are important. X

I agree with Sunseeker Instruct your solicitor to issue an ultimatum - either they exchange contracts by a certain date or you'll sell elsewhere. We had the same problem four years ago, delaying tactics and then, at the last minute, they tried to gazzunder us. I basically told them to take a hike and they suddenly mysteriously found that everything was fine and they could exchange straight away!!

Good luck

We have bought and sold a good few times and each time is worse than the last, yes you are right, there are more and more questions...but, remember you are paying your solicitor so INSTRUCT them to work on your behalf and find out what is going on, and tell the Estate Agents that not only will your house be going back on the market if things do not conclude to your satisfaction by a given date ( your given date), but it will be going on the market through a different agent. When they see their commission being threatened they will get it sorted. It is most unfortunate, but you have to be firm and unwavering and sometimes not very nice. It is a dirty business. Good luck keep us posted!

Kath48 you are not alone and you have my utmost sympathy. Our daughter has had the most horrendous problems. Like you she had to answer a plethora of questions about her own house and then answer yet more..... it seemed a never ending process. She found her dream house and then had the house purchase fall through on the day of exchange and with only a week until completion. The seller withdrew at the last minute - yet she still had to pay all the solicitor's costs incurred, removals deposit, plus surveys etc. It cost her well over £1000, not to mention the stress. She had to make the decision to lose her own buyer or move into rented accommodation and so she's been living in a very expensive rented house for months whilst the new purchase has been going through.
Today, with her father's help (wouldn't you know her husband's working away this month!), she's moving into her new dream house and the outgoing people have had the house professionally cleaned and left her flowers and a card. The new neighbours and friends from church have rallied and she is of the opinion that it's all worked out for the good - especially as the house that she was going to buy is now blighted by being next to a building site where a social housing estate is being crammed in. A few months ago she was in despair from all the hassle and worry, but now all is calm and the end is in sight - as it will be for you eventually.

I am with you in spirit, Kath. I can't put it all here, but our move ( 2 months back was the most stressful time we have ever had.
I used to lay awake at night and imagine what harm I could do these people, I'm serious.
I had to call the police one day because my oh had left the house in such a state ( and he has high blood pressure) and when I called him he was crying and then let out OH F..K and the phone went dead. Can you imagine the state I was in. It all turned out ok.
Can you believe that our estate agent gave our buyers keys and we hadn't moved.

When we were "babes in the wood" re the UK property selling experience - we had a buyer who did the same, actually exactly the same in that they demanded a £1500 reduction in price at the 11th hour because we could not produce local authority planning permission for the double glazing (which we did not have done, it was already double glazed when we bought it). That time we capitulated because we didn't know any better.

Since then we have toughened up considerably and would do what someone else suggests which is to offer an ultimatum. I know it's better via the box tickers conveyancing attorneys, but my instincts would be to contact the seller directly and issue that ultimatum - as sweetly as possible of course.

and all the best with it.

We moved recently and, yes, it was a nightmare. Our solicitor spent days chasing planning permission for a garage that had been up well over 20 years and an extension that wasn't an extension but merely an old "coal hole" knocked through to form a small rear lobby. We eventually gave her instructions to proceed without this, only to find all the information she had been requesting, and was unable to obtain, safely enclosed with the pre-registration documents we received from the sellers' solicitors after we moved in.

The whole process was incredibly stressful and we did, in the end, give an ultimatum that we would pull out if exchange didn't happen. Sometimes you just have to be firm and decisive. The Estate Agents are definitely the ones to pressurise, they don't like seeing their commission disappearing, whereas the solicitors will get paid regardless.

Good luck. I hope it sorts itself out and you're happy in your new home.

Kath - I tend to agree with the general sentiment here in as much as you should ensure your property is being actively marketed until the end. Some questions may seem obscure and seemingly irrelevant but rights of easement are very important in my opinion. I wouldn't think any of us would be too happy to buy a property to then find a neighbour has a right to use our bathroom, water or garden. I would have thought however that all such questions would have been asked right at the begining of the process as they are fundamental and also generally standard which tends to agree with the general opinion re delaying tactics for whatever reason.
Best of luck with your endevours and try not to worry about what you have no control over. I hope your move turns out well for you albeit eventually.

This may not be delaying tactics by the buyers [I don't think that's it at all]more like a very slow solicitor [acting for the buyers] who should have asked these questions much earlier. Having bought and sold loads of times, we have found the solicitor [either ours or theirs] is the one at fault.Give them a rocket.

Has anyone ever written the the 'Bodies' that overlook these people.
I'm going to do it. Not that it will do any good. But you never know, there might be hundreds, thousands of people complaining and your voice might just add to it.