[SA Chris]

Been in much the same situation,  offer accepted, full survey & searches etc done, finances etc all in place,  and the vendor had a row with her boyfriend and decided not to sell.

Same happened to my brother too.

Sounds to me like someone has an inside lane; either a friend or a relative has been given priority. If this is the case, then it is definitely an instance of shit happens; you just can't win against stuff like that. English propertly sale law always seems so weak, compared to Scotland where this would never happen. Would make for a pain in the arse commute from up here though

[spidermonkey09]

That sounds shit Paul; sorry to hear that.

When I was about 12 my parents were finalising a move to their 'dream house.' We had an offer agreed with the potential buyers of the house we were in. He was a real suburbanite who was well out of his comfort zone moving to the country and wanted all the i's dotted and t's crossed before he moved in. As such he wanted the driveway resurfaced before the day of exchange. My parents agreed on the clear understanding that if he pulled out prior to exchange there wouldn't be a refund as we didn't give a toss about the drive (it was perfectly serviceable!).  Exchange day rolled around and an hour before the designated time he pulled out. A protracted row ensued when he demanded his money back for the drive and was told where to go in no uncertain terms. I think lawyers even got involved for a while before he came to his senses. People are not rational when it comes to buying houses it seems!

Anyway, my mum was devastated at seemingly missing the house. It took a further six months to find another buyer and we did get there in the end. I know this is a different situation but hopefully stands as another example of how things often work out in the end...there'll be another one!

[Paul B]

Ta for yet more kind words/wisdom.

Our nominal bump has been rejected. Vendor won't give a figure. Alternate buyer has not yet produced proof of funds. Something feels not quite right, like we're either being played (into a bidding war against ourselves) or, there are other factors at play.

I'm currently sat on the fence whether to use the last of my wiggle room (agent is suggesting we make a BAFO) or just to say f*ck it, that's our offer, good luck.

[Will Hunt]

If you're happy to pay whatever that BAFO is then do it - you've nothing to lose. After that you just walk away.

[SA Chris]

Ta for yet more kind words/wisdom.

Our nominal bump has been rejected. Vendor won't give a figure. Alternate buyer has not yet produced proof of funds. Something feels not quite right, like we're either being played (into a bidding war against ourselves) or, there are other factors at play.

I'm currently sat on the fence whether to use the last of my wiggle room (agent is suggesting we make a BAFO) or just to say f*ck it, that's our offer, good luck.

If your BAFO is accepted, will you always have the feeling like you've been played vs it being rejected and you then feeling like you've done everything and given it our best shot? It's an emotional situation now rather than a financial one.

[teestub]

How much do you want this particular house, does it have rare features for the area (garage for a board, off street parking, etc.)? If it’s not a massive bump to your best offer and you really want this place, then that extra few percentage is going to make f all difference in a decade.

[tomtom]

Opposite way around - but I was fucked about by buyers in 2008 when houses couldn’t be shifted. A week before completion they care up with some crap about the electrics being rubbish and demanded £2.5k off (the house was 25 years old so it was bollocks). My gut reaction (emotional) was to tell them where to go.. but being logical - I needed to sell so sucked it up and justified it as just being business.

They were fucking c*nts - but I just had to deal with that and move on. It’s hackneyed but a house is ultimately just bricks and mortar.

If I were in your position and really wanted the house - I’d up the offer but maybe also demand a very rapid completion date? Give them less time to piss about. If they say no then you’ve done what you can.

Maybe ask your solicitor if there is some sort of bond or financial mechanism that can be used to ensure they pay some penalty if they welch on the deal?

[kac]

I'd agree that in the long run paying a bit more now probably won't matter in the long run. But i'd to know what was going on first. If the property was taken off the market with your bid accepted and you having spent money on searches then the vendors are either dicks for then accepting another offer or as Chris has suggested they know the other people. I'd be wanting to speak to them to try to see what was going on. It can take a long time for a sale to go through and building a relationship with the vendors and being able to trust them helps as its bloody stressful anyway.

[SA Chris]

This is true. Every (both) houses we have bought, we've developed a relationship with the sellers and that has definitely helped keep things onside, even when house buying in NE Scotland was such a mad business in the late 00s

[mark s]

Ta for yet more kind words/wisdom.

Our nominal bump has been rejected. Vendor won't give a figure. Alternate buyer has not yet produced proof of funds. Something feels not quite right, like we're either being played (into a bidding war against ourselves) or, there are other factors at play.

I'm currently sat on the fence whether to use the last of my wiggle room (agent is suggesting we make a BAFO) or just to say f*ck it, that's our offer, good luck.

I know different people have different ways of dealing with these types. Sounds dodgy to me, i would look for another place after telling them what a bunch of twats they are.

[Paul B]

Sorry for the slow reply, I've got something large coming up at work and booked a holiday for last week to make sure I didn't implode; thinking about the house would've been counterproductive!

We've got to the bottom of the nonsense. We're using the same agent, albeit a different branch. The vendor's story is that she's been pushing our branch to get in touch and say really it needs to go back on if you don't have a sale agreed 'soon' etc. as we hadn't revealed our backup plan. There was a viewing that happened 2 days after our original offer which seemingly was cancelled by the agent but the bloke turned up anyway and left his number. Given the agent/us were not responding, the vendor got in touch and he made a cash offer.

The agent obviously denies everything not that it matters as we are where we are. We made it pretty clear that we needed to have certainty and that our offer (after a marginal bump for their perceived troubles) was as high as we'd go and would expire. The vendor (after lengthy conversations with the agent) decided that we were the best offer with respect to her purchase etc. and it's "ours" whatever that means (sweet FA).

It all seems a bit fishy as we agreed the offer over a cup of tea, exchanged phone numbers (we had an ongoing Whatsapp conversation), so it'd have been very easy to get in touch with us if the agent was under-performing.

Anyhow, onward...

[Will Hunt]

Hang on, Paul, have you thought this through? It's still not too late to take Mark's advice and call them all twats and fuck off into the sunset.

[andy popp]

Just received unexpected invite to exclusive, invite only conference in Lake Tahoe. Almost certainly can't go.

[Ru]

Just received unexpected invite to exclusive, invite only conference in Lake Tahoe. Almost certainly can't go.

On the other hand, depending when it is, maybe no-one will be able to go.

[andy popp]

Very true! Currently feeling much less regretful about declining an invitation to Japan.

[Oldmanmatt]

Very true! Currently feeling much less regretful about declining an invitation to Japan.

Nah, go for it, you can always call in sick...


I’ll get my coat.

[dunnyg]

Small fry given the state of the world, but....

Split a tin of peaches for pudding last night with the other half.
Later found out she had POURED AWAY THE SYRUP BECAUSE SHE DIDNT THINK I'D WANT IT!

Im in lockdown with this monster. Send help. And more tinned peaches.

[crzylgs]

Obligatory:

[SA Chris]

lol, i thought exactly the same thing.

[Will Hunt]

Small fry given the state of the world, but....

Split a tin of peaches for pudding last night with the other half.
Later found out she had POURED AWAY THE SYRUP BECAUSE SHE DIDNT THINK I'D WANT IT!

Im in lockdown with this monster. Send help. And more tinned peaches.

Despite what you may infer from his eating of tinned peaches, dunnyg is not in his 90s.

[kingholmesy]

TBF the syrup is the only thing I would want out of a tin of peaches.

[James Malloch]

Panic Bought a ting of peaches (only tinned fruit left) yesterday to see what the syrup hype is all about

[dunnyg]

Imagine drinking it after setting up your ledge half way up el cap. Best. Thing. Ever.
Ever time I drink it. Plus it tastes like liquid sunshine.

[James Malloch]

A bit of a selfish NNFN given I’m still in work (for now) with decent pay...

But the regulation (IR35) which caused me lots of stress in the last 2-3 months where I was forced to change how I was employed, taking a huge pay cut in the process, has just been delayed by a year after being torn apart by the Lords & given the current Coronavirus problems.

So everything was needlessly changed and now I’m stuck on a new contract with much less pay and much few employment rights... I doubt my client will revoke their new policies & issue a new contract.

All in all a bit of a pain!

[SA Chris]

It's a clusterfuck for sure