I need to do someone some harm.

[Lord Braykewynde]

This week my son and DIL were in Morocco but thankfully due to the lifting of the ban the night before they caught their flight home. They stayed in a hotel at Gatwick and then caught a bus to Heathrow to get home. In the short time they had to wait for their train he received a telephone call from the Estate Agents he was going to buy a house through telling him the vendors had pulled out. The process had been going on for almost 3 months and they were expecting to exchange contracts at any time. They had given one months notice to their landlord who then put the house up for sale.

Now, not only have they lost £1500, and I'm not sure if their will be penalties with setting up the mortgage, they have now lost their home. I'm just as annoyed as them because that £1500 is part of some money we gave them so they can get a foot on the housing ladder.

Why should morons like this be allowed to mess with others lives at no cost to themselves. If there was a law that the vendors should repay the purchasers costs it would go a long way to compensate for the misery they've caused.

There is no difference to this action by those with no scruples than being mugged except when being mugged you might have a chance of recouping your money.

To rub salt into the wounds the Estate Agent told him this wasn't the first time they'd done this.

Where's that golf club?

 

[Dustydog]

Hi LB

I've got a baseball bat you can borrow.

Sorry to hear that news. Unfortunately they will not be the last.

For decades I have asked why England doesn't do the same as Scotland. Once you have offered a house for sale and someone has offered to buy the deal is done. No turning back.

I also feel Estate Agents should have nore responsibility.

As for the Vendor who has changed their mind why not send them a letter demanding the

 

[Guest]

Too often a house sale involves a chain,and if someone breaks that chain it seems many others can be effected.

Not knowing the in's and out's its hard to know if the fault lies solely with these vendors being discussed here,so its hard to know if they are morons or merely victims themselves of a stupid buying system.

 

[joeby]

My eldest daughter had the very same thing happen to her about 10 years ago , i think once you put an offer in the person who pulls should pay the charges ,its hard enough with price of houses shooting up ,for young people to get on the housing ladder

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Thanks for the offer Dusty but I need something harder :O)

I agree, the Scottish method is better, why should these people be allowed to cost others thousands of pounds without redress.

And no Gio, there was NO chain, they were selling because they were struggling with the mortgage and were moving in with one of their parents. If you read correctly I said mentioned my sons landlord, again no house to sell. This though should have no bearing on them causing others to lose thousands when it's the fault of the vendor although no doubt you wont see it that way.

If I'd taken

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

My eldest daughter had the very same thing happen to her about 10 years ago , i think once you put an offer in the person who pulls should pay the charges ,its hard enough with price of houses shooting up ,for young people to get on the housing ladder

Exactly joby.

It makes my blood boil when I think of what we could do with

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

To be honest joby if I'd have done that I'd have to pay them back their costs, even if it meant borrowing it. I couldn't live myself otherwise. Some people have no principles though and until there are laws in place to stop it thousands of others will find themselves handing over money for nothing.

 

[Guest]

With all due respect LB at no point did you mention either that there was no chain involved [quite unusually these days] and B the vendors were moving in with their in-laws.

Either you forgot these important facts,[again unusual for you!] although this info might justify you calling the vendors morons, or quite possible you add this after the fact, because it never occurred to you, that they too [the vendors]had been affected further up the chain, before calling them morons.

never the less our system of house buying does certainly leave a lot to be desired,and wish penalties could be directed to wards those who did act in a moronic way, if indeed it could be proven,rather than just say so.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Correct Gio, I didn't mention there was no chain, simply because I had no need. The point is people like this, with or without a reason, shouldn't be allowed to cause misery and cost others large amounts of money without compensating the prospective buyers for their loss through no fault of their own.

To be told that these same people have done it before, although not told how many times, adds insult to injury.

To be able to forgive and turn the other cheek, despite losing a considerable amount of money, is an admirable trait in you Gio ;O)

 

[Guest]

My sympathies LB. To lose money for such a reason is no joke. Of course the vendors did not actually get the

 

[DerekBrad]

We looked at a bungalow the other week, but it was 'sold' the next day.We then heard through a neighbour that the buyers had had a survey done and had found that the late vendor had altered his loft conversion away from his builder's recommendations and it had failed to pass the survey!(Probably not conforming to Building Regs) It was in the local paper again this week, reduced by 20 grand! Out of interest, I phoned the estate agent and hinted at "surveys" and "lofts" and asked why the reduction by such an amount. She answered very cagily that "the buyers had decided that there was too much work to be done" Integrity?...HIPs? BUYER BEWARE!!

 

[Guest]

"To be able to forgive and turn the other cheek, despite losing a considerable amount of money, is an admirable trait in you Gio ;O"

Cannot recall saying such a thing LB indeed my sympathies are with your son and his wife !although why you feel the need to reply in such a tone is quite bewildering.

So is the fact that you would believe anything an estate agent told you......LOL

Scotch lad, I believe the information pack is now legal here too

 

[Dustydog]

Hi LB

The loss of the

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Thanks for the sledge hammer Dusty, it will do nicely :O)

At the moment they are going to seek legal advice from the solicitors who they were dealing with regarding the house purchase.

I find it unbelievable in this day and age that people can get ripped off. As I said above, there's no difference to being robbed by a mugger.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Two points have crossed my mind here - initially if the vendors have done this before could they be sued under the small claims court for fraud. Secondly the HIP report mentioned is not worth the paper it is written on. It was purely another of John Prescott's crazy idea. I went on three seminars regarding the training and qualification to undertake these reports and came to the conclusion that the whole scheme is a farce. The surveyor is not allowed to raise carpets, enter roof spaces unless a fixed ladder is available, can only inspect the roof from ground level at a distance from the property and take the vendors words for any insulation installed. The recommended fee for these surveys is

 

[Philspadders]

It works both ways. Vendors are left out of pocket by failed purchasers and this can leave vendors somewhat more than

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Phil - you have hit the nail square on the head. The information and the way it is obtained for a HIP report is totally meaningless. I will agree the idea of a HIP is to help the prospective purchaser but unfortunately the theory does not match the information actually obtained in the report and this is why the building societies always request their own structural survey to cover their money loaned against the property. It is also advisable to appoint your own surveyor as the society report is not so in depth as a private survey report and many societies will not disclose their report to the prospective purchaser.

 

[Dustydog]

A HIP is NOT a technical survey of the structural integrity of the property.

When it first came out I thought what a waste of money.

A structural survey of the building should be carried out by a Fellow or Associate of teh Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

I can go on a short course and be qualified to do HIPs. Another Government perpendicular pronoun.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[JoannaLesley]

Hi Lord B,

Are your son & daughter living/looking in the area in which you (and I) live? If so, I have a partially self-contained annex which I could be prepared to let for the short term.

Jo

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Thank you for your kind offer Jo and I will keep it in mind.

Their landlord, who lives in Oxfordshire, is very understanding and apparently has told the estate agent to put his house sale on hold but he wants my son/DIL to let him know their intentions ASAP.

At the moment their mortgage offer lasts until sometime in June so we are keeping our fingers crossed that something turns up before then else they might end up also paying a penalty on the mortgage offer.

We've just this minute heard that a 'For Sale' board has just gone up outside their rented house :O(

Thanks once again for your kind thoughts ;O)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Oh I forgot to say Jo.

Yes, they live in Tupsley, about 5 minutes from us and my DIL is a hairdresser just down the road from us.

 

[Chrisbee]

Even a full survey can be a bit hit & miss. When I bought my current house the surveyor picked up on no cross bracing for the roof supports. Some years later I changed mortgage companies and another survey was required. No mention this time of lack of cross bracing, the only thing mentioned was a cracked wash basin in the bathroom! As I class that as a fixture or fitting, quite what that has to do with the house falling down is beyond me. Old rope and money spring to mind.

 

[C_374479958]

I think I'll do the 10 minute course and be a HIPS surveyor.

 

[NickinFrance]

I guess that it's because there are so many lawyers in parliament that things will not change.

For what's it's worth, the French system is quite simple.

If you make an offer on a property that is accepted, you sign an AdV, which can be on any piece of paper & subject to any conditions that you want.

The seller then accepts the AcV, you then have 7 days to withdraw, the seller can't withdraw.

A 10% deposit is paid & the seller gets a survey done, this survey is valid for 3 months & is transferable if your sale falls through.

If the seller pulls out for any reason, they have to pay the buyer 10%, if the buyer pulls out for a reason other than a condition on the AdV he loses the 10% deposit.

Simple & no one can mess around without penalty.

Also the buying & selling is normally handled by the same person, a Notaire who is a government employee, so no lawyers sending silly letters at

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Yes, I guess it's a case of the politicians looking after their own.

The French way would be far too simple for this country and not enough money would be made by conveyancers or solicitors.

We have protection when buying in shops or online through the Sale Of Goods Act or Distant Selling Regulations so why not when buying the most expensive item your ever likely to buy?

Total madness.