It can be frustrating or even heart breaking if your house sale has fallen through at the last minute. You have set your eyes on your dream home, and you feel your dream slipping away.
Don’t panic. We are here to help if you need to sell your property fast, we can make you a cash offer allowing you to move on to next chapter of your life.
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Why do house sales fall through?
A buyer is not committed to buying your home until he/she exchanges contracts. Reasons for a house sale falling vary but can include:
- Buyer’s remorse – buyer feels that they have overpaid for your house and, after speaking to friends/family, wish to reduce their offer once a sale has been agreed;
- Buyer has changed his mind or seen another property, such as a newly built home;
- The property chain has collapsed;
- The sale was not progressing quickly enough, so buyer or seller could pull out;
- The buyer couldn’t get a mortgage;
- The buyer was gazumped with a higher offer;
- Concerns raised in the property surveyor’s report caused the buyer to pull out of the sale
How can I stop my house sale from falling through?
It is unfortunately not in your control to prevent a sale from collapsing as you will be at the mercy of your solicitors – who, depending on their mood, competency and professionalism, may be a saviour or a hindrance in the process.
There are a couple of steps that you can take to ensure a higher probability of sale going through:
Check the motivation of your buyer
Check your buyer’s motivation and their real reason for buying your home if they wish to buy because it cuts down their journey time by 1 hour each day to work or to be closer to looking after an elderly mum. Relocating is a strong motivational factor.
Check their financial status
Do they have a mortgage offer? Is it conditional based on further checks on their credit file?
Have you seen proof of their deposit? Are they hoping to borrow their deposit from the Bank of Mum and Dad, and if so, do Mum and Dad know this to be the case?
We’ve seen estate agents that don’t qualify buyers and result in frustrations, delays and a collapsed sale.
Can they put down a non-refundable deposit to show their commitment?
Your solicitor and estate agent will tell you that you can’t take a deposit – but surely, they can draft a contract to get both parties to sign.
You will be paying the mortgage and all associated bills so it makes sense for the buyer to show commitment by having ‘skin in the game’.
Is your buyer in a proceedable position?
Any buyer that needs to sell their property or has yet to put up their property for sale isn’t processable. Why? Because there’s no guarantee that they will be able to sell their own home to buy yours.
What you need is either a first-time buyer or a buyer who is not in a property chain, such as someone who has sold their own home and gone into rented accommodation whilst they search for their next ideal home. Don’t be convinced by your estate agent’s promise that they have found you a buyer, and they will be able to sell their home in no time. They want two lots of commissions and love building complex property chains.
Most house sales collapse due to property chains. The longer the chain, the higher the risk. That is why we recommend chain-free buyers who are in a proceedable position both financially and emotionally.
If you are stuck in a property chain, sell your current property and move into rented accommodation or better still, sell your home to a professional property-buying company for cash. Being a chain-free buyer puts you in a stronger position.
Lack of sales progression & communication
If a buyer feels that there’s little to no progress, their frustration can make them pull out of a sale. Even if you have a first-time buyer, their motivation to buy your home can quickly dwindle if they discover that you are in a property chain or your solicitor’s relationship breakdown with their solicitor.
In our opinion, quite a lot of solicitors end up arguing or fighting over an email and build up a lot of resentment towards each other. Thankfully, we only work with the finest solicitors with a lot of common sense and a great approach to understanding the need for speed.
Price to entice – a competitively priced property is likely to sell. If your buyer is getting cold feet, it is because he/she feels that your property is overpriced, and they don’t wish to be in a negative equity situation in a couple of years’ time.
Overlooked maintenance tasks can make your property look neglected. It is best to resolve any outstanding maintenance tasks before you put your house up for sale. If any issues are identified on the survey, they can be difficult to resolve, and as your buyer will have paid for a survey, they won’t be keen to pay for another surveyor or change their mortgage lender.
Price to entice
A competitively priced property is likely to sell. If your buyer is getting cold feet, it is because he/she feels that your property is overpriced, and they don’t wish to be in a negative equity situation in a couple of years’ time.
Overlooked maintenance tasks can make your property look neglected. It is best to resolve any outstanding maintenance tasks before you put your house up for sale. If any issues are identified on the survey, they can be difficult to resolve, and as your buyer will have paid for a survey, they won’t be keen to pay for another surveyor or change their mortgage lender.
Property That Appears to be Neglected
Overlooked maintenance tasks can make your property look neglected. It is best to resolve any outstanding maintenance tasks before you put your house up for sale. If any issues are identified on the survey, they can be difficult to resolve, and as your buyer will have paid for a survey, they won’t be keen to pay for another surveyor or change their mortgage lender.
Do solicitors charge if house sale falls through?
Unfortunately, solicitors will charge you abortive fees as they will have spent time preparing your file before the completion of the sale.
You can avoid paying abortive fees by selling to Property Saviour, as we will contribute £1,500 towards your legal fees.
Can you sue if house sale falls through?
If contracts have been exchanged and the buyer has put down a 10% deposit, then theoretically, you can sue.
However, you will be expected to pay around £300/hour litigation fee without guaranteeing success. This can run into tens of thousands of pounds.
What are my options if my property sale has fallen through?
If your property sale has collapsed, there are a couple of options available to you:
- You can put your property straight back onto the market – hopefully, it will sell quickly to a processable buyer
- Get your estate agent to approach anyone who viewed to see if they are still interested.
- Consider selling your home to Property Saviour, a genuine cash house-buying company.
What can I do if my house sale keeps falling through?
If your house sale has fallen through on more than one occasion, it is best to get feedback. You want to find the root cause and address it.
It could be purely bad luck or simply a coincidence. Check if your property is mortgageable, as often surveyors find issues that can prevent a sale.
Speak to your estate agent to discuss reasons why sales have collapsed. What lessons can be learnt from this experience? If buyers have pulled out of the sale, what were their reasons? Was it your solicitor or estate agent that put them off?
Will I lose my new home if my house sale falls through at the last minute?
Any sale falling through is a distressing process, and it is unlikely that just putting your house back on the market will guarantee you a proceedable buyer.
If you have made up your mind to buy your dream home, a genuine cash home-buying company like Property Saviour can help.
We use our funds to complete any purchase within a couple of weeks. We can’t pay the full market value of a property because we, as a business, need to make a profit. However, we can give you the certainty that the sale will go ahead within your timeframe.
We can make you a cash offer within 48 hours of your enquiry. We will pay all your legal fees of up to £1,500. You can use your solicitor if you wish. There are no estate agency or surveyor fees because you will deal directly with cash buyers. The price we offer is the price you will get – there will be no last-minute reductions, unlike our competitors.
Once you accept our offer, we will keep you updated throughout the sale process and ensure that we act pragmatically and decisively to deliver certainty and speed.
Property Saviours are known in the industry for their genuine reviews. We hope to deliver a first-class service, so you will leave us a review too!
Sell with certainty & speed
Property Saviour Price Promise
- The price we’ll offer is the price that you will receive with no hidden deductions.
- Be careful with ‘cash buyers’ who require a valuation needed for a mortgage or bridging loan.
- These valuations or surveys result in delays and price reductions later on.
- We are cash buyers. There are no surveys.
- We always provide proof of funds with every formal offer issued.
We'll Pay £1,500 Towards Your Legal Fees
- No long exclusivity agreement to sign because we are the buyers.
- You are welcome to use your own solicitor.
- If you don’t have one, we can ask our solicitors for recommendations.
- We share our solicitor’s details and issue a Memorandum of Sale.
Sell With Certainty & Speed
- Our approach is transparent and ethical, which is why sellers trust us.
- 100% Discretion guaranteed.
- If you have another buyer, you can put us in a contracts race to see who completes first.
- Complete in 10 days or at a timescale that works for you. You are in control.
