House sale fallen through

Help, my buyer has pulled out of my house sale

Selling your home can be a frustrating process. There are so many unpredictable variables that either slow the whole process down or make you go back to square one of buying a property.

In the final quarter of 2018, 49.8% of all property sales in England and Wales fell through. This is an off-putting figure to anyone contemplating buying a new home or selling their current property.

This section will consider what it means to have your house sale fall through. It will also discuss if there is anything you can do to stop this process from either happening or repeating itself.

What is a chain break?

A property chain is when a homebuyer and seller are linked due to their purchase or sale of a property. A “chain break” is when the property chain falls through. Being part of a housing chain can be both very stressful and expensive.

Chain breaks are usually perceived as a negative situation, and there are many benefits to not being involved in a chain break. For example, when you are not part of a chain, it can make house buying more predictable, as you are not subject to uncontrollable events.

Another example of a benefit is it puts you in an all-round strong position. Many sellers would prefer to be with a buyer that isn’t part of a chain, as this would potentially speed up the selling process.

Why do house sales fall through?

There are many different reasons to why a chain may break. As previously mentioned, all transactions are linked, which therefore means everything has to run smoothly for a property chain not to fall through. Being part of a chain can slow the whole selling and buying process down, making the situation rather tedious. The most common reasons for a chain breaking are:

• One of the buyers/sellers having a change of heart

• Family issues, illnesses or redundancies

• A party failing to obtain a house repayments

• A survey unveiling issues, for example structural problems

• A seller accepting a higher price on their property with a new party (also known as Gazumped)

• A buyer reducing their offer on a property last minute (also known as Gazundered)

How to stop buyers pulling out last minute

So, you are part of a chain but feel nervous that a party may duck out. How do you stop a buyer pulling out last minute?

First of all, you need to make sure you keep the communication channels flowing. Allow whichever party you are dealing with (whether it’s a buyer or seller) to be able to contact you at all times. Opening up a line of communication will help you to build relationships and increase the chance of keeping the chain.

Try taking control, if a party wants to pull out of the chain, contact them. Negotiate and ask for their reasoning behind this and see whether they can be persuaded to change their minds. If your buyer or sellers haven’t pulled out just yet, see if you can speed up the process of exchanging contracts.

The cost of a collapsed property sale

The average amount of house sales that fall through in England and Wales a year is 30%. This is an off-putting fact that can be down to many reasons. When there is a chain break, there can be different financial costs, such as:

• Survey fees

• Solicitor’s fees

• house repayments fees

• Search fees

• Lender’s valuation fee

Adding all these expenses together could lead to a rather large loss. So, it is understandable that many selling or buying properties want to avoid being part of a chain.

Ways to repair a chain break

There are ways to repair a chain. To start, keep the communication channels to negotiate with the party that has pulled out. They may be up for negotiations to stop the chain from falling through. Another option is to sell or buy a house through an auction company. This will allow you to sell or buy your property quicker. However, if you are selling your property via auction, it is unpredictable the amount of money that you would receive.

You may be fed up of people falling out of your chain and want to sell your property quickly. Here at The Property Buying Company, we are more than just a cash buyer. We have our own cash facilities to offer you the best possible trade prices in the industry. Why should you choose us?

• We can buy your property quickly for cash

• You don’t have to pay any solicitor's* fees or survey fees

• We will offer you great customer service and support throughout

• We can complete in a timescale to suit you

*fees paid if you use our recommended solicitor