Are you selling your house and getting frustrated with your buyer’s delaying tactics? There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a chain or having to wait for your buyers who are delaying your sale for no apparent reason.
Buyers who mess you around before exchange of contracts can be very annoying, which is why it’s important to know what to do if your house buyer’s are using delaying tactics.
To avoid the stress of house buyer’s delaying tactics and messing you around, don’t buy a house at the same time as selling. But if you are buying and selling at the same time, and your buyer is messing you around and delaying exchange, use your agent to push the sale along or consider remarketing.
You should read to the end of the article, where I explain how you can use a tactic to help avoid the frustrations and stresses caused from house buyer delaying tactics.
If you have already spent several weeks in the selling process, don’t throw the towel in straight away. Find out if your house buyers are still keen to buy. If you remarket your house, this could add many more weeks to the whole sales process, when in fact you may only be weeks away from exchange of contracts.
There may be genuine reasons for your buyer’s delay, it is your job to get to the bottom of it.
The best way to spot buyer delaying tactics is when you see that goal posts keep moving, or if you are told one thing one day and another thing the next day. This is one reason why it’s important to choose the right estate agent, as a good estate agent will push your sale along.
Why would a buyer delay exchange of contracts?
A buyer may delay exchange of contracts and mess you around with delay tactics for the following reasons:
The buyer’s solicitor may be slow and inefficient.
Late questions arise from the mortgage lender, or as a result of the survey or from the property searches, which the buyer’s solicitor needs the answers to, may be legitimate reasons for a delay of exchange by your buyer.
The buyer may be having problems with their mortgage. Mortgage problems can include down valuations of your property or the buyers having credit problems since they applied for the original mortgage.
A problem further up the chain, for example, the buyer’s buyer may be delaying the buying process or may have pulled out altogether. If this is the case the buyers may be delaying exchange whilst they find another buyer.
Your buyers may be getting cold feet and maybe having second thoughts about buying your house.
One of your buyers may have lost their job or been made redundant.
They may be getting cold feet as a result of potential interest rate rises.
Your buyers may be considering a lower offer and gazundering you, which is especially true in a down-turning market.
Buyer stalling on exchange
If a buyer is stalling on exchange of contracts it could mean the buyers are having second thoughts about buying, or it may mean there are other problems up the chain. If your buyers are stalling on exchange, you should use your estate agent to find out why.
How to deal with house buyer’s delaying tactics
There are a number of ways you can deal with house buyer’s delaying tactics, which include the following:
Threaten your buyers with pulling out of the sale and give them an ultimatum. Be careful with this approach, as this can get people’s backs up and they may walk away if you threaten to pull out of the sale. Having said that, if they walk away when faced with an ultimatum, it maybe they didn’t want to buy your house after all. This is just one of the many reasons why you should read the final section of this article about how to avoid the stress of buyer delaying tactics below.
Give your buyers a deadline: Giving deadlines can sometimes do the trick to get buyers moving, but be realistic with the deadlines you set.
Get your estate agents involved. Use your estate agents to move the sale along, as this is what they are being paid to do. Estate agents get paid high commissions, and they should be held accountable for making your house sale happen.
Speak with your solicitor. It’s important to speak with your solicitor to make sure the delays are genuinely at the buyer’s end. It may be you have a slow solicitor who you need to speed up and push.
Put your house back on the market: If your buyers really want your house, by putting it back on the market will push them into action for fear of losing your house to another buyer.
How do you know a buyer is serious?
The signs to look out for with buyers to know they are serious, and that any delay in the sale is not tactics include the following:
They asked the right questions about the area, like what are the schools like if they have children.
They are happy to share their contact details with you.
How to avoid the stress of house buyer delaying tactics
The best way to avoid the stress when selling your house and to avoid getting frustrated with house buyers delaying tactics and messing you around, you should sell and rent before buying again. With this in mind, you should definitely read the following article: Are You Better Selling Your House And Renting Before Buying Again.
There are so many advantages to adopting this strategy, not least the reduced stress of buying another house at the same time as selling. But you will no longer be under the control of buyers, as you are no longer buying straight away. You will be in a much stronger position, and if your buyers start any delay tactics, you can simply threaten to re-market your house, as your sale is no longer affecting a house purchase.
Within this article, there is also a link to how you could save over £71,475 on your next mortgage if you adopt this strategy. Definitely worth a read too.
But also, with my course on how to sell your house in under two weeks, you receive a free excel tool that will help you calculate how much you could save on your next mortgage. The course will help you prepare your house so it sells quickly and for more money. Certainly worth considering.
One benefit that I don’t list in my course on how to sell your house quickly for more money, is by making your house more sellable and more valuable, you will attract better buyers. It will therefore be less likely that keen buyers who love your house because of what you’ve done to it will want to lose it due to delay tactics.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article about house buyers delaying tactics
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Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below too. Please also share any of your experiences with properties you’ve bought. Alternatively, if you need more help, please feel free to contact us on our contact us page here. Or join the discussion and ask your question in the property forum.
House Buyers Delaying Tactics: Avoid Being Messed Around
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been investing in property since purchasing his first commercial property in the 1990's for his own Chartered Accountancy business. But his first property investment project was to turn an old dilapidated restaurant into a large 5-bed home, which he purchased for £117,500 and sold for £450,000 (to see an "after" photo of the house before it was sold see here: About). Russell owns a number of investment properties, which includes houses, flats and HMO's. More recently he has turned his creative side to investing in property using lease options. His largest lease option deal to date was to acquire 12 properties worth over £2 million for just £12, which means he paid just £1 to acquire each property!
