I didn’t know about gazumped either.
When my parents were buying a new apartment, they lost out on one that they really liked but ended up getting one they thought they could never have managed and now they’re super happy. So just wanted to say–have hope, you could be someplace even better than this one. And that yeah, real estate can really suck. Best of luck to you!
Seems to me more like it was your good fortune for not completing quicker. I understand the disappointment, and the need to vent. But tihs will pass and another house will be in your future.
I realize how angry and upset you are, and you have every right to be, but I honestly think you dodged a bullet too. If you had posted this in IMHO, saying you won’t be able to move in until June (6 months to dry it out?) and asking for advice, I would have suggested walking away from the deal. A ton of work that’s not under your control is going to get done on the place, and you’d have been stuck with no options for half a year.
I understand that the OP is disappointed, but I completely understand the position of the sellers.
They are going to have to spend the next six months or so dealing with the insurance company and overseeing the complete restoration and rebuilding of their house. As anyone who has gone through this can attest, this will involve a great deal of stress, and require a huge expenditure of time and emotional commitment. When this the renovations are finally completed, they are absolutely correct in stating that the property being sold is completely different than the one you agreed to buy.
I think they are being more than reasonable in giving the OP the right of first refusal.
I don’t think they are being greedy at all. I think the OP is being unreasonable.
And the OP should thank their lucky stars that it didn’t happen after the exchange (which we would call the “closing”), because then the OP would be going though all of this, as well as not having a place to live until the renovations were completed. The OP would also be dealing with the likely increase in insurance rates after such a claim, as the sellers are likely experiencing.
To echo what everyone said, be very very happy that the deal fell apart. You don’t know how much damage there is and if the contractors are going to do a great job fixing the unit.
Keep looking and you’ll find a better place without massive water damage.
In a year you’ll be glad you didn’t take the place. You’re attached right now but there are plenty of other houses out there.
I’d never heard of “gazumping,” I guess because it doesn’t really happen in the US.
That sucks that it happens there, though. The idea that I could go through through the process of putting in the offer and getting it accepted and then the seller could painlessly just back out is enraging.
I agree with the people who say you dodged a bullet with the place with the burst pipe, though. If it makes you feel better, the seller could have problems selling the place if the UK has the same disclosure requirements that at least some of the US does. I know I’d be reluctant to buy a place that had just undergone six months of renovation for water damage.
Why leave the water service on if the house is going to be vacant for any extended period of time?
Obviously I don’t know UK housing laws - since “gazumping” can happen (basically you get an offer accepted, then someone else outbids you) I guess the seller is free to withdraw the place at any time without penalty - but is there any chance you’re far enough along to force them to sell to you anyway?
In the US, the seller could not withdraw from selling to you once the contract was signed by both sides. In the scenario you describe, you as the buyer might be able to withdraw due to the property no longer being substantially as described. Or your mortgage company might say “nope, we won’t finance that in THAT condition”.
You may well have had a lucky break, but I agree, the sellers are being rat bastards about the whole thing. Do you have any legal grounds to force them to go through or be penalized for it? The agent might at least have grounds to insist they pay him/her the commission (in the US this would be true).
Can’t speak for everywhere in the US, but in the two states where I am licensed to practice law, this isn’t quite true. The seller can withdraw, but he might owe some amount of money to the buyer for the lost benefit of the bargain (details will depend heavily on what’s in the P&S contract).
Ouch. I totally sympathize. Sounds like all parties are in a terrible state. I know it’s hard to start new, but here’s hoping you find an even more perfect house.
I agree with the others that it’s worth walking away from. Despite what the vendor said, they will have little incentive to to the repair the right way.
We had a flood in our basement on the closing date. The seller told us we could take a $500 credit or walk. I voted walk. My wife voted “take the credit and continue with the process.” Guess who won?
Yesterday, my hot water heater gave out. That’s another $1,500 on top of the tens of thousands I’ve spent and am about to spend on demolition, mold abatement and refinishing the basement.
Consider yourself lucky.
[quote=“Mama_Zappa, post:28, topic:525985”]
Obviously I don’t know UK housing laws [/QUOT2 is sE]
This is just a nitpick but Scotland has a different legal system so “UK housing law” is something that doesn’t really exist. You’ll need a proper Scots lawyer to tell you the difference, but as far as I know, and in my experience, gazumping is a foreign concept.
We had an offer on our house we were selling this summer (signed by both parties), then a couple of days later they rescinded it. In my neck of the woods, offers are minimally binding; contracts are signed, deposits exchanged, but the buyer can back out at any time until the deal is done and title changes hands, and our option as seller would be to take them to court for the deposit, and we probably wouldn’t win (and probably wouldn’t bother, since the bottom line is you just want your house sold). We were given to understand as sellers that we weren’t allowed to entertain further offers once we accepted one.
My sympathies, Jennyrosity. Have faith that you will find your house; if you’ve found two already that you could have bought and lived in, you’ll find another.
The UK has the stupidest conveyancing system in the Western World. Why no one in power does something about it I don’t know. Well, I guess one could come up with some theories. It’s as if those involved decided to think up the slowest, awkwardest, dumbest, most stressful system and then everyone agreed to make it standard practice. The entire subject shouldn’t be discussed outside the pit.
With essentially no differences in the underlying law, Australian conveyances are conducted using practices that mean that the usual time between vendor and purchaser agreeing on a price and the purchaser owning the house and moving in is three to four weeks. There is basically no gazumping (at least not without serious consequences for a vendor). Convenances are so simple that you can have one done by a lawyer for about $500.
That said, I think the OP dodged a bullet.
More like a 155mm artillery shell.
Yes, I know we’ve had a lucky escape. It would have been far worse if we’d moved in and then had to deal with this. It’s just the thought of having to start looking again exhausts me. It’s very tempting just carry on renting and sod trying to get on the property ladder.
The chances are that there will be a mini boom in the run up to the next election as interest rates are not going to go up much, if at all, until then.
Buyers will be seeking to get multi year fixed rated deals, but after the election, I think we can expect interest rates to rise, and even though there is a big profit margin in base rate to homebuyer interest rates, I’ll bet that these increases will be passed on in short order.
There will be the usual summer slump in the housing market as things tend to go quiet during the main holiday months. This seller may be hopeful of an upturn, but they are the ones who are taking the risk, not you - there’s every chance that they will have to disclose the repair work on the homebuyers pack.
Or perhaps just a really, really big water baloon. 
In our experience this is not true (we live in Victoria). We offered on a house on a Friday and had the offer accepted on the Sunday after a little negotiation. We asked the agent about arranging to sign the contract that day, but were told it could wait until the next day. We made an appointment to meet the vendor there to sign at 1 - and at 11 we were called to be told that a $30K higher offer had been made on the house and the vendor was pulling out of our deal. Rang the REIV and our lawyers, and both confirmed that housing was the only form of contract in which a verbal offer/acceptance was not binding.
Still, we headed down as planned along with my manager who had been negotiating on our behalf, and after half an hour of ‘discussion’, during which we refused to make a higher offer, and talked about going to the media, we walked out with the deal signed and no more paid. I think if we hadn’t been so ballsy we would have been screwed.
It happens. My wife and I found a listing, mulled things over a couple days, then put in an offer. Keeping in mind what the seller’s agent had said – that we and one other couple seemed to be the only two serious about the place – we offered full price. On the same day within a couple hours (I’m not sure before or after) the other couple offered $3,000 over our offering. The sellers accepted their higher offer.
Things worked out, though. Due to some difficulty splitting the two acre lot – we knew we were offering on one acre and the house – there was going to be a 90 day delay and the other couple backed out. So four months later, the agent called us and said, “You still want it, you got it.” and we did.