House buying

[dorisday]

What a nightmare???

My husband and I are helping his disabled sister buy a flat. We finally found one, started to purchase and the guy we are buying off has now rented the flat out until November!!!!! We have already paid for searches ect. Can he do that?? My husbands sister is now so upset.

[Lindylou]

I totally agree with you - it is a nightmare!  Unfortunately until contracts are signed and EXCHANGED it is not your house.  I had a buyer once who backed out on the day the contracts were to be exchanged.  Left us in an extremely difficult position.  And there was nothing at all we could do about it.  So it works both ways.  Pity the Scottish system can't be adopted in England/Wales.  Don't know how it works in other parts of the world.  I would be interested to know!

[nuoyg]

Hi dorisday, I don't know anything about this but I just feel so sorry for you, your husband and his sister that I had to write a note.  That is a nasty thing to do.  I hope sis finds a better flat so she can tell the flat-renter what to do with his one when November comes round!!

[trish1234567]

Like Lindylou, our sellers were actually out for the whole day on the very day of the exchange of contracts and could not even be contacted.  We were second in a chain of about six so we weren't the only people let down!!!  My youngest child was to start at a new school and she had to go back to her old school, which was extremely upsetting for her.

This 'delightful' elderly couple who were moving into a brand new flat had pre-arranged unknown to everybody concerned that their daughter & son-in-law were to have the house on their return home from Saudi Arabia which was so convenient.  They even wanted more money which they said they didn't have because the price of their new flat had gone up and we and our next in the chain offered to pay this extra money for them.

I too feel really sorry for your sister-in-law but she is actually lucky that it didn't go any further. She will find something even better and I wish her all good luck. Some people have absolutely no morals!!!..