It may be unlucky, but there’s a good chance you’ve been involved in the collapse of a property sale. After all, it happens to a staggering 300,000 proposed moves every year.
We put together a study to highlight how and why property sales fall through, with the vast majority of reasons coming from the buyer’s end, costing the prospective buyer on average £3,000 per year.
We decided to delve further into this and looked at the top reasons buyers pull out of house sale deals…
Buyer Makes a U-Turn
A buyer simply making a U-Turn is the most common reason a house sale falls through, with a whopping 40% of all collapses due to the buyer simply changing their mind.
There’s no legal obligation between buyer and seller until the contract is signed, so, unfortunately, nothing can really be done to prevent this.
Buyer’s Finances Don’t Add Up
It can be one of the most frustrating things for both buyer and seller; 28% of all collapses down to the buyer are due to the buyer not having their finances in full order.
As a seller, it’s always important to know if the buyer has their finances in order before accepting an offer.
A Sale Along The Chain Falls Through
Of course, it may not be your buyer who causes the sale to fall through. It could be a buyer further along or behind the chain.
This affects a fifth of all collapses attributed to the buyer and can be a real nightmare as you have no power to stop it from happening.
Gazundering
Gazundering contributes to 8% of sale collapses and happens when the buyer places a lower offer at the very last minute, just before contracts are exchanged.
As a seller, don’t feel pressured into selling when this happens, but it’s also wise to vet prospective buyers in order to avoid this.
Buyer Pulls Out Upon Survey Results
It’s always best to be honest with a buyer as they’ll ultimately discover any problems when the survey is undertaken. It’ll break a chain further along the line and cost both buyer and seller thousands.
Collapses after a survey make up around 6% of failed transactions, and it’s easily remedied by simply being honest with the buyer. Of course, that’s not always the case, a surveyor may discover something you had no idea of as the seller.