Buyers feeling the pinch: getting protected in a difficult market

For anyone selling a home at the moment, you'll have noticed the increased difficulty in getting to the end of the line - completing and handing over the keys to your buyer.

It is clear that the UK housing market is experiencing a few issues at the moment, making it very difficult for many sellers. The problem is particularly acute because it is a buyers' market, so you have to agree to more compromises than would be the case in a less volatile market.

The ongoing wars in Eastern Europe and the Gulf have put a pinch on the supply of vital fuel, which means that oil prices are increasing, in turn making the prices of items in the shops increasingly more expensive. As a result of the inflation rate rising, it tends to make investors jittery and nervous about investing, which, in turn, means that favourable mortgage products are harder to find and prospective buyers for homes are going to be more picky about the properties they are looking at.

The problem for sellers is that they are in a quandary - if they don't acquiesce to some of the demands that a buyer is making, they might find themselves with a property that is on the agent's books for a long time, and therefore less favourable for buyers. But agreeing to a reduction in the asking price means that the seller is now in a position where any accrued equity expected from the sale is a diminishing pot.

This was one of the subjects that London-based talk radio station LBC covered when they discussed some of the outrageous requests and demands made by some buyers, forcing the unfortunate seller to lose thousands of pounds as they desperately sought the exchange of contracts with the putative buyers.

In the discussion published on TikTok, the poor seller told of the number of unreasonable requests made by the buyer, many of which required several additional enquiries. They also detailed how the seller had confirmed the day before exchange that they were going ahead, only for them to decide not to after the agreed time for exchange of contracts had passed.

Of course, the potential buyer is perfectly within their rights to pull out of the purchase process before the exchange of contracts - the point at which both parties are legally obliged to see the transaction through to completion. They can even decide to pull out after exchange has taken place, although they will be subject to financial and legal penalties as a result.

Especially now, where the buyer is almost totally in control, it is worth making sure you have the right legal representation to protect yourself both legally and financially.

Here is what you get when you instruct Homeward Legal:

Fixed-fee policy — what you are quoted by Homeward Legal at the beginning of the transaction will be exactly what you are invoiced at successful completion of the sale. If you are buying and the transaction falls through, you will only be charged for additional items supplied by a third party (such as searches and additional enquiries, known as disbursements).

Search and survey protection — if your transaction falls through for any reason, you won't have to pay for the searches and surveys on your next transaction. They transfer forward automatically.

No completion, no fee — should your transaction fall through at any stage prior to completion, Homeward Legal will not charge you the quoted solicitor's fees. You will only be required to pay for any third-party disbursements accrued to that point.

Dedicated support — you will have a dedicated customer service contact from the moment you instruct us until your transaction completes, so you always know exactly what is happening at every step.

We can't control what your buyers or sellers do. But we can make sure you're not left thousands of pounds out of pocket if the worst happens.

Our conveyancers at Homeward Legal will start work as soon as you agree to the quotation and appoint them to represent you.

Call us on to get your conveyancing quote started, or use our quick online quote tool to get an instant figure.