Your house sale fell through: the options from here
Hearing that your house sale fell through is hard, especially after months of forms, viewings and plans. From here you have three main routes: put the home back on the market, try an auction or sell to a direct buyer such as Resolute Estate Solutions. This page compares them honestly, including the fact that our offers are below open-market value.
Why house sales collapse before exchange
In England, nobody is legally bound until contracts are exchanged. Until that moment, either side can walk away, usually without paying the other anything. That gap between “offer accepted” and a binding contract is where sales fail.
The usual reasons fall into a few familiar groups:
- The buyer pulled out. A change of job, a relationship ending, cold feet or simply finding a home they preferred.
- The chain broke. Someone further up or down the chain lost their buyer or their onward purchase, and every sale linked to theirs stalled with it.
- A down-valuation. The buyer’s lender valued the home below the agreed price, leaving a gap the buyer could not or would not cover on their own.
- Survey findings. Damp, movement, an old roof, knotweed or an issue with the lease turned up, and the buyer withdrew or asked for a large reduction.
- The buyer’s mortgage fell through. A mortgage offer expired, was withdrawn or never came, sometimes because of the property itself and sometimes for reasons that had nothing to do with it.
Knowing which of these happened matters, because it shapes which option makes sense next. A buyer who changed their mind tells you little about your home. A lender refusing to lend on it tells you a lot.
Where you stand the day after the buyer pulled out
When a buyer has pulled out, the instinct is to do something at once. It is usually better to spend a day or two finding out exactly where things stand. These are the questions worth answering first.
Why did it fail?
Ask your agent and your solicitor for the real reason, in writing if possible. “Personal reasons” can turn out to be a survey report or a valuation.
What do you now know about the property?
If the buyer’s survey found a defect, you may now be aware of something you were not before. The GOV.UK guide to selling a home is clear that sellers should not hide defects, and the property forms you give the next buyer need to be accurate. Talk to your solicitor about what to update.
What can be reused?
- Your own paperwork. Title documents, the TA6 property information form, the TA10 fittings and contents form, the TA7 leasehold form if relevant, warranties and certificates for past work, and your EPC (valid for 10 years) can normally carry straight over.
- Your solicitor’s file. If you keep the same solicitor, the ID checks, title work and draft contract on your side are already done.
- Searches and surveys. These usually belong to the buyer who paid for them. A new buyer will normally order their own, although searches are sometimes passed across if both sides agree.
Are you also buying?
If you have an onward purchase, speak to the seller’s agent early. Some sellers will wait a short while if they believe a replacement buyer is coming; others will not. Ask your mortgage broker or lender when your own mortgage offer expires, because a later timetable may mean it has to be extended or reissued. If you have booked removals, tell the firm now, so that a provisional date can be moved rather than lost.
What it costs you when a house sale fell through, and what it does not
If your house sale fell through, you may be worried that everything spent so far is lost. Some of it is, but less than you might think.
- Your legal costs to date. Many solicitors charge for work already done even if the sale does not go ahead. Check your client care letter. If you keep the same solicitor for the next sale, much of that work carries forward.
- Agent’s fees. Estate agents are normally paid on completion, so a collapsed sale does not usually trigger commission. Your agreement will say what applies.
- Time. For most people this is the real loss: weeks or months of waiting, and perhaps a new home you had your heart set on.
- Running costs. If the home is already empty, council tax, insurance and utilities continue while you start again.
It is also worth remembering what you have gained. You now know how buyers, surveyors and lenders see the property. That knowledge makes your next decision a better-informed one, whether you remarket, go to auction or ask us for a figure. If the house sale fell through because of the property rather than the buyer, that insight is especially valuable.
Remarket, auction or a direct buyer after a failed sale
There is no single right answer when you want to sell after a failed sale. It depends on why the last one failed and on what you need now.
| Back on the market | Auction | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Often the most, if the problem was the buyer and not the house | Set by bidders on the day, protected by a reserve | Below open-market value |
| Starting again | New viewings, a new buyer, a new chain | A legal pack, catalogue listing and auction date | A call, a viewing and a written offer |
| Risk of another collapse | The same risks as before, until exchange | Low once the hammer falls, but the lot may not sell | We only change an offer for a new, evidenced finding, explained in writing |
| Costs | Agent’s commission and legal fees | Entry fee, commission, legal pack and legal fees | No fees; we pay your legal fees |
If the last buyer simply changed their mind and the house is in good order, going back on the market is often sensible. A new buyer may well pay a similar price. If lenders or surveyors keep finding the same issue, the home may be hard to sell to anyone relying on a mortgage, and an auction or a direct buyer may suit it better. Our guide weighing up agents, auctions and direct buyers compares these routes in more depth.
When the chain broke above or below you
A broken chain is the most frustrating kind of collapse, because it often has nothing to do with you or your home. Someone three sales away loses their buyer, and every link stops.
You have a few ways to respond:
- Wait for the chain to repair. Sometimes a replacement buyer appears within the chain, and it restarts. This costs nothing but time, and you have no control over it.
- Find a new buyer yourself. Your agent remarkets, and you hope for a buyer in a simpler position, such as a first-time buyer.
- Sell to a direct buyer. We buy directly, so on our side there is one buyer and one set of written terms, and we agree the completion date with you.
If you are also buying, the date matters as much as the price. Because the completion date is agreed with you in advance and written into the contract, you can plan your own purchase around it. The property must be empty by completion, so you will need to move out on or before that day; our page on how to sell your house fast covers the practical side of moving out for a lived-in home.
If you are an executor whose buyer has withdrawn, the same options apply, but the paperwork is different; see our page about selling a probate property.
Down-valuations and survey findings: how we price them
If your sale failed because of the property itself, the next buyer is likely to find the same thing. We would rather know about it from you at the start. We will price it in, and there is then no reason for it to affect the offer later.
We work out every offer the same way. Our offers are below open-market value. We start from comparable sales nearby.
If our offer depends on a survey, we tell you before you accept. If something new, material and evidenced comes to light after that, we explain any change in writing. We do not reduce an offer at the last minute without a reason you can see.
Homes with deeper problems, such as subsidence, fire damage or construction types lenders avoid, are covered on our page about selling a derelict or unmortgageable house. Flats that failed on a short lease or cladding questions are covered on our page for owners who want to sell a leasehold flat. The full method is on our page explaining how we calculate an offer.
Moving from a collapsed sale to a sale with us
If you decide a direct sale suits you, the steps are short. The fuller version is on our page about each stage of selling your home to us.
Check your agency agreement
Before selling privately, read your estate agency agreement for any notice period or fee that could apply. Ask the agent if anything is unclear.
Tell us what happened
Call 0203 746 5656 or use the offer request form for your property. Share any survey or valuation findings you have.
We view the home
At a time that suits you. We look at the property as it is today.
Your written offer
Sent with our Terms of Business, and with no deadline to decide.
Your solicitor carries on
You can keep the same solicitor, whose file is already partly done. We pay your legal fees.
Exchange and completion
Identity checks and searches, then exchange, then completion with the home empty and the keys handed over.
Deciding whether to try the open market again
A direct sale tends to make more sense when:
- the same survey or lending issue has now come up more than once;
- the home is empty and costing you money every month while it sits on the market (see our page on how to sell an empty house);
- you are a landlord who does not want to go through another round of viewings, and the property will be empty by completion, because we buy rental properties with vacant possession only (see our page for landlords who want to sell);
- you have simply had enough of uncertainty and would rather accept a lower figure for one buyer and one written set of terms.
Whichever you choose, check who you are dealing with. Our company details, director and registered office are on our page about our company and director, and our page about how we check identity before buying explains the checks we will ask you to go through.
Questions sellers ask after a failed house sale
Can I claim costs back from a buyer who pulled out?
Usually not in England, because neither side is bound until exchange of contracts. If you think the buyer has broken a binding agreement, ask your solicitor.
Do I have to tell the next buyer why my last sale fell through?
You do not have to explain the buyer’s reasons, but the property forms you give the next buyer must be accurate. If a survey revealed a defect you now know about, speak to your solicitor about updating your answers.
Can I use the same solicitor for a sale to you?
Yes, and it often saves time because your side of the file is already open. We pay your legal fees.
Will you offer the same price my last buyer agreed?
Probably not. Our offers are below open-market value. We explain how we reached the figure, and you are free to say no at no cost.
What if my home failed a mortgage valuation?
We can still consider it. If you have a copy of the valuation or survey, sharing it helps us give you a realistic figure the first time.
Could you pull out too?
Until exchange, either side can withdraw. We only change or withdraw an offer for a new, material and evidenced reason, and we explain it in writing. We do not use late reductions as a negotiating tactic.
Page last reviewed on by the Resolute Estate Solutions team.