We have recently been in a situation where after 10 months of waiting, the developers of our new build house gazumped us, by adding 30k to the agreed price. Leaving us and our 3 children distraught.

The act of gazumping “occurs when a seller (especially of property) accepts a verbal offer (a promise to purchase) on the property from one potential buyer, but then accepts a higher offer from someone else. It can also refer to the seller raising the asking price or asking for more money at the last minute, after previously verbally agreeing to a lower one. In either case, the original buyer is left in a bad situation, and either has to offer a higher price or lose the purchase.” (wikipedia)

So why are we allowing this to still be legal? Why are we as a nation so relaxed about this relentless and awful act continuing? Why are we putting up with shoddy law?

After a quick google search it is shocking to see so many cases where this is happening, and many petitions to put a stop to it, but yet it is still common practice and still totally legal. During my search, I found a petition recently started by a family in IOM, who had a similar devastating experience. Mr and Mrs Cassidy, and their 4 children ,have found themselves, in their words “officially homeless, having lost a lot of money, with limited properties on the market within the location we need, or our price range for a family of 6, and all just before Christmas.”

In line with the proposals put forward by the Cassidy family, I propose the same reform to the law in England, in respect of all property sales and purchases as follows

- An offer, once made on a property and where advocacy has been duly instructed by both parties, shall, at that point, become a legally binding contract between the buyer and seller.

- If either party of a sale/purchase decides to retract from the process, they (the retracting party) shall become fiscally responsible for legal costs (advocacy & conveyance fees) of the other party, incurred at the point of retraction.

- The seller must provide a “survey” for the property being sold, which should be no greater than 90 days old at time of offer being made by a buyer. Once an offer is made & accepted, the buyer legally accepts the results of the survey as part of the purchasing process.

 

Along with these proposed changes, I ask that legislation be passed to make it mandatory for developers to submit a contract to buyers with a completion date. I propose that

-All developers of new properties supply a written contract that must include a date of build completion. After such a date has passed, the buyer has the right to rescind their offer with no penalty and their deposit monies refunded.

 

The current market is a sellers market, and the act of "gazumping" is devastating families across the UK. This loop hole in the property market, is allowing developers to take advantage of buyers who just want to secure a new home, with a date of completion in a contract. The risk is all on the buyer.

It would be easy for you to click off now, and go about your normal daily business, but I plead with you to sign this petition and fight for what is right.

The contract we were given, had no completion date, meaning we could not secure the property without putting ourselves at real risk of our mortgage offer expiring, and thus 30k out of pocket.

Our Story

We are a family of 5, we have 3 young children aged 3,5 and 9. At the start of 2021, we began to look for our dream forever home, in our beautiful small town in Devon. Having grown up in the same small town, we knew this was the place we wanted to stay and raise our gorgeous children.

In February this year, we found our dream house. A new, small development of 5, 4 bed houses, being built by a local builder. We knew the quality of the work by the company was of a high standard, as we had owned a flat right beside the new development which they had previously built. It was like it was meant to be. Our children fell IN LOVE, with the house. It's all they spoke about for the weeks and months following our successful bid on one of the plots yet to be built.

As the months went on, we agreed on a date with the buyers of our property, which was a few months from the projected completion date of October 2021 estimated by the developers. No problem. We decided we didn't want to string our buyers along, so made the decision to move in with my parents for the few short months between selling and buying. Unfortunately, as more months passed, the estimated completion date for our new house was put back to November, then to December. We understood. With covid restrictions, we knew delays were inevitable, so we waited patiently in the wings as we watched the development site become houses with our children. Having sold our property and moved in with my parents, more delays as December became January, and then February, and finally March. We waited patiently knowing our home would soon be in our grasp.

Due to the nature of the open ended contract with no completion date, and with a never ending change of completion dates expressed verbally, no exchange of contract took place. Either way, we went to the development often and spoke with the builders on site and discussed lots of details about the finish of the house etc.

Then on Wednesday 25th November, we got the dreaded call from the Estate Agent, telling us that the developer wanted another 30k for the house, and that they already had someone interested in the property. I cried, and I have cried, everyday since that phone call, as have my children. Knowing we had offered all we had at the start, we had nothing left to offer. We tried to rally around the family the following day, only to receive a call to say the developer was pulling out anyway. 

With our dreams in tatters, telling our children we had lost the house was by far the hardest part. The guilt of making them homeless hangs heavy on my shoulders everyday. I would not wish this kind of pain and suffering on anybody. All the estate agent could say was “sorry”!

 

So here we are, 4 weeks before Christmas. Homeless, devastated and out priced in our own town. House prices in Devon have skyrocketed at an astronomical rate, meaning we can barely afford a small 3 bed house. Miles away from the 4 bed detached house we should have been making our home.

This is where it starts, and we can make a difference !