Buyer won't disclose conveyancing report

[Gnoble17]

Please read.

I saw a house that had come back onto the market that I hadn't viewed intially as I wasn't in a position to buy.

I rang the estate agent and asked if there had been an issue that had stopped the sale going through.

Aftet a few minutes on hold she came back on the phone and said there had been something during the conveyancing process but the buyer wouldn't disclose it to the seller and they had pulled out of the sale.

After thinking about this further I'm pretty perplexed. What reason would it make sense for the buyer not to disclose this to the seller? They could have negotiated on price or just given them a valid reason surely?

I feel like the estate agent is telling lies but instead of just saying if fell through due to something insignificant that makes sense they have told a half truth and now it just seems weird and underhand.

Any thoughts on this. I don't feel like I can trust the estate if I veiw this house now so I've said I didn't want to. I feel liking asking a friend to ring and seeing if they get the same explanation.

Any thoughts are appreciated as to why a buyer wouldn't genuinely disclose something to a seller.

[Pezza54]

"something during the conveyancing process" could be one or more of many things
Assuming the buyer had had a survey carried out and was happy with it
Searches carried out by the conveyancer may have uncovered possible problems with:
local authority search
land registry search
water and drainage search
environmental search
flooding risk
utilities
argon gas risk
etc

A sale of my parents property fell through because a surveyor found japanese knotweed in the garden

Neither the agent or vendor are duty bound to tell you the reason

[Pezza54]

Estate agents and sellers can be known for their underhand tactics

When I saw a property that had previously been sold and the sale fallen through, I went to view it

I made an offer and it was initially accepted, A few days later the agent told me the vendor had changed their mind and wasn't going to accept my offer.

A few months later the agent called me to ask if my offer still stood. I said no

My offer had been used to bump up the first buyer's offer, which had fallen through again

[Gnoble17]

Yes I understand lots can be uncovered. It's just they are saying the buyer won't disclose to seller, which just doesn't add up.

I can believe they won't disclose to me, but the possible lie they have told makes no sense.

[des8]

Whereas the buyer has no obligation to tell the seller why he /she is withdrawing from the sale (after all it could be for some personal reason) the estate agent does have a duty to any buyer to describe the property as accurately as possible and not misrepresent the details.

He is bound under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008to describe a property truthfully and provide material information to allow potential buyers to make an informed transactional decision.

So I would hope the Estate Agent is, for his own sake, not withholding any important information from you as a prospective buyer

[Pezza54]

What may have been uncovered by a search or survey could be so serious that the buyer doesn't want to divulge what it is to the seller and is not prepared to negotiate a price reduction. The buyer may be worried about upsetting the seller
Can you trust the agent is telling the truth? Could be they've got another buyer in mind and trying to put you off the property

[Pezza54]

Estate agent's description:
"deceptively spacious" (can't swing a cat)
"needs some modernisation" (it's delapidated)
"quiet secluded location" (it's miles from anywhere)
"garden wild life friendly" (it's like a jungle)

[des8]

Estate agent's description:
"deceptively spacious" (can't swing a cat)
"needs some modernisation" (it's delapidated)
"quiet secluded location" (it's miles from anywhere)
"garden wild life friendly" (it's like a jungle)

Here in Wales
"gently sloping garden" (hope you are a mountaineer!)

[Gnoble17]

Nothing is straight forward is it? We have recently had my late father's house valued and I felt like the estate agents were contestants on some game show. They were just trying to win the sale over the others, this approach instantly makes me distrust them. The same when we bought a car recently.

It's the biggest purchase I will ever make and I just want honesty, even if some of the it is negative, I can generally find a solution if I want something enough, as long as I feel like I'm been told the truth.

When I spoke to the estate agent on the phone I felt like they weren't expecting someone to point out it was back on the market and ask why. Perhaps it's not that common.

[PallasAthena]

Buyer might have just made it up as a reason for withdrawing from the purchase. It could be anything or nothing.