'My buyers dropped their offer by £15,000 the day before exchange': Gazundering and how to avoid it
A homeowner shares her experience of 'gazundering,' a practice where buyers lower their offer just before exchanging contracts. The Conveyancing Association is calling for urgent government reform to prevent this issue in the UK property market.
Why it matters
Gazundering creates significant financial and emotional stress for sellers and can cause entire property chains to collapse.
Image source, Getty Images By Dan Whitworth Radio 4 Money Box reporter Published 5 hours ago Sarah was excitedly packing up to move out of the terraced house her family had outgrown to a four-bedroom home in the countryside.
But the day before exchanging contracts the buyers of her house dropped their agreed offer by £15,000. "It was awful, your heart just drops to your stomach," says Sarah, not her real name.
She had fallen victim to gazundering, a rare but growing problem in the property market in England and Wales, according to the Conveyancing Association , external .
It is calling for government reforms aimed at tackling this and other house buying and selling issues to be brought in "without delay" instead of 2029 as planned.
For Sarah, her husband and two children their move had all been going smoothly.
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