My buyer pulled out. Can I get my money back?

This is one of the worst mornings in a sale, and it is also one of the most common. Being angry about it is fair. Being surprised by it should not last long, because the numbers say this happens to roughly one agreed sale in four.

Can I make my buyer pay my costs?

In England and Wales, no. Exchange of contracts is the moment a property sale becomes legally binding. Before exchange either side can withdraw for any reason, or none, without owing the other side anything. There is no deposit at risk and no compensation to claim.

Scotland works differently. There, a sale becomes binding once missives are concluded, which happens earlier in the process, and pulling out after that point can carry a financial consequence. If your property is in Scotland, ask your solicitor where you had reached.

How much of what I spent is actually lost?

Less than most sellers assume. A failed sale feels like a write-off, but a good deal of the money bought something that stays useful. Work down this list with your solicitor before you write anything off.

What should I do in the first week?

1. 1. Find out why, in writing

   Ask the agent to get the reason from the buyer's side and put it in an email. A buyer whose mortgage was declined tells you nothing about your house. A buyer who walked after the survey tells you something you need to know before the next one.

2. 2. Get the house back on the market the same week

   Momentum matters more than dignity here. A property that quietly reappears within days looks like a sale that fell through. One that reappears after six weeks looks like a property nobody wanted.

3. 3. Ask the agent for the underbidders

   Anyone who offered before, or viewed twice and did not offer, should be contacted first. These are the fastest possible replacements and they cost nothing to approach.

4. 4. Fix whatever the survey found, or price it in

   If the sale died on a survey finding, the next buyer's surveyor will find the same thing. Get a quote for the work, then decide whether to do it or to reflect it in the price. Either beats discovering it again in eight weeks.

5. 5. Keep your solicitor instructed and the pack ready

   The work already done is your head start. A seller who can hand over a complete pack on day one of the next sale takes weeks out of the timetable.

6. 6. Review the price against what has actually sold

   One buyer pulling out is not evidence of overpricing. Two buyers pulling out at the survey stage usually is. Compare your asking price with what similar homes nearby have completed at, not with what they are listed at.

7. 7. Reset how you spend on the next buyer

   Decide now which costs you will only incur once the next buyer has committed money of their own. Write the list down while this is still fresh.

How common is this, and why do sales collapse?

Quick Move Now, analysing TwentyCi Property and Homemover Report data for the first quarter of 2026, put the national fall-through rate at 23.7%, slightly below the decade average. Their breakdown of why sales collapsed is a useful map of where the risk actually sits.

The timing figure is the one worth remembering: 38% of fall-throughs happen within four weeks of the offer being accepted. The first month is where sales die, which is exactly the month in which most sellers start spending.

How do I protect myself on the next buyer?

There is an asymmetry in an English sale that costs sellers money every day. The seller gets excited and commits first, instructing solicitors, paying for management packs, taking the house off the market. The buyer, meanwhile, has often spent nothing, may still be viewing other homes, and can leave at no cost.

The correction is not cynicism. It is simply moving in step with the buyer rather than ahead of them.

• Read commitment by what a buyer has instructed and paid for: a solicitor instructed and paid, a mortgage application submitted, a survey booked, searches ordered.
• Treat words as information, not evidence. Every buyer says they love the house.
• Instruct your own solicitor early. It is inexpensive, it keeps the timetable moving, and the work carries into the next sale if this one fails.
• Hold back the larger, non-reusable spending, and the decision to come fully off the market, until the buyer has money of their own in the deal.
• Ask the agent for a written note of the buyer's position: their finance, their chain, and whether they have anything to sell.

A buyer who has paid for a survey has told you more than a buyer who has told you anything.

What is normal here, and what is a red flag?

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so a seller starting again can check the price against several local opinions before relisting.