Sellers not movingout till a month after completion?

lee-majors

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and new to buying houses.

Me and my girlfriend are in the process of completing our first house purchase. But we've hit a snag, the sellers can't move out till the end of May.

We would be willnig to allow this but our mortgage offer runs out at the end of april, so we basically need to complete by then. We cant get this offer again.

Basically the deal was about to collapse cause the sellers wouldnt agree to move out at the end of april, stating they had know where to go for the four or so weeks beefore their new build was ready.

With us not budging on our complete date (end of april) we were ready to let the deal collapse (reluctantly).

Today though, the sellers have come up with a sollution, they are willing to complete at the end of april, but want to stay in the house till end of may when there new build is complete. They will pay our first months mortgage.

I have said we want the money knocking off the price of the property so we definatly get it and the solicitor will hold onto this when they get our mortgage money.

I have also stated we want a definate date in writing for move out.

Has anyone got any experiece with this kinda of deal? Or opions or advice on the matter.

Thanks

Wickedkitten

Does your mortgage offer require you to have vacant possession upon completion?

MX5huggy

Its a minefield if you are not careful they become squatters!and squatters have squatters rights.

What happens if the builders go bust and the house is never finished?

A month is a travel lodge should be about £1000.

lonestar1

As WickedKitten says its unlikely your mortgage company would allow this as if they stay on they acquire rights also any insurance you have arranged may be conditional on you being the residents to be valid. Overall far to risky to let sellers remain , maybe agree to go half and half on B&B accomodation and storage for their belongings for a fixed term

pingu2209

ooooo really risky. Understand you don't want to walk away from your deal but the builders may pay for them to go to a travel lodge.

mlz1413

what happens if the new build is delayed?

what happens if something in the house goes wrong when you own it but they live there?

what happens if there is a need to claim on the insurance during this period?

i'd tell the sellers to move to rented or put there stuff in storage and live on friends floors if they want your sale, otherwise walk away too much can go wrong.

Re your mortgage deal with the interest rates dropping so much are you such there isn't a new deal you can get now that would mean you can be more flexible with your move date (if you want to be)?

ginvzt

Did they advertise house as no upward chain or vacant possession? Have you tried to speak to them and say that if you don't complete in April, you will have to pull out?

You haven't exchanged contracts yet, have you?

This reminds me of your sellers for the previous house, when they asked for money for us to move out - you are not moving somewhere in Leicestershire? This was after they said they are moving out to the relatives as soon as we are ready to complete and 10 weeks since the offer was accepted. We already been waiting for 6 weeks for them to get out! We said the price drops unless they exchange contracts within a week and complete 7 days later. They were quick to come around!

QTPie

Hhhmmm.

I am not sure about this, you would need to speak it through with your solicitor. IF they stay on, then they will become your tenants: how will that be managed? What rights will you have? What rights will they have? What happens if their new build still isn't ready by the end of May (completion dates on new builds have been known to slip... ours slipped by about 2 months really quite late on)? I think that most rental contracts are for a minimum of 6 months - don't know what type of agreements you can have for one month only.

Your mortgage company may not be happy with that propsed solution either: you would need to talk to them. MAYBE they can give you a month's grace on the offer? Who are your lender? Assuming they have a high street branch, then go and talk to someone face-to-face. Find out what options are available to you.

I don't know, but would advise extreme CAUTION. If you do proceed to rent it back to them for a month, then make sure that everything is sewn up VERY SECURELY legally: so that you have complete protection. You would need a contract and the correct insurance. You would need an inventory - to ensure that what is staying is staying and to ensure that the house is left in the same state at moving out as it was at completion. Never ever rely on the good will or the integrity of the sellers: they may well be straightforward and honest, but there are an awful lot of people out there who are not...

If the mortgage advisor will not work with on it, then you may have to give the seller an ultimatum... have you exchanged contracts yet?

QT

MojoBug

I'm in agreement with the majority, I really dont think its a good idea to complete and then rent it to the vendors to be honest.

Are they not at all concerned that their chain will collapse under them if they dont sort themselves out? We are selling our property at the moment, and at one point there may have been a delay in selling ours and finding something else, but with todays market we would never have risked loosing our buyer and would have found a temp solution.

At the end of the day I think the onus is on them to sort this out, One months storage and staying with family/friends/Travelodge etc will not cost them as much as loosing a buyer..

Good Luck - hope it all gets sorted out!

tenke

I honestly think, it is a case of seller's sheer laziness...:cool:

It is their duty to use the time before completion to arrange a place to live. They shouldnt be putting this headache on you, changing mortage deadlines, insurance special requirements for them to be there, not being the new owners, etc, etc.

I think, you should be firm, in that the completion date must be yours. In the end, they can always go a LA and find out about a 3 month tenancy, which would give them time to move properly to their new build, and accomodate for any delays from the builders, etc.

Of course, it will all depend how much you want the house to walk out or not, but I really think these people are not being considerate in this matter.

They should have been making alternative plans from the moment, the completion date became an issue in the 1st place !!!

Good luck, hope it gets sorted in your best interest!!!:j

Voyager2002

Minefield!

Ask advice from your solicitor rather than a bulletin board, but this is something that could cause you major problems.

I suggest you discuss the problem with your estate agent. The EA wants the sale to go through so they get their commission, and may have a lettings department able to help with short-term accommodation. Also, they know how to put pressure on a seller who is being silly.