Buyer delaying exchanging until completion

angiepooos

Is this normal? Our buyer assumes she will exchange and complete on the same day to avoid paying the 10% deposit. We don't really want that much deposit, but want her to exchange so that the deal is sealed - we're supposed to be moving in a fortnight and as a natural worrier, I want to know for sure it's going through.

Also, we may need to rent a property and can't do so without proof of exchange. Should we encourage her to exchange by offering her the chance to put just £1,000 down, or is exchanging at completion the norm these days?

lowtidesurf

Be careful, I have known people who have decided and agreed with Exhange and completion and they have been Gazundered.

Basically your buyers will lop off another 10% off the price and refuse to pay the full amount. They hope that as things have all been sorted and you may be desperate to sell you will cut your losses and sell for a highly reduced price.

DO NOT EXCHANGE AND COMPLETE ON THE SAME DAY.

DO NOT GET GUZUNDERED

Gwhiz

lowtidesurf wrote: »

Be careful, I have known people who have decided and agreed with Exhange and completion and they have been Gazundered.

Basically your buyers will lop off another 10% off the price and refuse to pay the full amount. They hope that as things have all been sorted and you may be desperate to sell you will cut your losses and sell for a highly reduced price.

DO NOT EXCHANGE AND COMPLETE ON THE SAME DAY.

DO NOT GET GUZUNDERED

Whilst not very common, simultaneous exch and complete is something that happens. It's not ideal (they could pull out with no comeback leaving you with a packed up house for example) but I would not worry unnecessarily unless they have a record of mucking you around.

lone_saver

This is interesting, as a similar thing happened to me when I sold earlier this year, buyers solicitors kept making excuses not to exchange (after agreeing they were ready a week before completion), then at 4.30pm the day before completion they insisted agreed price was £1000 lower, our solicitor was out for the afternoon, so his secretary was left to deal with it!

We panicked and said we had to exchange as couldn't face a sleepless night worrying if it would all fall through the next day (I had already signed a tenancy elsewhere and had moved out the previous day, so would have been totally stuck paying rent and mortgage if they pulled out), so (after phone calls back and forward) at 4.55pm we reluctantly exchanged at the lower price. Next morning we completed (and breathed a sigh of relief thinking they could have gazundered us for a lot more than £1000).

My ex-partner kept insisting they were up to something, playing for time etc, but as usual I was too trusting and kept telling him he was just being over-suspicious (judging people by his own standards!); it turned out he was right!

I'm not saying this will happen to the OP but would just say be careful!!! Even getting £1000 upon exchange is something towards your fees etc if they did end up pulling out!

Doozergirl

I would not do it without good reason. It used to be that FTBs would have 100% mortgage and therefore couldn't exchange with a deposit at all. But with them not really existing anymore there's no real reason unless you are both being pushed in that direction because the conveyancing simply isn't completed in time for your desired move date.

What worries me is that if someone is suspicious of you (not prepared to put a deposit down - which everyone has to do!) they tend to have reason to be; in that they are untrustworthy themselves and think that everyone else is the same!

I would absolutely insist that exchange and completion happen on different days. I have a feeling that to gazunder was my buyer's intention when he failed to complete on Friday - except he'd already exchanged. Moron. We completed yesterday after he paid the outstanding balance on credit cards!! :eek:

jasmineuk

I'm a conveyancer and TBH, exchanging and completing on the same day aren't uncommon. It may be that it's just been impossible to get all parties available at the same time to exchange.

The purchaser must have SOME deposit, even if it means using the amount he's paid to his solicitors for his fees. I have agreed to take £500 as a deposit on occasions, knowing that if the buyer fails to complete, he can be sued for the fullk 10% deposit. It very rarely happens (in my experience).