EA getting heavy

lease_man

Hi all,

Would like to get the boards opinion on this one.

Have exchanged contracts with our vendor and everything seemed to be going well but got call from EA today asking for when we wanted completion date. We gave 20th October which is a big compromise for us as we need to give 5 weeks notice on our flat so we are doubling up on nearly 2 weeks rent.

However EA has called back to say vendor not happy and the 11th October is the latest they are prepared to go. EA says he can see our point and sympathises with us but the vendor cant go any later than that, essentially saying they will pull out if we cant meet their date.

I cant really see how 9 days is such a big problem when its quite possible if the property is relisted to have to wait more than 10 times that for the money and we have had prior problems with the vendor dragging thier feet up until this point so feel totally justified in sticking to my guns. BUT we really cant afford to lose this house and with a 10 week old baby the house seems that much more important.

Our solicitor says not to worry, its just bullying but you hear stories all the time of purchases falling thru for the tiniest and pointless reasons. What do you think?

cattie

It's a difficult one. My initial thought is that they would have to be crazy to pull out for the sake of 9 days. They will be out of pocket by all the legal fee's due to date & will be back at square one in the selling process.

On the other hand there are some very strange people about & who knows if your vendor is one of these & would cut off his nose to spite his face by pulling out at almost the 13th hour.

I think if I were you & did desperately want this house I'd try to come up with the extra money to cover the dual payments of rent & mortgage for that period. Or if this just isn't possible, try to see if the vendor will help towards the rent payment due if you do complete at the earlier date. By what you've posted, that possibility seems very unlikely though.

mjfusent

The completion date should be defined in your contract, as arranged with your sols prior to exchange.

Given that you have exchanged surely its all agreed, the contract will either name a fixed date or say "completion on or before xxx". So long as you are within the contract there's nothing the other side can do, you are both legally bound by the contracts you have signed.

Speak with your solicitors, once you have exchanged completion is their domain, and has very little at all to do with the EA.

Let us know how you get on,

HTH,

Mike

EDIT - Are you definate your solicitor has actually exhanged contracts with the other side, not just the fact that you have signed them & sent them back to your solicitors??? If not then its all up for negotiation...

edwara

My understanding is that as long as you have exchanged contracts (not just signed the paper work) then your vendors have very little power to change this. As already mentioend you should have agreed dates before exchange. If you have exchanged and your buyer pulls out then I think they are liable for fees, they loose their deposit, basically at this point you are legally bound to proceed. I am not sure however what happens if your vendor pulls out, I woudl imagine there is some legal recourse. I know if you fail to complete on the agreed time then you (as purchaser) can be liable for interest and any extra costs)

Normally all the agry bargy over dates takes place before exchange, we had a nightmare on ours with all sorts of threats flying about. Basically it is a game of nerve. I guess it is a question of who wants what date most, are you preapred to lose a purchase and go back to square one.

You need clarity from your solicitor, I agree it is nothing to do with teh etstae agen tat this point, in fact if you have exchanged i doubt they will care as they shoudl get their fees.

Got everythign crossed fo you

lease_man

thanks for the quick replies.

Sorry i wasnt right about the exchange of contracts, we have only signed and sent back to our sols so i guess we are still up for negotiation.

If it came down to to losing the house we would be able to cover the extra costs but I just didnt want to be a pushover.

We are compromising on the date and have always been quick to act on anything that needed to be done and for them to threaten to pull out now seems so unfair.

Thanks for your help
Matt

CB1979_2

try and contact the vendor directly, the EA we were buying through tried to get heavy with us, then went on to tell the vendor we could only move on the 1st of the month, when we didn't even say this.

I eventually got my sols to tell their sols that we were ready to move asap rather than delay it by 10 days.

basically the EA only gets paid once you've exchanged contracts, drag it out as long as you can to p*ss him off! lol

in seriousness speak to the vendors and try and get it arranged to suit both of you

pboae

Why not tell them you are more than happy to move on the 11th, if they are willing to cover your additional costs of 2 more weeks rent? Puts the ball back in their court, if they are that desperate to move on that date, then it's up to them to pay for it.

lease_man

Thanks again for the replies.

Good news in this case. We stuck to our guns, mentioned them covering our rent costs and left it with the EA. After a stressful 30 minutes he called back saying hes sorted it for the 20th for us. No rent arrangements, just a straight exchange date on the day we asked for.

Nothing like the thought of having to look for another house to add some excitement to your day!