Exchange of Contracts - Question

iandv

Hi

After the exchange of contracts would it be possible/is it unusual to ask the vendor (the house we are buying is currently empty) could we come in to install a new boiler, paint and lay carpets before completion - to save use the hassle of doing it when we move in as we have small children

Is this a usual request - or could you arrange with the seller after completion that we rent our current house off them (as they are buying it as an investment) for a week until the property renovations are completed?

Incyder

I would choose not to spend a penny on renovations on a house I didnt own. And it would not be mine till completion.

Richard_Webster

After the exchange of contracts would it be possible/is it unusual to ask the vendor (the house we are buying is currently empty) could we come in to install a new boiler, paint and lay carpets before completion - to save use the hassle of doing it when we move in as we have small children

Possible, but only likely if

a) Property empty at the moment; and
b) You ask seller if you can do this before you exchange and as a condition of exchange.

As has been pointed out once you have completed you own the property so you can't rent it off yourself!

hazyjo

iandv wrote: »

Is this a usual request - or could you arrange with the seller after completion that we rent our current house off them (as they are buying it as an investment) for a week until the property renovations are completed?

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Possible, but only likely if

a) Property empty at the moment; and
b) You ask seller if you can do this before you exchange and as a condition of exchange.

As has been pointed out once you have completed you own the property so you can't rent it off yourself!

Could be wrong but think the OP means 'buyer' (where bold). We were thinking along similar lines - exchanging on buying and selling same day, but having longer completion date for the one we were buying, and renting our current house off our buyer (an investor) for a couple of weeks. Was only 'cos he was pushing for a short time between exchange and completion and yet the vendors needed longer. Will probably all work out now as buyer not pushing so hard (why are people so bloomin' awkward). Sorry if wrong, just seemed to make sense as we'd had similar thoughts. We'd also talked ourselves out of it as we weren't sure we'd get such a short (legal!) rental, and were worried about things going wrong with our purchase if we didn't all complete on the same day, and if something went wrong with our current house, it would feel really odd having the new owner deal with it and he'd probably wonder if it was something that had been a problem before and that we'd waited to rent it, then got him to deal with it rather than us. All too complicated and probably more hassle than it's worth!

If it is possible to do as you asked, you'd probably want to exchange on the same day. If you sell yours and haven't exchanged on the one you're buying yet, it could still fall through. If it fell through and the investor would let you rent for however long it took you to find somewhere else and complete, great, but they might have a tenant lined up. I'd not like the lack of security and would want to have at least exchanged on all on the same day. I presume it's possible to have two different completion dates!

Saying all that, I'd not want to do any work on a property I hadn't completed on, even if I had exchanged on it. Can't you stay with friends/family/hotel for a few days? Boiler will only take a day, carpets maybe a couple probably... are you doing the painting yourself or any other jobs? Maybe just the kids could stay with relatives/friends while you do the work and 'camp' at the house for a few days?

Jx

80schild

I am in the exact same situation (buying empty house, selling to investors) The house we are buying although it is habitable, needs work doing on it and we have small children too-will be interested to see what replies you get as I was wondering the same thing!

tyllwyd

We bought our current house when it was empty (the original owner had passed away). We were able to agree with the seller that we would come in and clean up, lay carpets & do some electrical work between exchange and completion. The condition was that we returned keys to the Estate Agent at the end of every day.

The vendor didn't have to agree, but it can't hurt to ask nicely.

G_M

hazyjo wrote: »

Could be wrong but think the OP means 'buyer' (where bold). We were thinking along similar lines - exchanging on buying and selling same day, but having longer completion date for the one we were buying, and renting our current house off our buyer (an investor) for a couple of weeks.
Jx

The answer has nothing to do with renting. You Exchange both deal on the same day but with Completion on your sale timed a week (or two) later than your purchase. You then have a week of owning your new property and renovating it, before you need to move out of your old property.

Of course the disadvantage is you can't use the money from your sale to finance the purchase. You'll need cash, or a bridging loan.

As for he original question:

After the exchange of contracts would it be possible/is it unusual to ask the vendor (the house we are buying is currently empty) could we come in to install a new boiler, paint and lay carpets before completion

It is, as Richard says, easier to arrange this before Exchange, but it is also possible after. You can but ask!

I have certainly done this on a BTL (tenants had trashed the place and LL was fed up with letting). After Exchange, he agreed via his solicitor to let me in and do work - I installed doubl glazing, new kitchen, re-painted. It meant I had tenants in a spanking new house a week after Completion! The only conditions I had to sign agreement for were I could not sleep overnight and had to return the keys each evening.

The risk, of course, is that Completion does not take place for some reason and you pour money into someone else's property.

iandv

Also when do you arrange insurances (home etc)? is it when your solicitor gives you a date to come in and exchange (i.e. this Friday) then you could arrange insurance online the night before? Or otherwise you could take out an insurance policy on the new home and if the sale falls through before you exchange what happens then?