OMG Please help!! New build and chain

charle1980

Hi

I just got a call from our sol's saying all below us are ready to exchange (we are buying a newbuid) to complete 26th Jan. I explained our new build not complete and they won't start work on our choice of kitchen/bathroom etc until we are exchanged. Our solicitor rang builders solicitors who said approx 12 weeks to complete but they would "give notice to us" of 7-10days. I am now concerned as we were led to beleive we would know the completion date at exchange of contracts.

We are not in a position to rent (2 babies at home) and refuse to pay deposit on exchange of our new property yet not exchange on our sale (this was the other option advised by solicitors)

I am stunned with this, I really don't know what to do. Has anyone else been in this situation or have any advice? PLease.

We will to pull out unless builders can give us a completion date - what are they playing at?

TIA
Charlotte

Debt_Free_Chick

It's quite common to have no firm completion date for a new build - afterall, there are still many fixtures & fittings that need to be installed. That might not go according to plan and it would be wise to plan for some delays.

Often, with a new build, you exchange with no firm completion date. You then get notice of the proposed completion date.

All this means that all in the change need to exchange at the same time and then agree that completion will depend on your say-so (and you will give the date of completion based on what the builders state).

We are not in a position to rent (2 babies at home) and refuse to pay deposit on exchange of our new property yet not exchange on our sale (this was the other option advised by solicitors)

Not sure I understand. Don't you all exchange on the same day and therefore all the deposits are dealt with? You then just "sit around" and wait for completion (depends on your builders).

Of course, if others in the chain aren't happy about this, they might pull out.

You could try and force the issue of a firm completion date with the builders. However, this might prove to be a "false economy". You might find that they rush jobs to meet the completion date, leaving you with a long list of "snagging" issues to be dealt with afterwards. If you are happy with this (!), then this might be an option for you. But you really could be living in hell whilst they deal with the snagging :eek:

charle1980

OK, I have calmed down some now and spoken to my mum. Se has invited us to go and stay with her for the 10/12 weeks.:eek: :eek: :eek:

My question is - How would this work in terms of paying for our new house as obviously we would comlete in say, 2 weeks on our sale but not on our purchase for anothe 10 weeks. Would we have to pay 5% deposit even though this is more than the deposit we receive on ours?

I take it we may even be financially better off with 10 weeks of no coucil tax/mortgage/utilities etc. However I am unsure of the process we will go through by taking this course of action, can anynody advise?

MAny thanks
Charlotte

linlin_3

charle1980 wrote:

OK, I have calmed down some now and spoken to my mum. Se has invited us to go and stay with her for the 10/12 weeks.:eek: :eek: :eek:

My question is - How would this work in terms of paying for our new house as obviously we would comlete in say, 2 weeks on our sale but not on our purchase for anothe 10 weeks. Would we have to pay 5% deposit even though this is more than the deposit we receive on ours?

I take it we may even be financially better off with 10 weeks of no coucil tax/mortgage/utilities etc. However I am unsure of the process we will go through by taking this course of action, can anynody advise?

MAny thanks
Charlotte

On day of exchange, you pay the deposit on your new house. As you won't have sold your old house at that stage, the deposit is usually made up from the deposit paid by the purchasers of your old house. If the builders aren't able to quote an exact date, you could negotiate with them that you only pay a deposit equal to that you receive on the sale of the old house. That could hurry them up a bit. If it's not possible, and you are not able to make up the difference yourselves, your mortgage company may do this. Otherwise, a bridging loan - negotiate a discount with the builders equal to the costs of any loans.

When you sell your old house, you'll have the sale proceeds to bank for the few weeks before completing on your new house. Open several bank accounts now for this money, as it can take some time to activate the accounts.

Good luck