informal completion date moved again

deprivedofsleep

good morning all,

looking for advice on how to handle a situation re purchase. answers on a postcard please

Originally due to complete at the end of May on purchase of a house. the agreement was informal and between ourselves and the vendor. This didn't happen as she didn't realise her son had exams around this time and also she pulled out of a house sale. we again, informally agreed end of June would be most likely. Despite having lined up tenants for our property for the end of May, they were happy to delay for another month only. we were ok with this as it also bought us a bit more time.

End of April the vendor had by this time found another property and kindly informed us by text that all the paperwork was on track & still good to complete for end of June. End of May we were at a point to formalise completion dates with the solicitors and last week the vendor hints that end of June looks now unlikely.

Needless to say we are not impressed. Our tenants are due to move in on 30th and we would lose them for sure if we asked them to delay again. In short we need to be out of our property and all our belongings with no house to move into. Realistically, we would have to logistically 'move' twice/ put things into storage and find temporary accomodation until we complete.

For the massive inconvenience and cost we will be incurring we want to know if we are in a position to ask for a reduction in purchase price for every week we fail to complete from 29th June. We have asked our solicitor about this and how it will be calculated, but they are extremely slow to respond, so i'm here wondering if anyone has been in a similar position and willing to share advice/ experiences?

Thanks

Travelqueen

You're not at the bottom of my chain are you!?

I was also due to complete mid-May, its now mid-June and still nothing.

I sympathise but it might not be her fault this time around, maybe the people she is buying from have their own challenges?

I suppose the question is, how much do you love the house and can you afford to pay the same as you would per month on a mortgage on storage and an alternative place to live whilst finalising the purchase....

Good luck!

deprivedofsleep

well, we like the house, hence not threatening to pull out and thinking of alternative accommodation. the reason i am asking re reduction of purchase price is because the costs we will be incurring are unexpected.

Although we will be renting our current place out there will be a monthly shortfall against the mortgage. Things are pretty tight already as we are buying a house, so we could really do without 2 logistical moves, storage and rent for another property.

We realise that it might not be the vendors fault, but she has had plenty of time and our personal details to contact us like the first time she delayed to warn us of further delays. We feel we have accommodated her needs every step of the way.

anselld

You are sending mixed messages to the vendors by agreeing to relaxed / informal arrangements; it does not incentivise them to get on with it.

Never mind waiting for solicitors to calculate things. You can make whatever reduced offer you like, but first you should tell the vendors in clear terms that you are no longer happy to wait and that you must get to exchange of contracts by a fixed date or you will need to reconsider your offer.

deprivedofsleep

anselld, thanks for your post.

yep, we were worried about the informal contact, but we kept it to the minimum and not too friendly. initially the estate agents were playing games with us and as i found out later telling us lies, so we all agreed to keep in direct contact.

i am encouraged by your advice though, is this something you have come across before? This is my first purchase and my partners 3rd, so while it seems he is ok with this it's all new to me!

anselld

deprivedofsleep wrote: »

anselld, thanks for your post.

yep, we were worried about the informal contact, but we kept it to the minimum and not too friendly. initially the estate agents were playing games with us and as i found out later telling us lies, so we all agreed to keep in direct contact.

i am encouraged by your advice though, is this something you have come across before? This is my first purchase and my partners 3rd, so while it seems he is ok with this it's all new to me!

Agents playing games ... solicitors not communicating ... all very common unfortunately. Some times you have got to be pushy though to get to exchange; it doesn't do to be too relaxed as some vendors will just take advantage.

deprivedofsleep

we haven't sat on our !!!!!! all the same.