First time buyers - mortage/rent overlap :confused:

emma_lewis84

Hi all,

My boyf and I have just had offer accepted on our first house (yey!) but vendor is looking to complete ASAP (like 6 weeks)

This concerns me as we're tied in to 6 month rental contract which last payment is on 9th June...

Is there anyway we can halt sale till end of June or get out of rental contract early?? Or will we just have to face the fact of paying rent & mortgage payments for a month or two (would be tight on the purse strings)

Any advice appriciated - I have no idea how long these things usually take!!
thanks,
Emma xxx

rosysparkle

When you say your last payment is on 9th June, do you mean that your rental agreement ends on 8th July? You are tied in until the end of the agreement unless the landlord permits you to terminate early, but there is no obligation on your landlord to permit this.

I think 6 weeks from offer to completion is a little optimistic but it can happen. If your AST ends on 8 July then by my calculation (I could be wrong) that's just over 15 weeks which is a more realistic timescale.

Doozergirl

Is the vendor buying somewhere else or is the purchase chain free? What particular reason does the vendor have for wanting to move so quickly?

Without a chain, 6 weeks is possible, with a chian it normally takes about 3 months!

You mightb e able to surrender your tenancy but you would liable for paying the rent until such time as your landlord could find a tenant; which, of course, is a complete unknown! The other issue is that you really don't have guarantee of a moving date until you have actually exchanged contracts, so my advice to teanants is usually to try and leave as much time between exchange and completion as possible, so that you can give sufficient notice and not leave yourself homeless or too out of pocket.

Perhaps your vendor would be happier with an early exchange and completion later? If your last payment is 9th June, does that mean your tenancy ends on 8th July?

emma_lewis84

Hy rosysparkle - wonderful name, and thanks for the response!!

Yes, we should leave the flat approx 8th July - about 14 weeks, which I assumed would all tie in nicely; but vendor and estate agent have both said we can rush it and complete in 8 weeks - which I don't want!! Obviously, I'd rather not have to pay rent when I'm not there.

But also, don't want to loose the house by making vendor think I'm not interested - it's a difficult situation!! xx

emma_lewis84

Doozergirl - vendor is moving in with her partner - so wants to get out asap...

I'm a complete idiot for not knowing - but whats the difference between exchange and completion?

Tennancy does end 8th July...

thanks for help! xx

deb_buffy

Hey

We are in the same position atm. We are renting untill 15th of June and have explained this to the vendor of the house we are buying, she has been really helpful and understanding that we cannot afford rent and a mortgage.

We are going to be signing contracts hopefully in 5 weeks which will make the property legally ours but not completing( handing keys and money over) untill 29th of may as our last rent payment is 15th of may.

I would explain to the vendor that you dont want to be in a rush and explain you are renting etc. Hopefully they will be understanding and will wait the extra time.

Fingers crossed for you that everything goes ok.

Doozergirl

Exchange of contracts is where you pay your deposit and you bith make the firm commitment to buy/sell the property. You also agree the date of completion, which is when you own the house!

I can see why she wants this to move quickly because she will be paying mortgage too, but she may just be happy knowing that you will exchange contracts and complete slightly later.

The key to the whole process running smoothly is communication. If things do get hairy and she is not happy to exchange and complete later, you could arrange to compromise by offering slightly more to offset some of her mortgage payments, or she accepts slightly less to offset your rent, IYSWIM?

Whatever happens, you must appreciate the saying 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' and as I've sold quite a lot of property to FTBs, I'd be very loathe to dump you just because you can't move for three months, unless I was very sure I could be guaranteed a better buyer very quickly. I'm also probably more more blasé about things things than your vendor would be also, because she has probably never sold a property before and will be as nervous of you pulling out as your are of her! As a vendor, I'd settle for exchange ASAP and exchange around the end of June Gives you time to move at leisure too.

emma_lewis84

deb_buffy - thanks for post; hope all goes well with your sale. We are off to ea's tonight to show them our ID and show them our mortage in principle - guess we'll discuss completion dates etc there - I'm amazed how fast it can move to be honest, I thought even a simple sale would take at least 3 months.

Doozergirl = thanks for the info, so helpful! I'm coming accross so many terms I'm unfamiliar with!! I think as long as we complete at end of may or later - we will be fine, I suppose given that we knocked 2k off asking price - paying £450 rent shouldn't be complained about!! :j

scope

emma: see if the vendor cant reduce the price slightly to help you towards paying both mortgage and rent. Also, remember it is better to get the property early than moving out of rented with nowhere to live.