Help - new build chain

Fiona_T

Hi

Just put in an offer which has been accepted on a house. They are buying a new build and we said we were happy to wait till they bought theirs.

Today we find out that as they are buying a new build we have to exchange in 28 days. Their house isn't going to be ready until Sept/Oct! This wasn't fully explained to me when our offer was accepted.

What happens if something happened to us in that time? What happens if the house burnt down in that time? I know I could say the same about a 2 week exchange but do you think it's a risk with 9 months?

Argh!

DuckEggGingham

Do you mean that they want to stay living in what will be your house after exchange/completion until their house is ready?

hcb42

I would not wait that long personally, would drive me nuts!

Can they not move out early and rent

ognum

Fiona_T wrote: »

Hi

Just put in an offer which has been accepted on a house. They are buying a new build and we said we were happy to wait till they bought theirs.

Today we find out that as they are buying a new build we have to exchange in 28 days. Their house isn't going to be ready until Sept/Oct! This wasn't fully explained to me when our offer was accepted.

What happens if something happened to us in that time? What happens if the house burnt down in that time? I know I could say the same about a 2 week exchange but do you think it's a risk with 9 months?

Argh!

I think it's them that have to exchange in 28 days not you! They just want you to make the chain.

You have a few options

Agree, I still doubt if you will get to exchange that quickly

Agree, but, maybe your mortgage company will not allow your mortgage to be kept on hold that long

Move on

Disagree and ask them to move to rented

Fiona_T

They only accepted our offer on the basis that we would wait. Our financial advisor has told us that we have 28 days to exchange as they need to exchange on the new build at the same time.

She thinks she can sort out the mortgage by changing the details slightly so that shouldn't be a problem.

We were happy to buy in Oct, but signing your life away on a house 9 months before you get it grr

I hate estate agents even more now

Ivana_Tinkle

How frustrating! They might need to exchange within 28 days on their purchase, but that's not your problem!

Unless this is the only house in the world for you I'd flat-out refuse. Either they realise how unreasonable their request is and agree to rent for a bit or you call it all off. Don't spend any money on conveyancing/surveys etc until this is resolved.

EDIT: X-posted. You need to decide how much you want the house, then. Personally, I don't think I've ever loved a house enough to do what they're asking you to do, so I'd tell them to get lost, but it depends how much you love the place!

bylromarha

And the reality is that a new build WILL NOT be ready when the developers say it will.

If they say they can move in Sept/Oct, what you're actually looking at is moving in Dec/Jan at the earliest.

As exchange has already taken place at that point you just have to sit it out with no comeback and wait for the builders to get on with it at their own pace.

I'd walk away personally - I've bought 2 new builds and neither have completed the build on time. My poor friend in London had to wait 2 years past the date the builders initially gave to move into her house - she was bedding down with her family on peoples sofas and spare rooms for a year.

Fiona_T

Thanks everyone!

Got hubby ringing up in a bit! We're giving them three options:

1) We walk away
2) We exchange and complete in a couple of months
3) They exchange but we don't exchange until nearer the time and then they will have to fund their deposit themselves

I just feel like we've been taking for a mug once again with this estate agent. They conned us the last time when we bought our last property off them!

kingstreet

If the whole chain doesn't exchange, the newbuild buyer can't exchange, unless one of the chain members has a way of funding their move without selling.

It's normal for a longish period between exchange and completion on a newbuild, but as a mortgage offer only lasts six months, anything longer than that becomes a bigger risk. The mortgage offer will go stale and there's no guarantee that a new one will be available.

poppysarah

Fiona_T wrote: »

Hi

Just put in an offer which has been accepted on a house. They are buying a new build and we said we were happy to wait till they bought theirs.

Today we find out that as they are buying a new build we have to exchange in 28 days. Their house isn't going to be ready until Sept/Oct! This wasn't fully explained to me when our offer was accepted.

What happens if something happened to us in that time? What happens if the house burnt down in that time? I know I could say the same about a 2 week exchange but do you think it's a risk with 9 months?

Argh!

Suggest they move into rented.
If they refuse then find another house.

RenStar

I'm afraid asking the vendors to go into renting is highly unlikely to happen. One of the reasons people choose to PX is the guarantee that you can stay in your home until your new house is built. It's of no consequence to the vendors whether you're waiting months because frankly its not their problem as they've sold the house the developer but won't complete until their house is ready. It's why the developer makes it clear when buying a house that is being PXd that they will accept your offer provided you are willing to accept those terms. Having said that, 9 months is an awfully long time to be waiting, and that's if all goes to plan. We've PXd our home and our house is due to be completed in April (fingers crossed!) andwith two young kids, there is no way we would even consider moving into rented, sorry. Wouldn't even entertain it to be honest. I'm afraid it looks like your only two options are to accept and wait or pull out and find another house.