Stressed and unsure what to do

Excited13

Hi everyone and apolgies for for the long post.

I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my house purchase and not sure what to do.

Bit of background I started looking at properties in January and after 20 viewings found the one. My offer was accepted in the third week of Jan and by the middle of Feb my mortgage was agreed, survey completed and everything sent back to my solicitors.

In March I found out the vendors were having trouble with getting a mortgage (they're an older couple and wanted to downsize and I assume don't fit current lending criteria). As a result of the problems the house they were after was sold. Thankfully they quickly found another one so I thought all was well. Two weeks ago I rang the EA who confirmed that the mortgage had been sorted and they were just awaiting the survey.

Fast forward to yesterday and it's been confirmed the vendors haven't even had a survey done on the new house :eek:

Now I have a major problem I gave my LL notice and therefore have to be out of my current property in the last weekend in July. He's a lovely guy and I wanted to give him as much chance as possible to get new tennants. Whilst I have several offers to stay thanks to my friends and family I have a whole property full of furniture which would need storing.

Even the EA accepts she is concerned by the vendors lack of urgency (the house originally went on the market in July 2011 with a different agent). I am now have a major panic as my mortgage deal also runs out in early August.

The vendors are lovely people and I feel really bad but how much time should I give them? I have 8 weeks to go and then no home which is a very scary prospect.

I'd also like to know what people think of the following options:

1. I carry on and just cross my fingers that it completes on time.

2. I lower my offer as the delays are going to cost me money (I will need to potentially put items in storage along with arranging a professional clean of my current property). Fair enough they may pull out but it may be worth the risk.

3. Carry on with this purchase but view other chain free properties with the hope of finding another place I'd be happy with and then pull out.

4. Pull out of this purchase and search like a mad woman for a new property by harrassing all the local EAs.

I know I've been stupid as I've pictured myself living there and love the house but I am really worried the vendors will never get anything sorted and I'll be stuck living with friends and paying storage.

Thanks for any comments.

Perelandra

The move-out date on your current (rented) property actually isn't set in stone, which gives you two more alternatives:

1) [nice option] Your landlord may not find a new tenant by the end of July, so may be very happy for you to continue as a tenant after that date.

2) [nasty option] Even if you have agreed a final date, you can stay in possession of the property until you're actually evicted- and that could add a couple of extra months to the process. Although from what you've said, I doubt you'd do this!

To be honest, if you did start looking for new properties now I don't think you could guarantee at all that you be able to find, offer, accept and buy within 8 weeks (it's possible, but pushing it!). So on this basis if you can't come to an agreement with your landlord you may well be looking at a period where you need to store/live with friends/family regardless of the property you end up buying?

I'd talk to the Landlord; if he's a lovely guy he may be able to give you alternatives you haven't thought of.

is1983

Have you spoken with the vendors EA and checked to see if they are willing to chain break and move into alternative accommodation?

That would be the easiest solution, failing that put you in an awkward position, but there will be a period where your aren't paying rent nor a mortgage.....maybe treat yourself and have a nice holiday?

ruggedtoast

I would be careful about revealing to the EA that you are over a barrel with completion due to your rental expiring. Its not unknown for unscrupulous sellers to turn this to their advantage at the last moment.

If I were in your situation I would inform the EA that you expect exchange to happen at such and such a date and if the vendors can't fulfill this it may affect your ability to proceed. Hopefully that will give them a kick up the backside.

I would also be trying to retract my notice and going back to the one month rolling you are presumably now on, as you have found out, nothing is certain until you've exchanged.

mrginge

Perelandra wrote: »

2) [nasty option] Even if you have agreed a final date, you can stay in possession of the property until you're actually evicted- and that could add a couple of extra months to the process. Although from what you've said, I doubt you'd do this!

This is not quite correct. If you have given notice but you stay in the property the LL can apply immediately for possession and you would also be liable for double rent.

Perelandra

mrginge wrote: »

This is not quite correct. If you have given notice but you stay in the property the LL can apply immediately for possession and you would also be liable for double rent.

It still takes time.

The double rent question is an interesting one; I'm trying to remember the name of the case we looked through (I'll google it later, getting late now), but it's not an automatic right. Off the top of my head I think that the landlord had to have a new tenant lined up, that the tenant was acting as a trespasser and that the landlord was treating the tenant as such (i.e. doesn't ask for, or accept, rent) in order for it to apply? (and in practice, I don't think this is done).

I only referred to this briefly, as it doesn't look like the OP would do this anyway.

EDIT: Found it, it was Ashworth (Holdings) Ltd v Ballard (Kent) Ltd (1999) I was thinking of.

Excited13

Thanks for all the replies you are right I wouldn't stay and make the LL take me to court. One of the reasons is I remember how hard it can be being a LL from watching my Grandparents do it.

I think it's looking like lots more viewings and staying with friends.

Edwardia

Our landlord let us stay on a rolling month basis but we had been his tenant for 4 yrs.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sounds to me like the vendors aren't thinking that practically. I am surprised at an older couple who are downsizing needing a mortgage in the first place. I would have expected them to have paid off their mortgage by now - and certainly not to be looking to take on a new one at their age (I presume by "older" you mean OAP's btw?).

It's been clear for the last couple of years that older people were going to have it made harder for them to get mortgages. It was a couple of years ago I was investigating "climbing the housing ladder" in my current area by taking on a mortgage again and racing around viewing here - though nothing had been mentioned at the time about mortgage cutbacks for older people - and decided to think again on my future options. Sure enough - a few months later down came the shutters and older people have been struggling for mortgages due to our reduced life expectancy for months now.

If they are that "impractically minded" I wonder if they will get their act together and move on - I do hope they do for your sake and you can manage to proceed with buying this house.

lessonlearned

Not strictly true money.

Retirees are not discriminated against in the mortgage market.

The only proviso is that they have sufficient income.

The normal cut off date for a residential mortgage is 75, for a BTL this can be older still.

Excited - try not to panic. Unless your landlord has already signed up a new tenant he will more than likely be happy to extend our lease on a monthly rolling contract. He will be happy just to keep a good tenant a while longer.

You main issue is your time sensitive mortgage.

Start chasing everyone now.

Whether or not you withdraw is up to you, I'm assuming that you have already incurred costs, ie surveys and searches etc.

Hit the phones and start bashing out those emails. Chase them every single day.

Good luck.

moneyistooshorttomention

yep...indeed...lessonlearned - but I could see that mortgage companies were going to get more "concerned" with how long a mortgage term extended for older people and it was just generally going to be a very different "ballgame" for me because I was older and much harder.

'Twould have been too much of a "shock to the system" having a load of extra hurdles to climb and unsure whether it would be possible for an older person to surmount them all. Didn't want that after my first experience - ie mortgage I had on this place being that I had scanned the "league tables" and decided which company to use and what type of mortgage to have and used my then "advantages" to borrow a lot more than most people would have been given on that salary at that time and said "This is what I've decided on and you're the company - lucky you...." in effect and all went according to plan and the mortgage was paid off years early in the event.

I knew there would be more difficulties coming for an older person than that exact same person but a many years younger date on the birth certificate.

Hence my surprise at these older vendors not realising they'd have that too...