Emergency! House sale fell through after I'd moved out!

choccywoccy

Ok - not as simple as it sounds but I have just relocated 300 miles to South Wales which has been one year of planning, with 4 children and a business to also sell, so the ideal rule of waiting to complete on our house before moving was not an option. I moved out last Saturday putting Pickfords on the credit card into a rented house in Wales from North Yorkshire - and the buyers 'popped in to measure up for curtains' on the Sunday... Monday morning we were told they'd pled out! Now my husband is living in an empty house and we have a mortgage payment and a rental payment to make next week with absolutely no way of paying both! My kids have already started school here in Wales there is not a chance we can move back to Yorkshire. So - we could try to resell or rent the home we own but in the meantime would it be worth informing Santander the mortgage lender of what has happened? In the vague hope they will agree to defer payments until the house is sold? There is plenty if equity in it - or should I keep shtum and try to rent it out ASAP I would rather sell it because I need the equity to start a business but would they agree to a loan (I was late with a payment recently but it got paid straight away!) help!!!

anamenottaken

If you were thinking of renting out your original mortgaged property, I believe you would need to advise Santander in any case in order to obtain their agreement.

If the purchasers of your property have pulled out, was that after exchange but before completion. If there has been an exchange then surely they are due to pay you the deposit in any event even if the sale does not complete. Have you spoken with your solicitors about this? Is it a bargaining ploy on the purchasers' part - to come back to you to get a reduction?

maninthestreet

So contracts had not been exchanged? If this is the case, you must have budgeted for both the rental and mortgage payments for at least the next month, maybe even the month after that, surely?

choccywoccy

- no we hadnt exchanged :-( we were due to exchange on monday and complete on july 1st - we had agreed the sale in march and they had three viewings even bringing parents in law with them and we thought they were very keen! We agreed to the sale on the basis our daughter completed her GCSE exams first so we wernt concerned - they apparently offered on another house they preffered (through the same agent!) and it was accepted! Would santander increase the mortgage payments if it were rented out?

choccywoccy

maninthestreet wrote: »

So contracts had not been exchanged? If this is the case, you must have budgeted for both the rental and mortgage payments for at least the next month, maybe even the month after that, surely?

Yes - and no - not as simple as it sounds like i said - we had also a business sale due to complete last month which also fell through... The money from that was set to be our capital for the next few months... It may be that come monday we are ok as another offer is being considered on that - we also have a rental property which we have had to evict a tenant from for non payment so the income from that has had to be discounted... Bad times all happening at once for us

BitterAndTwisted

If you decide to rent it out you will need Consent-To-Let from Santander first. Some lenders charge a flat, annual fee and others increase the interest-rate.

Once you have a tenant in situ you are going to find it incredibly difficult to find a buyer willing to wait between six to twelve months until you can give them vacant possession. No buyer who purchases with a mortgage would be able to exchange until it's vacant, so the only buyers you are likely to secure would be BTL investors, and they would want a very, very keen bargain indeed.

Have you considered asking your lender to accept interest-only payments until you have secured a sale?

choccywoccy

Its already interest only :-(

ValHaller

If you need the capital, then do whatever it takes to sell it. Renting it out only postpones the agony of a sale - you will need it empty to make a sale and it is empty now. Also it adds burdens of managing from a distance - plus if the rent does not cover the costs, it could roll up a considerable cost.

If you need the capital, then do whatever it takes to sell it

choccywoccy

Thats what i thought.... Ok think thats my only solution thanks.

DaftyDuck

Do you know why the buyer pulled out? It might be financially worthwhile (even if unpalatable) to tempt them back in.

they are the closest to a solution you have at the moment. Frankly, I wouldn't leave it to an agent at this stage - unless you are inexperienced and the agent is useful - and I'd contact them myself. Why, exactly did they pull out, and what can you do to tempt them back in. Work out what this might cost you, divide it by half (but be prepared to blow the lot), and offer it as a reduction in price if they'll exchange in a week.

choccywoccy

They pulled out because another house they had viewed and put an offer in (one which was refused initially) got reduced and their offer was accepted! They said this was their dream home so nothing we can say will change this. :-(