Vendors refusing to rent despite deadline

Dear_Prudence

Hi all,

We had an offer accepted on a house at the end of August. We need to be moved by January 15th as that is the school application deadline and our oldest child is due to start school next September - she is also transferring to the school nursery in January so we really need to be moved by then.

When our offer was accepted we had a AIP from our current lender and were going to port out mortgage. Unfortunately the underwriters refused us (HSBC) so it took us a while to sort out another mortgage. We have now got a good one with the Skipton.

Following the survey we received our mortgage offer October 21st. Survey fine, we had a specialist damp survey done on the back of it which came up with no problems. All fine.

The vendors has said specifically to us twice (including the last time we saw them, at a viewing where we were measuring up for furniture etc.), that if their purchase fell through they would rent.

Everything went quiet their end, their solicitor didn't do anything so they fired her and got a new one - and THEN they told us their purchase had been downvalued by their lender so they had had to pull out.

At this point we said given our situation (we have 3 children plus the school deadline), please would they move into rented accommodation and gave them a day to think about it. They refused and said they had had an offer accepted on another house. That was 2 weeks ago. We agreed to proceed on the basis that we love the house, have the school situation now in process, and are not going to get anything like it for the money now - plus have spent hundreds on survey/fees already.

Since then their solicitor has started doing stuff so our sol has the contract papers.

HOWEVER the vendors have gone totally quiet again. Haven't heard anything for 2 weeks. I constantly chase and the estate agent is good but they are very incommunicative.

I am worried their purchase is falling through again.

We really need to push for an early exchange, is it possible to do this?? Any other advice? At the moment it's looking like there is no way we will even be exchanged by Jan 15th.

Help!

TIA.

Thrugelmir

If they only had an offer accepted 2 weeks ago. Then they may have made little progress. As the vendors of that property may well be looking to purchase as well. Chains take time to build.

Dan-Dan

Sorry to read this , we know how you feel as went through similar this year , all you can think is everyone has their own agendas and to take anything a vendor says with a bucket load of salt as the goal posts shift all the time

Dear_Prudence

The people they are buying from aren't looking - they are moving in with family so that is the end of the chain. Everyone in the chain is agreed we need to complete by Jan 15th.

Is there anythign else we can do to speed things up or do we have any other bargaining power? I thought about threatening to drop the price but really we don't have much negotiation power I don't think....

Dan-Dan

your vendors sound flaky , threats sound like they might backfire

The school things a nightmare isnt it but what can you do , ultimalty they do hold the cards

Halle71

Our friends who were supposed to exchange and complete before Christmas have now been told it is unlikely because there has been a delay and now a lot of solicitors are off from the end of this week and not back until 6 Jan.

I hope this is not the case for you but worth bearing in mind.

sonastin

At the end of the day, there is nothing you can do to force them to sell you their house. Your school deadline is important to you but take a step back and look at it from your vendor's perspective - what does it matter to them? About the only way it could possibly impact them is if it means you pull out of the purchase if the deadline is missed. And in their shoes... moving into rented means a big chunk of money going to a landlord. And moving house twice in quick succession. And if house prices are rising, perhaps "losing" tens of thousands of pounds by being off the property ladder at the wrong time. (Personally, I don't believe it would be tens of thousands but people aren't always rational at these times).

I know that they promised you they would go into rented but maybe now in the cold light of day when they are faced with the reality of what that means for them, perhaps risking the sale is a far more desirable choice. If that is the situation and you start throwing around ultimatums, be prepared for them to call your bluff. I have a colleague in a similar position to your vendor - first house fell through, found second house, missed promised completion deadline, currently weighing up their options around renting, waiting for house no 2, etc. His wife is so stressed by the whole affair that she actually wants to forget the whole idea of moving. He has to keep reminding her of the bigger picture and the reasons why they decided to move in the first place. If their purchaser threatened to pull out, I think his wife would take that as the sign it wasn't meant to be.

The point of all this essay is to show that everyone in the chain has their own story, their own reasons for being in the chain and their own priorities. In order to influence your vendors, you need to see things their way. If you can understand their goals, you can align them with your goals and then find a way for both of you to achieve what you need. Making demands that just solve your problems might create bigger problems for them that they're just not interested in dealing with.

Atomix

How far away is the school?

Could you not take them there - for a few more weeks...

otherwise - Keep the school - up-to-date with it all - and maybe they join mid-term? (joining at the start of the new year would be nice - in an ideal world - but is it really that important?)

Dear_Prudence

Sonastin, that was a great post, thank you. That has made me see it differently and I feel better now. We know they don't want to lose the sale - they have had the house on the market for 2 years and NEED to move. They were understanding with us about the mortgage problems, so we will try and be understanding with them now.

Atomix, the application deadline for schools is January 15th - my child doesn't have a place at any school yet. To get a place at a school you generally need to be in the catchment area. So without our new address we have no way to get her into the school. But she has a place to transfer to the nursery in Jan, so it would mean her transferring for 2 terms, and potentially then having to go to a completely different school - very disruptive. If we haven't moved by Jan 15th, we could end up with a school near to where we live now, which again we would have to move her from as we know we aren't going to stay in this area. So disruption with either option. It is really that important.

gazfocus

Dear_Prudence wrote: »

Sonastin, that was a great post, thank you. That has made me see it differently and I feel better now. We know they don't want to lose the sale - they have had the house on the market for 2 years and NEED to move. They were understanding with us about the mortgage problems, so we will try and be understanding with them now.

Atomix, the application deadline for schools is January 15th - my child doesn't have a place at any school yet. To get a place at a school you generally need to be in the catchment area. So without our new address we have no way to get her into the school. But she has a place to transfer to the nursery in Jan, so it would mean her transferring for 2 terms, and potentially then having to go to a completely different school - very disruptive. If we haven't moved by Jan 15th, we could end up with a school near to where we live now, which again we would have to move her from as we know we aren't going to stay in this area. So disruption with either option. It is really that important.

Could you not approach the vendors and ask them if they would mind you putting your 'new address' on the school application if you've not completed by that date?

Dan-Dan

gazfocus wrote: »

Could you not approach the vendors and ask them if they would mind you putting your 'new address' on the school application if you've not completed by that date?

Step too far IMO , what happens if the deal falls apart before exchange?