Delayed Completion Problems

pixiepeep

Hi, I'm new here, and not sure I'm posting this in the right place...

We made an offer on a property last week, which was accepted, and we're currently in the process of having our Mortgage approved. We have solicitors in place, and have done everything we should have done now, I think!

We're first time buyers, currently renting, and using the Help to Buy scheme.

It now transpires, contrary to information we had before, that the house the sellers are moving into will not be available until May. They're buying a new build quite a distance away, and are obviously having to wait for it to be finished!

Our concern is that we wouldn't have agreed our final offer if we knew it was going to be such a long wait, as obviously we're having to pay rent all that extra time (and our mortgage repayments are at least £50 a month cheaper than our rent).

Our major concern is that they can't give us a finish date for the new build, but the solicitors working on behalf of the new build (they've part exed their house) are really pushing for us to get everything signed, and are actually getting very annoying - lots of phone calls.

We really want this house, and although May is a bit of a kicker in terms of having to wait, we're more concerned that our mortgage is effectively going to run out as it goes past the 3 months they normally stand.

Where do we stand here? They've rushed us into getting the mortgage sorted and then turned around and said May. We have to give 2 months notice on our rental place, and can't afford to be paying the mortgage and rent at the same time - I'm 8 months pregnant at the moment, and will be on basic Maternity Allowance, so we're not going to be flush with cash, although my husband's income is more than enough to cover the mortgage repayments.

Can we get things written into the contracts about when we start paying, and ask for a firm date for completion?

Sorry if that's a lot of information, it's getting very stressful!

[Deleted User]

I would be very wary about the May date as new builds can over run. Depending on how much you want the house, you could say that you're only willing to wait until April 1st and they will have to find alternative accommodation (ie. rent) if they can't move by then, or you're pulling out.

I think that you can apply to get mortgage offers extended though, which lender are you using?

(You're in England right?)

pixiepeep

citricsquid wrote: »

I would be very wary about the May date as new builds can over run. Depending on how much you want the house, you could say that you're only willing to wait until April 1st and they will have to find alternative accommodation (ie. rent) if they can't move by then, or you're pulling out.

I think that you can apply to get mortgage offers extended though, which lender are you using?

(You're in England right?)

We're in England, yes

We're using NatWest, arranged through London and Country.

The new build's solicitors (Move With Us) have said they can only give a 2 week notice period for when the house can be ready, and it could be done by April, but they can't give us anything concrete.

I did wonder whether we could put a clause into the contract re. them having to be out by a certain date. The vendors themselves are lovely and desperate to move, as they are currently commuting a huge distance.

The house ticks all of the boxes we had on our wants and needs list, and would be perfect for us, and we've got it at a good price well within our budget. I'd be gutted now if we couldn't get it.

kingstreet

You're either going to have to pull out, or wait for the vendor's newbuild to be ready.

As this is very much a "how long is a piece of string" exercise, with build dates changing regularly, expect more of the same if you do decide to stick with it.

pixiepeep

kingstreet wrote: »

You're either going to have to pull out, or wait for the vendor's newbuild to be ready.

As this is very much a "how long is a piece of string" exercise, with build dates changing regularly, expect more of the same if you do decide to stick with it.

The wait itself we're not too fussed about - might be nice to wait until baby isn't quite so tiny to have such a big disruption, and the property we're currently in is big enough for the minute. I'm more worried that the mortgage offer is going to run out in that time.

Do we have any leg to stand on with asking for a date to be put into the contract? The solicitors are obviously pushing for us to get the contracts signed asap, but I'm not happy to do so without a firm date to move, as leaving it open ended leaves us really vulnerable.

QTPie

You could suggest that a Completion date is agreed and set (and put in the contract), then that has to be stuck to. If your sekler's house isn't ready, then they still have to move out on that date and make their own arrangements (short term rental, holiday let, stay with family and friends - whatever, not your problem).

I wouldn't be happy with two weeks notice - if that doesn't line-up with your rental period, you could be liable for almost 6 weeks overlap (you have to give a month's notice in line with your tenancy period).

sacha28

Pixie, are you sure the wait isn't going to get on your nerves? A very close friend of mine put an offer on a house in November which was immediately accepted. She then found out she was in exactly the same position as you...the seller was a PX awaiting completion of their new build. She was given a non-specific date in january, in the middle of December this moved to March and, only yesterday she was given JUNE!!! She too didn't mind the wait but this just proved too much for her and, yesterday, she spoke with her feet and pulled out as the seller flat-out refused to go into rented accommodation.

Can anyone just put me out of my misery? Why are people that have PX and awaiting their new build to be finished allowed to put their house on the market if they know it is going to be months away?

QTPie

So yes, you can insist on a date and say that you will pull out if they won't accept it. However, you need to mean it: they may rather loose you and find a more accommodating buyer.

pixiepeep

sacha28 wrote: »

Pixie, are you sure the wait isn't going to get on your nerves? A very close friend of mine put an offer on a house in November which was immediately accepted. She then found out she was in exactly the same position as you...the seller was a PX awaiting completion of their new build. She was given a non-specific date in january, in the middle of December this moved to March and, only yesterday she was given JUNE!!! She too didn't mind the wait but this just proved too much for her and, yesterday, she spoke with her feet and pulled out as the seller flat-out refused to go into rented accommodation.

Can anyone just put me out of my misery? Why are people that have PX and awaiting their new build to be finished allowed to put their house on the market if they know it is going to be months away?

It'd be annoying, yes, but we're not moving far from where we already live, and with a newborn I'm probably going to prefer to be settled for a few months - I'd like to move now or give it a couple of months for this reason - we found this property much quicker than expected, so I wasn't really expecting to move so fast. It'll drive my husband insane, but he doesn't have any patience at the best of times!

It would be sad to lose the property, but if they can't set a date I'd rather back out. The property had already been up for sale since November and they've had two other buyers back out (for other reasons). I'm not sure they'd like to lose another one, especially as the offers they're receiving are getting lower each time.

We don't mind an overlap with the rental property - a fortnight would be ideal to move out and make sure the rental is clean etc. as we have quite a deposit to come back to us that would be handy with redecorating our eventual new place. We're on a rolling contract, so will never need to give more than 2 months notice to leave.

All this on top of baby brain is making my head hurt The agents actually listed this property as "No Chain" - they're going to be getting a real piece of my mind shortly. It's also taken them a week to take it down off Right Move, and list it as Sold STC on their website...

pixiepeep

QTPie wrote: »

So yes, you can insist on a date and say that you will pull out if they won't accept it. However, you need to mean it: they may rather loose you and find a more accommodating buyer.

I think this is the line we're going to have to go down. I'm sure the seller wouldn't mind living closer to where they work but I don't know how they'd feel about renting.

They wont start paying their mortgage on their new build until they get the keys, will they? So strictly speaking, they should have funds for renting for a month or so if needs be. There's only the three of them (including a grown son, no children) so finding a place wouldn't be too hard.

They've already lost two buyers (not because of the wait, we gather), and have taken a hit on the price due to it - I really doubt they'd want to do that again.

*sigh* I was so excited last week

pinkteapot

May is only three months. Chains can easily take this long anyway, so you might end up waiting as long with another house that you find, even if the seller isn't going into a new-build.

Our poor buyers offered in August. We accepted their offer in October, when we found something to buy. Our chain is completing in Feb as the person at the top couldn't complete until then. So it can be worse!

The completion date is not fixed until you exchange contracts (the date of completion goes on the contract). You can ask the sellers to exchange and fix a completion date before they know if their new house will be ready or not. As others have said, seller would then have to rent or move in with friends/family if completion comes and their new-build isn't ready.

Your seller will either say yes or no - no harm in asking.

If they say no, it's entirely up to you whether you pull out and look for something else, or wait. Depends on how much you want the house. But, as the weeks pass, the odds of a different house completing sooner get less (assuming the new-build is actually ready in May).

If I was your seller, I would have told you when you viewed that I was going into a new-build, ready in May. I wouldn't want someone offering then pulling out later when they discovered this.

For next time you view a house - ask the vendor what their position is, and what they're doing. It's very different if they've found something and are keen to get moving than if they aren't even going to view things until they've sold. Has a big effect on the timescale.