Giving notice to employer/childcare - before exchange wait? PLEASE HELP!

kirei

I am a single parent and my LO goes to a childminder while I work. I need to give a month's notice to both. Am moving in with family so am not buying a new place. My house sold within a day of going on the market, two weeks ago, to a cash buyer. I haven't heard much from the buyer except that my solicitors just say it's all going through and have sent me various forms, etc.
Anyway, solicitors said because there is no chain it could be 6-8 weeks (it is leasehold). My problem is this:

When should I give my notice? The solicitors said nothing's certain until exchange, but as the buyers want to complete quickly (so do I) so I don't really want to annoy them by saying I need a month between exchange and completion!

My childminder is off for 2 weeks from 10th April so I was wondering whether to give my notice by the 10th of this month as I couldn't work for those 2 weeks anyway.

What should I do? WWYD?

duchy

Don't do anything until you have exchanged as up until that point your buyyer could pull out....no matter how keen they seem. Once you have the confirmed date (you'll have a rough idea of the timescale once exchange is close) then talk to your employer and find out if they'd be able to shorten your notice period -once you've negociated that -and know when you will no longer need a childminder then give notice. If they can fill your place straightaway they may agree to not charge you or only charge you half for the time between you completing and the 30 days-if you don't ask -you'll never know......... However-don't give written notice for either until it's all signed , sealed and delivered-the apparently keenest of buyers can do some very odd things sometimes.
Don't forget you may have a few days annual leave you may be able to use to shorten your work notice period.

TBagpuss

Could you move in with your family before you complete, if need be?
If so, could you give notice on the assumption that things will take 8-10 weeks, and lan to move before completion if it takes longer?

That said, completion needs to be a date which suits you and your buyer, and by the time you're talking completion dates your buyer will have paid for their survey, searches etc - they are unlikely to pull out over an extra couple of weeks before completion.

I would suggest that you speak specifically to your solicitor - explain you need a month's notice of the completion date and ask them if they can be any more specific about timescales. They should know, for instance, how long searches typically take in your area (It can vary a LOT from one council to another), have an idea about local waiting times for surveys etc and (if the buyer is using a local solicitor) whether that solicitor is typically fast or slow, all of which will allow them to give you a better idea of timescales.

Leaseholds generally take a bit longer than freeholds, too.

Your solicitor should be able to ask the buyers whether they have a specific date (or approximate date) in mind to work towards.

kirei

Thank you for your replies! Yes, I could move in with my family tomorrow if I needed to. Neither my work nor my childminder know I am even thinking of leaving the area - I wasn't going to tell them just in case it all fell through. The house was under offer within a day so even if it did fall through I think they could find us another buyer quickly. I'll ask whether completion dates have been discussed.

G_M

It depends on the flexibility of your employer and child minder.

IF they are flexible (check!), then OK, give one months notice in the hope/expectation that Exchange will happen in, say, 2 weeks, with a further 2 week gap before Completion.

If Exchange is delayed, or cancelled, tell you employer/childminder to cancel your notice to them!

However, if they ar unlikely to accept this flexibility DO NOT GIVE NOTICE TILL YOU EXCHANGE. Insist to the buyer that you need a month between Exchange/Completion.

kirei

I told them we would like a month between exchange and completion so waiting to hear if the buyers object. Thank you for your help. Is there any risk involved with having a month between exchange and completion?

G_M

kirei wrote: »

. Is there any risk involved with having a month between exchange and completion?

Not unless your mortgage offer has a time limit (they do) which expires before Completion.

edit: seen emmylou's post below so..... OOops!

Yorkie1

Just one thing - does your mortgage lender know that you will be giving notice on your employment as soon as you exchange?

Emmylou_2

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Just one thing - does your mortgage lender know that you will be giving notice on your employment as soon as you exchange?

OP says she's moving in with family and isn't buying a new place, so I presume she doesn't intend to have a mortgage after the sale of the current place (where the mortgage will be paid off with the proceeds of sale)

burnoutbabe

At worse if they need a quick completion, you move into a hotel mon-friday near work and keep working for 2-4 weeks.

notanewuser

My parents bought a leasehold property for cash recently and it took 16 weeks!!!!!