Exchanging Contracts and Completion Statement

JennaAnn

Hi all,

I'm new here but have chosen to post due to complete frustration. Help!

My partner and I had an offer accepted on our first home on the 2nd December 2013. There were some complications along the way because we are moving into a block (containing 6 apartments) and the lady that owned the property previously only owned 35%. The remaining share was owned by the building owners. I believe this is called staircasing. Anyway the seller has bought the entire property now and is selling to us. There were some delays with enquiries but on Monday, after a little demanding on my behalf, our file was signed off by the solicitor and we were deemed ready to exchange contracts. The seller has signed her contract also.

I received a phone call from my solicitor on Tuesday morning to say that the seller was ready to go but the building owners solicitor needs to complete a 'completion statement' prior to exchange taking place. What is this and why is this necessary? Three days down the line and we are all still waiting. How long does something like this take?

As many of you are probably aware, buying a property is an incredibly stressful process and when we initially bought we didn't think it would take to much time as we were getting everything done straight away and there are no chains what so ever. I finally thought we were on the home run on Monday and now we have come to a stand still again. Very frustrating. I will relax a little when I know its all legally binding.

Is there any reason that the exchange can not take place without the completion statement? From what I can see on many websites this is something that is normally done once contracts have been exchanged, in the lead up to the completion date.

I feel like once this is completed I will have a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Thanks for your help.

RAS

Is this property leasehold?

JennaAnn

Yes it is.

JennaAnn

Anyone had to wait for a completion statement? If so how long did it take? Thanks.

Amba_Gambla

JennaAnn wrote: »

I received a phone call from my solicitor on Tuesday morning to say that the seller was ready to go but the building owners solicitor needs to complete a 'completion statement' prior to exchange taking place. What is this and why is this necessary?

Why didn't you just ask your solicitor?

JennaAnn

Obviously I have done but awaiting a response so wondered if anyone can shed some light on here.

Richard_Webster

If your seller is buying in the remaining share then the freeholder will prepare a detailed statement saying how much rent etc is owed by that seller. If it is an organisation like a Housing Association this can sometimes take time because people in local offices often don't understand what is involved.

Kynthia

We're currently going through the same thing, selling a shared ownership flat, and its been a nightmare. We too are at the point of exchange/completion and it's stalled. The probem is things need to be coordinated between three soicitors instead of two, which slows things down. Also I believe that often the staircasing takes place at exchange or completion too (I can't remember which and it often uses the buyers funds to do so) which greatly adds to the complexity. They should get there in the end but it's just more complicated and time consuming than normal.