Moving headache, help appreciated

terrypw

Hi all,

We are H2B First Time Buyers close to being in a position for exchange (the searches are due to complete 12 April and Santander mortgage offer in place etc).

Currently, we are living with my in-laws around the corner from the property we are about to buy - we are buying a vacant property that belongs to the estate agent that is selling the house.

My in-laws are down-sizing and are due to complete the sell of the house we are living in next Friday. They have stalled as much as they can, but cannot hold off any longer.

This leaves us in an awkward position where assuming our completion cannot be rushed through next week, we may have to move all of our stuff to storage for a few days and seek accommodation for the period between homes.

We have had the idea of renting the property we are about to buy (or maybe at least the garage for storage) for the time between - this would save on moving our things to storage and effectively moving twice in a few days.

I have yet to propose this (not that I know if the seller would agree) as I am not sure whether it would negatively affect the mortgage offer or purchase or if there are legal complications in doing this.

Does anybody have any experience or knowledge and is it feasible?

I expect the seller may be accommodating as they are not making any money while waiting for everything to happen.

Many thanks for your help.
Terry

Dan-Dan

If your sellers are mental they might just agree.......its storage and a b & b for you I think....

hazyjo

I presume you mean 12 May.

If the searches aren't even back yet, I'd guess at it being more than 'a few days' after next Friday.

When was your offer accepted? Average is 3 months from exchange to completion.

As above, they'd be mad to agree. Would have to take on full LL responsibilities, and if they have a mortgage, that might be a problem too. And that's presuming that you'd be good tenants - they'd be taking a huge risk making that presumption and their solicitor wouldn't advise they agree even if the vendor agreed to your face. (Not doubting you btw lol - just saying others aren't so honest, plus there's no legal obligation for you to actually go ahead with the purchase so you could pull out, then have tenants' rights... the list/scenarios go on, and on, and...

Jx

Pandilex

It's going to take longer than you think, it takes 7 days for the solicitor to transfer funds alone once everything is done and dusted and searches can take ages - plus what if they reveal something?

I think you're gonna have to plonk everything in storage

pinkteapot

Always worth asking re renting it. A friend of mine rented the house they've bought for two months earlier this year, as completion on it was delayed and he needed to move (was relocating for work). As others have said, savvy sellers would be mad to agree but you might happen to have someone who does. Worst that happens is they say no.

cattie

As an ea owns the house, he/she is going to be fully aware of implications involved in such a suggestion, so is extremely likely to refuse you.

Even a vendor who didn't understand the implications of agreeing to such a scheme would be warned off by their solicitor.

Find storage elsewhere & see if you can't find friends or relatives to put you up till your purchase completes, otherwise it's likely to be a cheap hotel that you need.

PasturesNew

Check out airbnb for a short-term rental.

knightstyle

We allowed buyers to store stuff in the garage AFTER exchange, their insurance.
We have also put all our stuff in storage and gone touring round Europe for several months whilst waiting for new build house.
Both worked for us.

terrypw

Thank you all, I think you have helped to confirm that my idea is indeed mental. Storage is cheap enough, it is just the trouble of moving stuff twice in a few days that was/is the real problem for me.

I thought there may be landlord implications etc that were more trouble then they are worth.

For info, the offer was accepted 1 March. We had a mortgage in principle and a solicitor lined up ready to go, but the estate agent asked us to use their mortgage adviser and solicitors - which we agreed as they said they wanted to force it through within a month and that this would "help." Sounded like it was ideal at the time (especially when the mortgage adviser came up trumps with cheaper mortgage repayments). Maybe a bit naive but felt forced down that route to ensure that we got the house that we wanted.

I guess what they say about moving house is true - stressful stuff!

terrypw

Thought I would post an update as I want to vent and didn't want to open a new thread! Got in a position where it was confirmed that the searches would be coming in on Friday this week and we could exchange/complete next week (the Solicitors were arranging same day).

Now we are in this position, as if by magic, the estate agent (selling on behalf of their MD) call me up and say that due to the market being on an upward turn the price has increased by £10k and suggested that their mortgage adviser get back in touch with me.

I have had a whip round with my spare money and my family and raised £5k as cash.

I won't entertain rearranging the mortgage because it could take an age and their is nothing preventing the EA pulling the same trick. I will also not raise any more funds than the £5k because I will not ask my family for anything other than what they can afford.

If rejected, I know that I have very little in the way of rights and in getting any fees paid back to date - but I will be placing a complaint to the EA and then to the Ombudsman (they are registered under the Ombudsman and I have checked this). As I see it, the seller and his company are directly responsible for costing me money and putting my family through a lot of stress and ultimately leaving us with no alternative other than a short term rental while we start from square one. As a paying customer, they have a duty of care towards me and they have fallen short.

As the seller was originally insistent that I used his mortgage adviser and conveyancing service to expedite the sale (I already had my own arrangements but it was made clear that the sale wouldn't happen without doing as I am asked but I guess he wanted to squeeze any spare penny possible out of me), I think I may have a case for compensation of some sort towards the fees I have wasted.

AndyT678

terrypw wrote: »

As a paying customer, they have a duty of care towards me and they have fallen short.

You're not paying them. You're not their customer.

terrypw wrote: »

I think I may have a case for compensation of some sort towards the fees I have waste.

Unfortunately I think you may be alone in thinking this. You have no contract with them until you exchange.

Sellers frequently do this. You'd have to be a bit of a !!!!!! to do it in my opinion but what do you expect from an estate agent.