Barratt homes possibly making us homeless

PossibleHomeless

We have have been wanting to sell and move on for many years but due to negative equity we haven't had many options, then he to buy came along and gave us the opportunity to but a bigger home. We were advised buy several house builders that we needed to obtain a buyer for our current property before we could reserve a new one. We put our house on the market and obtained an offer that would break us even so we accepted, however the buyer wanted the process to go through ASAP as she has nothing to sell. We looked around and found the ideal house from Barratt. They said that completion would estimate around end of June, this was perfect as it tied in with our buyer. We have now heard from our solicitor that the nhbc survey has been booked for end of August and completion for September. We contacted Barratts sales office whom had no idea of this and said we were in the diary to complete 17th July but would chase it up. Since then they haven't been able to tell us why the build has been put back. We have even found out that Barratts have been talking to our estate agent to find out if our buyer would be happy to wait! Our buyer has been on holiday and returned yesterday extremely upset and has said that unless we are prepared to complete by the end of July she will pull out, leaving us thousands out of pocket in fees etc. Barratts have been made aware of this and have said that they will try to bring the build forward to end of August! In the mean time what are we supposed to do? We have done everything we were supposed to do, sold our house, got mortgage offer, we were even ready to exchange on their 28 day exchange policy (which they haven't done yet). We have to keep our buyer happy and complete on the sale of this house otherwise we will have to pull out altogether. Are Barratts likely to help us in this matter? Any help would be appreciated.

justcat

Unfortunately, you will just need to move into rented or risk losing the lot. Is there anyone you can stay with for a couple of months?
It sounds rubbish and I know what you mean because my husband and I are looking for a new build and already have a house to sell so we have already worked out that we would need to rent for a bit.

eddddy

PossibleHomeless wrote: »

...
Are Barratts likely to help us in this matter?
...

Barratts want to sell their house, so I'm sure they will do what they can to make sure this happens. But perhaps they have some obstacles to deal with.

Your buyer will also lose hundreds of pounds if she pulls out. So she will not be keen to do so. But it is hard to know whether her threat to pull out is real or a bluff.

All you can do is continue to put pressure on Barratts, keep the EA in the picture (who in turn should keep your buyer in the picture), or perhaps consider if you can rent somewhere for a few months.

AdrianC

Somebody needs to explain to your buyer that that's the risk of being in a chain with somebody who's buying an incomplete new-build.

xylophone

Barratt only gave you an "estimate" of when the house would be ready for occupation, so if you complain will say that you jumped the gun in promising your purchaser that you would complete by end June?

Try to negotiate a compromise with your purchaser - failing that, if you really wish to proceed, you'll need to put your belongings into storage and rent/stay with friends/family for a few weeks?

pinkshoes

Completion dates are never set in stone - ours was 5 months late!!

Just sell your property, move into rented, then buy the other one.

A friend of mine spent 2 months living in a hotel as her buyer wouldn't wait for her new build completion date!

It's really not the end of the world!

Thrugelmir

PossibleHomeless wrote: »

nd said we were in the diary to complete 17th July

End of June - 17th July not bad delay for a new build.

ognum

PossibleHomeless wrote: »

We have have been wanting to sell and move on for many years but due to negative equity we haven't had many options, then he to buy came along and gave us the opportunity to but a bigger home. We were advised buy several house builders that we needed to obtain a buyer for our current property before we could reserve a new one. We put our house on the market and obtained an offer that would break us even so we accepted, however the buyer wanted the process to go through ASAP as she has nothing to sell. We looked around and found the ideal house from Barratt. They said that completion would estimate around end of June, this was perfect as it tied in with our buyer. We have now heard from our solicitor that the nhbc survey has been booked for end of August and completion for September. We contacted Barratts sales office whom had no idea of this and said we were in the diary to complete 17th July but would chase it up. Since then they haven't been able to tell us why the build has been put back. We have even found out that Barratts have been talking to our estate agent to find out if our buyer would be happy to wait! Our buyer has been on holiday and returned yesterday extremely upset and has said that unless we are prepared to complete by the end of July she will pull out, leaving us thousands out of pocket in fees etc. Barratts have been made aware of this and have said that they will try to bring the build forward to end of August! In the mean time what are we supposed to do? We have done everything we were supposed to do, sold our house, got mortgage offer, we were even ready to exchange on their 28 day exchange policy (which they haven't done yet). We have to keep our buyer happy and complete on the sale of this house otherwise we will have to pull out altogether. Are Barratts likely to help us in this matter? Any help would be appreciated.

Barrett's have not potential made you homeless, you have misunderstood the risks of buying a new home and the difficulty go getting a buyer who will be flexible.

You have choices

Stay put and potentially lose your buyer
Move into rented for a short time, you may need to sign a six month contract
Move into a B and B or cheap hotel until your home is ready
Ask Barrett's if they have a part exchange house you can use in the short term.
Move in with relatives or friends
Negotiate a reduction for potential late delivery of a house though they never set a date

I would keep the buyer happy and move out but it's your choice.