We've withdrawn our offer!

Eejay

Gwhiz wrote: »

All I will say then is best of luck!

The EA reckons they sell on average one property a week with tenants still present. Apparently it's 'quite normal' - I pointed out maybe for them, but that most people would have the decency to get them out before selling (unless selling to another LL)...

sulphate

This is insane.

EAs are just spinning you a line. Yours don't care if you're waiting til Christmas to move, as long as they get their commission.

Eejay

sulphate wrote: »

This is insane.

EAs are just spinning you a line. Yours don't care if you're waiting til Christmas to move, as long as they get their commission.

The solicitor and bank aren't concerned about it either though - we just cannot complete unless the tenants are out. I wouldn't have trusted the EA alone but I've been to all three today and they all agreed it was okay (but not ideal).

Yorkie1

Have you any idea at all how much hassle and stress it will cause if they are not out between exchange and completion? It is absolutely massive.

Just because the bank and the solicitor say you can exchange with the tenants still in situ does NOT mean it is advisable to do so. You are the ones who will have to make alternative arrangements to stay put for weeks, if not months. Not to mention cancel and undo all the arrangements you've put in place to change utilities, book removals etc.

Your solicitor will draw down the money and if you can't complete, it will have to be sent back. But you'll incur a cost while it's away from the lender. And there's a risk that the lender will withdraw funds if they are not redrawn down within a certain time period - which means you need to start from scratch with a mortgage application (and risk being the ones who don't subsequently complete if you can't find a new one).

It is really a very very bad idea even if your lender and solicitor don't refuse to do it.

Ulfar

Exchanging with sitting tenants is just a bad idea. If they don't leave by completion, it won't only be the vendor in breach of contract. You will be in breach also as the bank won't release the funds as there will be no vacant possession meaning you cannot pay.

What happens if you need to re-arrange a mortgage and the rules have changed (as the BOE are indicating) and you can't get a mortgage.

As part of exchange I thought the solicitor had to make an undertaking that you can complete the purchase, as far as I can see that undertaking cannot be made unless you are a cash buyer.

You are exposing yourself to massive risk, I cannot believe that the solicitor is even suggesting that this is a good idea, in my opinion this is very bad advice. I am amazed the bank will even consider it.

Eejay

I can imagine the hassle it can cause and I know it's a big risk, but our contract for the place we're renting runs until February at the earliest, so we can't really move much before then anyway (well, we could obviously move straight away but we'd still be paying £600 a month for the flat). We were intending to use the time in between completion and moving to get the place done up - knock the kitchen and dining room into one and merging the bathroom/toilet and getting it done up. But realistically it's in good enough condition to move straight into it, so I'm not too worried if things don't work out quite as planned in that sense.

My husband is adamant he still wants the house although I have made him very aware of the potential risks - I have read everyone's comments on here and taken them on board (and on the other threads). There is so little available in the right area because he is reliant on buses to get to work, so our search area is pretty tiny, half of the areas within that area are quite bad for crime etc, and the majority of houses are terraced - I really don't want a terraced house. To be honest I'd have been quite happy moving to an entirely new town/city but he said no

We've been searching for months for a decent property, and apart from one other which we put an offer on and someone offered higher (I'm glad because the retaining wall needed a lot of work, and the house needed double glazing and repointing so the costs would have soon added up), it's the only one that's been suitable. As I said before, I've got to the point of not being bothered one way or the other about it, but I know he really wants it. He could end up losing some money doing it this way, but he's profited from the property he's selling as he bought it as a repossession and is selling it for considerably more three years later, so it's not the end of the world if he 'gambles' and comes out a little worse off. He'll hopefully learn from the experience if anything does go wrong!

I'm also going to get more involved from now on because there's a serious lack of communication at times and I can solve that. I have told the EA that I will not be put on the spot with random phone calls but that I am happy to speak via email as it'll give me chance to get the right answers, and I will also keep her updated where possible. My husband said he's been having to reply to emails as quickly as possible whilst on the loo at work and it's been a bit of a nightmare :rotfl:

Ulfar wrote: »

Exchanging with sitting tenants is just a bad idea. If they don't leave by completion, it won't only be the vendor in breach of contract. You will be in breach also as the bank won't release the funds as there will be no vacant possession meaning you cannot pay.

What happens if you need to re-arrange a mortgage and the rules have changed (as the BOE are indicating) and you can't get a mortgage.

As part of exchange I thought the solicitor had to make an undertaking that you can complete the purchase, as far as I can see that undertaking cannot be made unless you are a cash buyer.

You are exposing yourself to massive risk, I cannot believe that the solicitor is even suggesting that this is a good idea, in my opinion this is very bad advice. I am amazed the bank will even consider it.

I spoke to the woman at the bank and she seemed to be going along the lines of it being a bad idea. Then she spoke to my husband and he said she said it was okay but did point out that he might have misunderstood her. I couldn't get back through to her so I went to the nearest branch of HSBC and had a quick chat with a couple of their mortgage advisers as they were going on break and they said it should be okay. The solicitor had also said just before that as long as it's vacant upon completion, then we'll be fine - and if it's not, the vendor is at fault for saying it would be.

If we can't get a mortgage after that I think my husband would be pretty embarrassed, but thankfully he has family who will help make up the difference until he can get something sorted. Over two-thirds will be covered by money from the sale of the other flat so it's not too much of a difference he needs to find. If that doesn't work out, we'll just keep renting until I've finished uni and have a job.

We're not complete idiots, but I guess we are fairly laid back which is why we're even contemplating doing this still. It might all go as planned and be fine - we might be worrying about nothing. The EA is adamant this happens all the time but I think she's quite good at making 'facts' up.

sulphate

Interesting that you are so against have a terraced house considering the other problems you're dealing with right now.

You should at least ensure that notice is served to the tenants BEFORE you exchange.

It's not just people on here that are horrified, you will get the same reaction from Google.

Eejay

sulphate wrote: »

Interesting that you are so against have a terraced house considering the other problems you're dealing with right now.

You should at least ensure that notice is served to the tenants BEFORE you exchange.

It's not just people on here that are horrified, you will get the same reaction from Google.

How is that interesting? This might not work out but at least we'll know within a few months. It's better than committing to living in a back-to-back terraced house, with a pathetic few feet of space at the front, for the next five years or so. I want our baby to have enough room to play in a paddling pool or kick a ball around. If it was just the two of us I wouldn't care so much about a garden, but it's not.

I'm not arguing with people's opinion on here - I agree that we are being pretty stupid about it, but at the end of the day he wants the house and I'm sick of looking, so he can go for it. If it goes wrong it'll have consequences, but nothing too major - nobody is going to go to prison or die as a result.

botchjob

I think I need a refill of popcorn for this one. Hankies at the ready for the emotional ending.

Eejay

There won't be an emotional ending - I'm going to prepare for the worst

I'll keep people updated, good or bad! We may be daft but I'm also very honest so will tell the truth about how it all goes, and not just keep quiet to save embarrassment