Moving from rented to owned

Justadmin88

Hi all,

Just wanted to run something past you all to get advice.

Myself and my partner are FTBs, moving from a rented house to an identical house that we'll own three doors down in the same row of terraces. We've had our mortgage offer verbally confirmed (official confirmation is meant to be with us Monday at the latest) and our solicitor is saying that we could be looking at a completion date as early as March 13th.

We rent privately at the moment (as in not through an agent) and our landlady works in the same building as me, that's how we got the house. She's been super supportive of the whole thing, we first told her in January that we were looking to buy and we've kept her informed every step of the way since then.

Today I emailed her to say about the potential March 13th completion date, and she came back to say that she is going to start looking for new tenants.

I'm a little bit nervous as I'm well aware that our house purchase could still all fall through, and if she happens to get another tenant lined up we could be faced with the nightmarish possibility of not having anywhere to live. :eek: I don't want to have to go and rent somewhere else - for starters I don't think there would be time to find somewhere new and also I don't want us to get tied into a 6 or 12 month lease when really we want to get on and buy a house!

I know I'm worrying about something that hasn't happened, but in your valued opinions, how worried should I be? Thinking about it happening makes me feel sick. Should I speak to my landlady and try to reach an agreement?

Thanks for any help

pmlindyloo

Are you on a fixed term tenancy agreement?

When did it begin and when does it end?

This will determine how much notice you have to give and how we can advise.

Jhoney_2

Hi justadmin88,

Could you move to a Band B for a little while and store your non essential things with family? That's assuming no kids/pets etc.

Did vendor accept your offer? Please update.

Justadmin88

pmlindyloo - we're on a rolling contract now, with 2 months notice for either party - however our landlady has indicated that if we do want to move on the 13th March then she'll be happy to let us go then with no penalties (presumably because she's had unofficial notice that we'd be moving soon since January).
Jhoney - Sorry, yes, I updated the other thread but basically we ended up agreeing to £240k - I'm happy about it though!

Thanks!

Pixie5740

You mention a completion date but have you actually exchanged yet? If not DO NOT give notice to end your tenancy until you've exchanged.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I didn't give my notice on my rented property until I had exchanged. There was a month when I had to pay both rent and mortgage, but I'd budgeted for it for the peace of mind.

Justadmin88

No we haven't exchanged. Technically I haven't given notice to end the tenancy - all I've done is keep our landlady in the loop because we're work colleagues and she's a nice lady, I haven't wanted to screw her over in any way. So do you think if push comes to shove we can say that we never gave official notice?

Jhoney_2

Justadmin88 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wanted to run something past you all to get advice.

Myself and my partner are FTBs, moving from a rented house to an identical house that we'll own three doors down in the same row of terraces. We've had our mortgage offer verbally confirmed (official confirmation is meant to be with us Monday at the latest) and our solicitor is saying that we could be looking at a completion date as early as March 13th.

We rent privately at the moment (as in not through an agent) and our landlady works in the same building as me, that's how we got the house. She's been super supportive of the whole thing, we first told her in January that we were looking to buy and we've kept her informed every step of the way since then.

Today I emailed her to say about the potential March 13th completion date, and she came back to say that she is going to start looking for new tenants.

I'm a little bit nervous as I'm well aware that our house purchase could still all fall through, and if she happens to get another tenant lined up we could be faced with the nightmarish possibility of not having anywhere to live. :eek: I don't want to have to go and rent somewhere else - for starters I don't think there would be time to find somewhere new and also I don't want us to get tied into a 6 or 12 month lease when really we want to get on and buy a house!

I know I'm worrying about something that hasn't happened, but in your valued opinions, how worried should I be? Thinking about it happening makes me feel sick. Should I speak to my landlady and try to reach an agreement?

Thanks for any help

Is this what the vendor/you want? The solicitor is there to follow your instructions, so exchange/complete in whatever time frame can be agreed between you and your vendor.

Justadmin88

Well a condition of the sale was that we have to complete by the end of March. The 13th was suggested and we agreed because, well, my thinking was the sooner the better lol. Maybe we should suggest a later date.

I think I'm going to email my landlady again later and confirm that we don't wish to formally give notice until we've exchanged contracts. If that means paying extra rent, so be it.

Pixie5740

Justadmin88 wrote: »

No we haven't exchanged. Technically I haven't given notice to end the tenancy - all I've done is keep our landlady in the loop because we're work colleagues and she's a nice lady, I haven't wanted to screw her over in any way. So do you think if push comes to shove we can say that we never gave official notice?

By telling your LL that you hope to complete on a certain day might give the impression that you've actually exchanged. In trying to keep her in the loop you're just adding confusion to the situation. Don't tell your LL anything until you have concrete dates i.e. until you exchange. She knows you're in the process of buying somewhere but it's not going to help her find new tenants if you keep chopping and changing the date you'll be moving out.

pmlindyloo

Your landlady sounds lovely so hopefully you won't have any problems.

To be on the safe side you need to give you notice in (in writing) as soon as you exchange. as other have said, don't do it until you have exchanged!

It is sensible to get your landlady to put in writing that she will allow an early surrender. Just ties everything up nicely.

Just one other thing. When you go onto a periodic tenancy the notice period is usually one month (to coincide with your rental periods - more information if you need it)

However, your contract may say 2 months notice if it refers to a periodic tenancy following the end of the fixed period and you would have to adhere to this.

It doesn't sound as any of this is going to be a problem but best to do it properly (just in case)