Exchange & Completion Date

dwill1503

We are selling a house that currently has tenants in. We have accepted an offer, the current tenants are leaving on a set date and we can then exchange. My query is, once we have exchanged, can we stipulate that completion must then be by a certain date? The buyer is a cash buyer, happy to wait until tenants have gone, all funds in place and the solicitor has said we may even exchange and complete on the same day. However, if there is a delay we don't want to be financially down for too long, so I wondered if anyone had been in the situation and said, for e.g. completion must be before XX DATE XX?

Hoploz

There is no contract active until exchange. At exchange the completion date will be set. It may be the same day, next day, a week, a month away. You decide a mutually convenient date. Until exchange nothing is binding.

And until your tenants leave you are not able to guarantee vacant possession. So you are not able to get anything binding until they go.

martindow

The completion is agreed prior to exchange and written into the contract. How can you be sure that your tenant will actually leave on the 'set' date?

Don't exchange contracts until the house is empty. If your buyer is getting a mortgage they won't be able to exchange until you can give them vacant possession.

It is always advised here to only market houses once tenants have left. You run the risk of losing your buyer if there is any delay.

dwill1503

Thank you both. We are aware of what we can and can't do whilst we have tenants, thats not my query.

Martindow, thats helpful - I wasn't sure if we agree the date before exchange or after so now you have said its before I can speak to the solicitor.