Last minute demand from buyer

Ithaca

lichfield22 wrote: »

.A friend's recent experience, where she got through nine months of rubbish to exchange on her dream house and then the vendor DIED on the eve of completion, was hands down worse than this as she keeps reminding me!! :eek:

We live in a town that had huge post-war expansion in the 1950s, so many of the house-buyers of that era are now in their 80s and 90s. Following on from comments further upthread about the increased popularity of exchanging on the same (or penultimate) day as completion, this exact scenario was given by a couple of local estate agents as the reason... lots of sales falling through because the elderly vendor passes away in the 4-6 weeks between exchange and completion, with all the hassles you then have with deposits, chains, broken contracts and executors etc.

By keeping exchange and completion closer together you minimise the risk of this happening. We were buying a probate sale but our solicitor still pushed for exchange the day before completion because they had been burned a number of times before in our market so it was now the default position.

I suspect the main reason this is getting more popular though is that mortgage companies seem much more relaxed about transferring funds electronically these days... we were told we needed max. 4 hrs to get funds released on completion day but that 2 hrs was usually enough. So the old notion that you need at least 5-7 days to release funds doesn't seem to be true nowadays... a week between exchange and completion seems sensible to allow buyers and sellers to book removal vans etc but that's no longer driven by the finance side of things (we didn't exchange until 5pm the day before we were aiming to complete, so there was a very nervous few hours sat at home surrounded by boxes with equally anxious removal men wondering if they'd actually be needed the next morning!).

Riggyman

lichfield22 wrote: »

Quite honestly it's only the support on this forum keeping me cheerful and meaning my sense of humour is still almost intact ... I'm at my wits' end and have spent most of the day snapping at my husband which isn't nice and not like me I just keep reminding myself that worse things do happen to other people. A friend's recent experience, where she got through nine months of rubbish to exchange on her dream house and then the vendor DIED on the eve of completion, was hands down worse than this as she keeps reminding me!! :eek:

Well, I don't think these dipsticks will exchange in the morning. I really hope you'll receive a decent new offer for your house swiftly, and be able to resurrect you chain :beer:

DRP

Ithaca wrote: »

We live in a town that had huge post-war expansion in the 1950s, so many of the house-buyers of that era are now in their 80s and 90s. Following on from comments further upthread about the increased popularity of exchanging on the same (or penultimate) day as completion, this exact scenario was given by a couple of local estate agents as the reason... lots of sales falling through because the elderly vendor passes away in the 4-6 weeks between exchange and completion, with all the hassles you then have with deposits, chains, broken contracts and executors etc.

By keeping exchange and completion closer together you minimise the risk of this happening. We were buying a probate sale but our solicitor still pushed for exchange the day before completion because they had been burned a number of times before in our market so it was now the default position.

I suspect the main reason this is getting more popular though is that mortgage companies seem much more relaxed about transferring funds electronically these days... we were told we needed max. 4 hrs to get funds released on completion day but that 2 hrs was usually enough. So the old notion that you need at least 5-7 days to release funds doesn't seem to be true nowadays... a week between exchange and completion seems sensible to allow buyers and sellers to book removal vans etc but that's no longer driven by the finance side of things (we didn't exchange until 5pm the day before we were aiming to complete, so there was a very nervous few hours sat at home surrounded by boxes with equally anxious removal men wondering if they'd actually be needed the next morning!).

Neither same-day nor 6 weeks seem sensible to me.

In my experience, 5-7 days is 'standard' - seems the safest too.

moneyistooshorttomention

I can follow the logic of a small gap between Exchange and Completion where the vendor is in what my mother describes (thinking of herself:rotfl: - but my mother tends to be very pragmatic in these matters) as "In God's Waiting Room". If the vendor is in their 80s (or older) then that makes sense.

But I still stick to it's a lot less hassle/stress all round to make it a 4 week gap otherwise. It must be very difficult to fit everything in and Have A Life if one has a full-time job to hold down whilst all this is going on. Even as a retired person - I didn't want the process taking over my life whilst it was going on. Though admitted - I was moving from a home area I'd lived in for most of my life and that has good shopping facilities to a more rural area and not a lot of shops (hence needing time to do various "farewells" and a lot of shopping in my own case). Other vendors may also have personal reasons why they need that time - besides seeing this friend, that friend, visiting this and that shop, etc. Add time to suss out workmen (as best possible) from afar to start work on gutting a new house on Day 2 (I had my very first workman in the day I moved in....). Houses in a different area may take a LOT of work to make them be similar to ones in one's own area....

csgohan4

Karma always bite back with a vengeance,


Well done OP you have done the right thing, maybe a good thing you, might get more for your property


Some people never learn, the buyer clearly has daddy issues, who probably pays for everything for her.

Ozzuk

It can take so long to get to exchange that I for one would never sign up to a four week rule. When you exchange you are liable for the house (as in must have insurance in place) so it is in your best interest to move forward as soon as you can. But to each their own and this hardly helps OP.

OP...fingers crossed for you today - I'd probably be stubborn and religiously stick to the deadline, if no contact before then then refuse/ignore any further contact as they will just continue to mess you around. But I can be petty.

metamatic

Assuming the sale does actually proceed and you are looking at vindictive (although legal) things to do for a bit of pay back then you could always put the house into complete shutdown when you leave. Turn off the power and water and completely drain the central heating system. Leave a note to say you have done this but give no guidance as to how to get things back on. Its not hard but if she is clueless then she'll have to get somebody out to do it.

Also check through your paperwork and see what you have agreed to leave. If carpets aren't listed and you can be bothered then you could always rip them up and just take them to the tip. May also be worth checking what you are allowed to do with any light fittings.

Then again, if you are dealing with a nutter then any short term satisfaction gained from the above could be short lived if the father tracks you down and starts ranting and raving at your door!

paddy's_mum

I have an appointment with officialdom today which I cannot miss so I'm going to be on tenterhooks all day!

Now I remember why house selling is right up there with divorce and bereavement in the most stressful list.

Perhaps I'll relieve the boredom of a bland and uncomfortable waiting room by thinking up ways to get revenge....;)

lichfield22

metamatic wrote: »

Assuming the sale does actually proceed and you are looking at vindictive (although legal) things to do for a bit of pay back then you could always put the house into complete shutdown when you leave. Turn off the power and water and completely drain the central heating system. Leave a note to say you have done this but give no guidance as to how to get things back on. Its not hard but if she is clueless then she'll have to get somebody out to do it.

Also check through your paperwork and see what you have agreed to leave. If carpets aren't listed and you can be bothered then you could always rip them up and just take them to the tip. May also be worth checking what you are allowed to do with any light fittings.

Then again, if you are dealing with a nutter then any short term satisfaction gained from the above could be short lived if the father tracks you down and starts ranting and raving at your door!

Because I'm a nice person (despite what the vendor's father would tell you), I was planning to leave quite a few extras that weren't on the PIF - it's not that long since I was a FTB and I remember being really chuffed the vendor left me all the curtains, blinds etc as it really saved money. Now (if she exchanges) she gets what's on the form and nothing more. I'd told my husband not to pack the (expensive) lightbulbs for the outside light so we could leave spares for her. Now, nope.

If she doesn't get her act together by 12pm it really is the end as our mortgage lender won't allow us to exchange later than that, so even if she came back to me this afternoon we couldn't proceed to exchange. That's the point where I won't deal with her anymore although I bet she'll make another offer on the house!!!

lichfield22

paddy's_mum wrote: »

I have an appointment with officialdom today which I cannot miss so I'm going to be on tenterhooks all day!

Now I remember why house selling is right up there with divorce and bereavement in the most stressful list.

Perhaps I'll relieve the boredom of a bland and uncomfortable waiting room by thinking up ways to get revenge....;)

I'm quite sure I'll still be here when you return! :rotfl: Good luck with the appointment - and bring on the revenge ideas