Vendors won't commit to completion date

The_Logans

Advice please, or previous experiences welcome! We had an offer accepted on a property mid-Feb. When we offered we advised of our desire to move in the Easter school hols (I know this means nothing, but the vendors were also keen to move quickly so we agreed to aim for this). We are renting our current house out and have tenants waiting to move in. Due to kids starting school they also were very keen to move in Easter hols. We asked our solicitor to propose 10th April when all searches etc were complete. Vendors said no, came back with 28th April as their preferred date (1 week into new school term). We said no, went back with 21st April (very end of Easter hols). We have had no response since, and this has been going on for 3 weeks. It turns out that their onward purchase has hit a snag (contaminated land in searches). From the information I have gleaned from the EA, it seems they are working to get a clear search result from the council rather than take an indemnity (at least I think that's what is going on). As a result, there is now no proposed completion date on the table and we run the risk of our tenants finding somewhere else to live.


We are now losing confidence that this will go ahead so we viewed another couple of houses yesterday. One we liked, and the lady is definitely going into rented as she is buying a new build that won't be ready until early next year. We prefer house A, but house B (seen yesterday) does everything we need and is a little cheaper.


So, would you call the vendors bluff? We could offer on house B, if it is accepted then we can tell vendors of house A that we need to complete by X at the latest or we are pulling out. I feel bad at the prospect of doing this because either way would leave one of the vendors disappointed.

KRB2725

You're not going to complete on house B before house A (on the assumption it goes through) so personally I would be patient and wait for the house that I prefer.

The vendors can't really be expected to compromise on their due diligence in order to satisfy your timetable. They do not have to accept an indemnity and for something like contaminated land I'm not sure I would.

Before rushing into offering elsewhere I would try and get a clear picture of the position the vendors are in.

Nikkinakkinoo2017

Ahhh. It's a hard one as it sounds like this one is the one you really want and not the one you are thinking of offering on? I don't like the idea of you losing the house you really want just because they are taking longer than you had hoped? Either way I hope you do what's best for you and are in a new home soon.

mrginge

You're going to pull out because the chain isn't complete and you jumped the gun.

And you're going to replace that with another vendor who says they'll go into rented. 90% of people who say this don't.

Just wait. And find a new tenant when you actually have some certainty.

Madmel

Can you go into a holiday rental whilst your purchase goes through? I know a couple of people who have done that locally so that their children start school at the beginning of a term, but they have not been able to get their purchase through. As an owner of a holiday cottage, this time of year tends to have gaps (for us anyway) so you might be lucky. I would try Tourist Information as they often have an idea of what might be available or possible. Whilst it might seem more expensive pro-rata than an AST, you have the flexibility of not needing to give notice - I have had guests give me a week's notice, which I have accepted.

Alter_ego

I guess you're talking about exchange? Not completion. At that stage nobody is committed to anything, The whole chain could fall apart. Not what you want to hear I'm sure.

Thrugelmir

The_Logans wrote: »

So, would you call the vendors bluff?

You'll simply bring the whole chain down. Playing games does no one any favours.

G_M

The most signifiant part of your post was this:

The_Logans wrote: »

........When we offered we advised of our desire to move in the Easter school hols (I know this means nothing)........

Indeed. It means nothing.

Your options are

* offer on new property. Accept that you will not be moving till June at the earliest, and lose your tenants (I hope you've not actually signed a contract with them!).

* Be patient.Wait for the issue to be resolved, and move as soon after that as possible

* * Be patient.Wait for the issue to cause the sale to collapse. Then make an offer on the other property (if it is still on the market).

sulphate

It's unrealistic to set such deadlines when purchasing a house as anything can happen, as you've found. The vendors won't commit to a definite date when they've hit complications with the house they are buying - just not going to happen. Of course you can look elsewhere, but with any house it's going to be "how long is a piece of string"

The_Logans

Madmel wrote: »

Can you go into a holiday rental whilst your purchase goes through? I know a couple of people who have done that locally so that their children start school at the beginning of a term, but they have not been able to get their purchase through. As an owner of a holiday cottage, this time of year tends to have gaps (for us anyway) so you might be lucky. I would try Tourist Information as they often have an idea of what might be available or possible. Whilst it might seem more expensive pro-rata than an AST, you have the flexibility of not needing to give notice - I have had guests give me a week's notice, which I have accepted.

If we had a confirmed completion date then yes we would, but at the moment there is a risk that our vendors will put out of their onward purchase completely so we're not willing to take that risk.

The_Logans

mrginge wrote: »

You're going to pull out because the chain isn't complete and you jumped the gun.

And you're going to replace that with another vendor who says they'll go into rented. 90% of people who say this don't.

Just wait. And find a new tenant when you actually have some certainty.

We didn't jump the gun, both the tenants and ourselves knew that nothing was certain in terms of dates. We haven't signed an agreement with the tenants yet. Like I said in my OP, we all knew that the 'proposed' date was just something to aim for.