HELP! Close to exchange but seller has just found a property

LA_FTB21

My partner and I are FTB and are currently in the process of buying a property. Everything has gone through smoothly and we are currently at the 12 week mark. The seller had agreed that they would rent in order for us to move in, as they didn't want to lose us as buyers.

We are now in the position to sign contracts but the seller has now made us aware that they have found a property and wants to see if we will wait to tie in the sale and purchase together so they needn't rent. The seller hasn't had an offer accepted on the property.

I completely understand the sellers reasons for doing this although I feel quite disheartened that we are now being dragged into a chain when we were of the understanding that there was no chain. I have been told that the seller is the top of the chain but i still feel that the sale could potentially take 3-6 months if not more.. as property sales do.

Does anyone have any advice about what we should do? Perhaps we give them a deadline to see how quickly the sellers property sale moves before we start looking elsewhere? Or do we just sit and wait with no completion date in sight?

We do really want this house but we don't want to sit and wait potentially another 6 - 12 months where we would be missing out on other properties.

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UPDATE *****
So.. here we are 22 weeks down the line and still no closer to exchange - we gave an extra 3 months for the vendor to complete their sale but nothing has moved along. We are currently at our wits end and have found the whole house buying system within the UK a mess.

We've been left hanging on to any hope of exchanging but nothing has ever come of it. What do we do?? We gave the 21st as a final completion date that we would wait until but as we are just over 2 weeks from that date then I feel that the 21st is going to come and no completion take place.

We gave those extra 12 weeks on the provision we would be completed by the 21st of July so we feel that if nothing has moved on by now then perhaps this date isn't being taken seriously and we should just pull out?

There is another house we have seen which we would put an offer on but we're so close to the end that we just don't know what to do.

We're worried that we could be sat in this position for another 3 months but our mortgage offer runs out in August so we're running out of time.

Can anyone give us some advice please?

Victor_the_Gink

I would just start looking at other properties, and inform the sellers you are doing this.

saajan_12

I would immediately start looking at other properties to atleast see if there is something equivalent / better out there or if this really is a good deal you want to make happen. Let the sellers know you are doing this (maybe even arrange another viewing with the same EA so they know you are serious).

What's your priority here? Do you want to get out of the uncertainty or are you keen to physically move soon aswell? If the former and the sellers refuse to stick to their original plan, you could offer to exchange now with a longer completion (of say 3 months?)
-> You'd want 2-4 weeks anyway to give notice where you are, book removals etc
-> You have a fixed completion and the property will definitely be yours
-> If the sellers manage to progress their purchase in that time, they may be able to move straight in, if not they can rent short term for any gap as originally planned.
-> Ensure your mortgage offer will be valid for the completion date though!

Might not work for you, just a suggestion.

ACG

Why not exchange contracts but put a date in the exchange they MUST complete by. Their solicitors will probably advise against it, but at least it gives you a definitive date. Say, 8 weeks? I normally get most of my clients to complete within 8 weeks so there is no reason why it can not happen.

Alternatively you could say your offer was made as part of no chain. You would prefer not to wait and go from there.

stator

I'm afraid it's a common story.

How much money have you spent so far?

It'll be your decision about how much you want to risk losing the house or money you have already spent vs whether you are willing to wait

hazyjo

Pretty much same as above - I would tell them it wasn't acceptable and that I would have to start looking too.


Alternatively, you could throw price into the mix and say your offer was on the basis they were chain free. Knock say £10k off (or whatever, hard to say when don't know prices) and you'll wait.


Jx

LA_FTB21

Thanks for the advice everyone. So far we haven't spend too much money so that's not a major issue. Originally we we're told the seller wanted to complete at the end of May so that is still 4 weeks away.

We don't want to lose the house as it is such a good house and we would be willing to wait but its really hard to commit to something when there is no completion date in sight. It also worry's me that what if their house falls through? Where does that leave us?

I don't want to be left in limbo with little to no options.

n217970

Not quite the same as we had a small chain (our buyers being FTB and our vendor moving into rented) but our vendor tried this same trick close to exchange - Just pointed out that our buyers were going to walk if we didnt exchange and complete in the next 2 weeks and magically it all went through.

Really glad it did as that was back in late January and from what I have heard on the local grapevine the vendors are now bidding on a third property....

hazyjo

If it falls through, you could then say they go into rented as initially planned.


I would def be knocking money off though.

ReadingTim

The problem with deadlines is that you have to decide what you'll do if they're not met. Otherwise they're meanlingless. So rather than kick the can down the road and defer the decision, make it now, as the seller may call your bluff anyway.

Your choices are (ultimately) walk away and accept that you've lost all the money you've spend on surveys etc for the current place, or stick it out until the chain completes and everyone in it moves. 6-12 months is a pretty wide estimate of the timescale, but if nothing much has happened by Christmas, you should re-evaluate the situation.

However, there are no guarantees that any other property you find won't be part of a chain too.

cloo

If you really want the property, in your position I might see what I can find out about the upward chain. If it's there isn't one, then it's less of an issue.

But even if there is, bear in mind that by starting with somewhere new, you're still facing a delay in moving anyway so do you have that much to lose by holding on to this place if you like it? At least you don't have a buyer breathing down your neck to complete, so you have a lot less to worry about than someone with a downward chain.

It's disappointing and frustrating for you, but basically these days a lot of people know they can improve their odds of getting a FTB or chain free buyer by saying they'll move into rented, and don't actually mean ir mean it or change their mind once they think it through.