Re: advice on exchange of contracts

Rambosmum

Personally I'd get 'my side' of the legal stuff done - survey, mortgage application, contracts & searches. It would then be clear to the seller that you are serious about buying the house. Once you are close to exchange, reiterate that you won't exchange until tenants have vacated and you have checked the property over. It would then be in the sellers best interest to incentivise the tenants to leave.

Look at it from the sellers perspective - buyer refuses to do anything until tenants leave, tenants leave so no income, no one to cover the mortgage, very expensive and they are clearly selling for a reason. Buyer then gets searches or survey or such, which shows something they don't want and they pull out. Seller is out of pocket for even longer. If you do all your legal stuff, get to exchange, wait for the tenants to leave, if they leave on time and leave the place in an ok condition, you could be exchanged and completed within 2 weeks of them leaving.

Sounds to me that as well as wanting their cake and eating it, the seller can't really afford what could be a 6 months void on rent.

firsttimebuyer2017

Thanks for all replies.

Mortgage offer has been in place since mid-April and the survey / report was conducted for free as part of the mortgage package.

I agree on views that time and energy has already been invested with too much perceived risk. The crux of it now is that the tenants vacate by the agreed notice period with access to the property to view before exchange. As we are accommodating their terms l feel it warrants lowering the accepted offer for all the inconvenience, if we take this risk.

Cakeguts

firsttimebuyer2017 wrote: »

Thanks for all replies.

Mortgage offer has been in place since mid-April and the survey / report was conducted for free as part of the mortgage package.

I agree on views that time and energy has already been invested with too much perceived risk. The crux of it now is that the tenants vacate by the agreed notice period with access to the property to view before exchange. As we are accommodating their terms l feel it warrants lowering the accepted offer for all the inconvenience, if we take this risk.

You can make a lower offer but the vendor does not have to accept it.. I don't really see why they should because you knew the house had tenants when you made your offer in the first place so the risk was already there at that time. Nothing has changed except that you have done some research. That research has got nothing to do with the seller. You have to either absorb the risk or look for a different property.

firsttimebuyer2017

Hi all,

Thought l'd update. After more plugging away we've arrived at a point where the tenants have been served notice but have also agreed to vacate by the end of this month.The agent handled the letting of the property to the tenants and now also their move to alternate rented accommodation, so it looks fairly sound.

We instructed the searches on this basis and secured agreement for inspection of the property before exchange to ensure vacant possession and establish its condition.

Obviously they could still potentially not leave, but then the risk resides with the vendor as the mortgage offer will expire​ with the sale falling through. We will have incurred costs but will be free to look elsewhere. We viewed other places but this one ticked virtually all the boxes.

Thanks for your advice. I will give a final update at completion hopefully.