Exchange

Sassybot

Looking for a bit of advise please.

We've reached the stage were we are ready to exchange contracts on our new house. We're first time buyers and there in no chain.

We've arranged a completion date and all parties are in agreement.

We need to give notice to our landlord before the 4th Feb however I'm reluctant to do so before the exchange of contracts has been complete. I've asked our solicitor when this will happen and got the below response;

'We will chase the sellers solicitors for exchange of contracts, we are not likely to know the date of exchange until that day and then we will make contact with you.'

Is this normal or am I right to dig my heels in and say it needs to happen before we hand notice in? As far as I'm aware the seller can still back out and if they do so after we hand our notice in we're left in a difficult position.

CommitedToChange

You can request exchange before the 4th but there is no guarantee this will happen. I'm waiting on my mortgage company to confirm they will release the fund - and I've been waiting since Monday.

You are right not to give notice until you exchange, the sale can still fall through before then and this may be after the 4th so you will have a longer overlap with your rental.

JoJo1978

Your solicitor is right in that exchange won't happen until both parties agree and give authorisation to their respective solicitors. So while people try to target a date your solicitor isn't in control of the other side and cannot 'force' exchange to happen.

You're right not to give notice until you've exchanged but you can set a completion date at exchange that means you won't pay rent and mortgage. Just request a completion date to tie in with when your rental agreement expires. Probably worth letting your solicitor know know of your preferred length of completion after exchange.

kingstreet

Yes. Exchange of contracts simply happens, there is no date scheduled for it like there is for completion.

elverson

Remember that your seller can still walk away until contracts are exchanged - your solicitor is doing the right thing.

saajan_12

Sassybot wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advise please.

We've reached the stage were we are ready to exchange contracts on our new house. We're first time buyers and there in no chain. - yay! We've arranged a completion date and all parties are in agreement.

We need to give notice to our landlord before the 4th Feb - why? I expect you don't NEED to.. however I'm reluctant to do so before the exchange of contracts has been complete. - wiseI've asked our solicitor when this will happen and got the below response;

'We will chase the sellers solicitors for exchange of contracts, we are not likely to know the date of exchange until that day and then we will make contact with you.' - yes, perfectly normal.
I would ask them what is delaying exchange and if anything is outstanding, and if nothing then instruct them to exchange.

Is this normal or am I right to dig my heels in and say it needs to happen before we hand notice in? As far as I'm aware the seller can still back out and if they do so after we hand our notice in we're left in a difficult position.- indeed if you give notice then sellers back out, you'd still have to move out of your rental or be liable for double rent!

Definitely do not serve notice before exchanging.

Re notice: Why do you need to serve notice before 4th Feb?
- If you're leaving by the end of a fixed term, you don't need to serve notice.
- If you're in a periodic tenancy, might be better to wait another period or negotiate a mutual surrender wiht the LL.

Sassybot

We've agreed a completion date of the 24th Feb. To give notice inline with the tenancy agreement we have to give notice on or before the 4th Feb. There is nothing stopping us waiting another rental period but it seems odd that exchange may not happen until after the 4th given that all parties were aware of the situation.

I guess we still have a week to go and I'm probably just a bit anxious and stressy. It just seems so mad that something as important as exchange is like some mythical creature that no one knows when it will pop up.

eddddy

You can try negotiating the following with your seller:

If exchange is before 4th Feb, completion will be 3rd March
If exchange is between 4th Feb and 3rd March, completion will be 3rd April
etc.

Obviously, it's a negotiation - neither party can force the other party to accept their proposed terms.

elverson

It's not really mythical.

A good solicitor will be looking out for your interests by ensuring that there are no nasty surprises in the property. If you're using a mortgage then the lender will have their own requirements which the solicitor will need to tick off as well.

All of this can take time and sometimes the other side's EA/solicitor can be less than helpful which can slow down the process.

Gawatate

You can try negotiating the following with your seller:

If exchange is before 4th Feb, completion will be 3rd March
If exchange is between 4th Feb and 3rd March, completion will be 3rd April
etc.

Obviously, it's a negotiation - neither party can force the other party to accept their proposed terms

We did this in a 4 people chain and magically everyone managed to exchange a day before our rental notice period. Explain your situation to the vendors and solicitors and if there really isnt anything outstanding they might be more accomodating

Sassybot

Gawatate wrote: »

We did this in a 4 people chain and magically everyone managed to exchange a day before our rental notice period. Explain your situation to the vendors and solicitors and if there really isnt anything outstanding they might be more accomodating

According to our solicitor there is nothing outstanding other than actually doing the exchange.

For all I know it might have happened as they have a naughty habit of not updating us for a few days.