Getting frustrated now...selling a house

gazfocus

I'm in the process of selling my house. It's currently empty and costing me money to keep it empty (i.e. I could be renting it out). My buyers are keen to get in, and originally wanted to complete last month but the solicitors weren't ready (there's no chain).


Anyway, the buyers solicitor suggested a completion date of this Friday (25th) and I reluctantly agreed (this date was suggested a month ago and really didn't want to have to pay for the house for another month). Anyway, we are two days til 'completion' but I am struggling to get responses from my solicitor to my requests for reassurance that everything is going through on Friday, and the last I heard the buyers solicitor were waiting for confirmation from their lender that the funds would be drawn down in time for Friday completion.


It's been 4 working days now since my solicitor heard from the buyers solicitor and I'm getting really frustrated.


Is there anything I can do to hurry things along? I have emailed my solicitor advising that I am not willing to let this drag on into June (as I'll have another mortgage payment to make, costing me about £600), but I also don't want to push the buyers away so I'm reluctant to threaten putting the house back up for sale.


This has all been dragging on now since January and I think I've been patient enough up to now.

TamsinC

Have you exchanged contracts yet?

It doesn't sound like your buyers are the problem - it's just the way it goes - solicitors work at their own speed. It you put the house back on the market you are only going to have to go through at least another 2-3 months of this even if you sold again tomorrow.

We ended up completing 2 days after a mortgage payment - the bank refunded 99% of that payment.

gazfocus

TamsinC wrote: »

Have you exchanged contracts yet?

It doesn't sound like your buyers are the problem - it's just the way it goes - solicitors work at their own speed. It you put the house back on the market you are only going to have to go through at least another 2-3 months of this event you sold again tomorrow.

No we've not exchanged contracts. When the buyers requested completion a month in advance, I specified (and my solicitor agreed) that we wanted to exchange contracts within a week to offer some reassurance, but the buyers solicitor took soooooo long in responding to my solicitor that we're now 2 days from their completion date with no contracts exchanged (although I am aware that the buyers have signed their contract), so I'm expecting that if completion does go ahead on Friday it will be exchange and complete on the same day.

gazfocus

TamsinC wrote: »

We ended up completing 2 days after a mortgage payment - the bank refunded 99% of that payment.

Thanks, that's reassuring...I'll keep in mind to ask if that's an option.

hazyjo

It's when EAs can be helpful. Get yours to try to hurry things along!


You can't really think of it as costing you money to keep it empty. It's never advisable to sell with tenants in so it's always likely it'd be empty for around 3 months to sell (which is what you're doing). It's either that or get tenants in and stop selling.


Why don't you just take the pressure off and aim to exchange this Friday (if poss) and actually complete the following Fri.


As above, if you pay for a full month on the mortgage, they will reimburse you (presuming you weren't paying at the end of each month rather than the beginning).

eddddy

gazfocus wrote: »

Is there anything I can do to hurry things along?

If it's the buyer's solicitor or buyer's lender that people are waiting on, it's only really the buyer that can hurry them along.

So you could hassle the buyer to do that, or ask your EA to hassle the buyer.


(But if you were a cynic you might wonder if it's really the buyer who's delaying for some reason, and blaming their solicitor or lender.)

Katapolt

Honestly, theres no point pulling out. youll have more months of this, or worse! just imagie if you get an offer from someone in a chain!

gazfocus

eddddy wrote: »

If it's the buyer's solicitor or buyer's lender that people are waiting on, it's only really the buyer that can hurry them along.

So you could hassle the buyer to do that, or ask your EA to hassle the buyer.

(But if you were a cynic you might wonder if it's really the buyer who's delaying for some reason, and blaming their solicitor or lender.)

I try to see the best in people so definitely would rather believe it's the solicitor being rubbish rather than the buyers, but who knows.


If it were me buying, I'd be wanting to get completion sorted in time for a nice sunny bank holiday to move house on.

hazyjo wrote: »

It's when EAs can be helpful. Get yours to try to hurry things along!

Thanks, I have just emailed the estate agents and asked them to contact the buyers solicitor to see what's happening.

Katapolt wrote: »

Honestly, theres no point pulling out. youll have more months of this, or worse! just imagie if you get an offer from someone in a chain!

Thanks, I'm not wanting to pull out, just wondering if the threat would give them a nudge...although it could of course backfire.

TamsinC

If I was threatened and I was in a situation I had absolutely no control over - and you really don't know - I would be rather upset. If I were actually wavering it could be the thing that pushes me over the edge. I never have liked people playing games. My response is to walk away rather than participate. You have no idea how you buyers will respond and it may backfire.

gazfocus

TamsinC wrote: »

If I was threatened and I was in a situation I had absolutely no control over - and you really don't know - I would be rather upset. If I were actually wavering it could be the thing that pushes me over the edge. I never have liked people playing games. My response is to walk away rather than participate. You have no idea how you buyers will respond and it may backfire.

I know what you mean, and I would be the same which is why I've not done anything so far but there's only so far one can go. The offer was accepted in January so I'd hoped it would have been sorted long before now.



I've just had an email from the solicitors to say that the buyers solicitors are waiting for the buyers to pay the deposit. Surely if they were intending to exchange and complete by Friday, this would have been a top priority.

foxy-stoat

Up to you if you want to put it back on the market and start the whole process again - have the prices gone up much in 5 months?

If you can finance your mortgage for a few more months then say you intend on putting it back on the market and put the price up by £10,000 - see if that focuses your buyers!