Delay in exchanging contracts

beckym1987

Hi guys,

Me and my partner are FTB's and after a very very rough road of buying a house, we're finally ready to exchange contracts. We were due to exchange on Friday 23rd with a completion date of 7th December. There are 3 of us in a chain (the top of the chain is buying a new build).

We are currently renting and need to give 4 weeks notice which must end on a Monday. The 2 sellers were pushing for 7th December to complete so we agreed on this date providing that the contracts were exchanged on the Friday 23rd so that we would only be paying 2 weeks rent on a vacant property.

The contracts weren't exchanged as the top chain decided to try and push for th3 completion date to be brought forward to 30th November. Our solicitors said that our mortgage lenders needed 5 working days notice and seeing as this was at 4pm on Friday, this was not possible. Due to this delay in a last minute effort to change the completion date the contracts were not exchanged.

Today the top chains solicitors were not in the office so we were unable to 3xchnage contracts again. Due to this we have been unable to put in our notice on our tenancy which means we will have to pay 3 weeks on a vacant property now instead of 2 weeks.

I know it's only a week extra rent but I just feel like we are having to pay out more money because the other solicitors are !!!!ing about and i feel like we have already been nice to them by meeting in the middle at 2 weeks when we could have pushed for 4 weeks completion after exchange and now they're just taking the !!!!.

We're already frustrated as we have had such a stressful time. Firstly we were supposed to exchange on 19th October then this was delayed as the seller had lied about the ownership of the solar panels (they were leased). Due to this it has taken 5 weeks to sort out for the solar lease company to amend the lease to fit in line with our mortgage lender. Other issues we've had is the seller has ripped up carpets which means we have to get new carpets fitted just before Xmas (another cost we didn't foresee until after xmas), her dogs have chewed some of the edges of the skirting boards since our first viewing, shower heads on both showers have since broken and need replacing and she is possibly taking the nest thermostat (but leaving the heat link box) whivh means it's unusable. I know they're all minor and not that expensive to fix but they're added costs that shouldn't be taken out of our pocket.

Should we be asking the sellers to pay the rent and to fix these minor issues before completion?

eddddy

beckym1987 wrote: »

Should we be asking the sellers to pay the rent and to fix these minor issues before completion?

You can certainly ask.

Do you think they'll agree?

If they don't agree what will you do? Will you walk away, or will you buy the property anyway?

If the sellers think you'll buy the property anyway, they probably won't agree to do anything.

G_M

You can't force people to exchange on the date you want. Nor to Complete on the date you want. Not to leave the gap between Exchange and Completion that you want.


You can only ask.


and if you get turned down, you can either give way, or find another buyer/seller and start again.

PasturesNew

This is something that happens to a vast number of people every week/month/year.

Yes it's bl00dy annoying ... but it's one of your costs to bear, nobody else's. Nobody else has any responsibility for it, or to pay for it.

It's always "pot luck" with exchange/completion dates ....

HampshireH

I feel this is one of those things which are to be expected but is a bonus if all goes to plan.

Your in a good position that your notice only has to end on a monday rather than start on a set date. In that sense you have some flexibility as it could have been worse.

beckym1987

The sellers have been aware from the start that we needed 4 weeks notice from the date of exchange to completion. The top of the chain is buying a new build and due to the seller lying about the solar panels being owned, this originally delayed the exchange which meant the seller at the top had to delay exchanging contracts on their new build by 5 weeks so far.
Due to the top chain wanting to complete asap we agreed that instead of 4 weeks notice between exchange and completion, we would agree to 2 weeks. This meant we weren't having to move on the Friday before Xmas and also meant we had a 2 week overlap so could get carpets fitted and give the house a good clean before moving in.
Exchange date was to be 23rd and completion 2 weeks later on the 7th December. It was all agreed to, all sellers wer3 happy all Solicitors were on board on Tuesday then at 4pm on Friday as my solicitor was trying to sort the exchange, the top chains solicitors decided to try and change the completion date which then delayed the exchange of contracts.

We can push the completion date back another week because of this, which will then upset both sellers but surely it's their own doing? And if we push it back there will be a further delay as we will have to reapply for the mortgage as it expires very shortly.

Tbh it's not even about the money, it's just the principle that they all are aware of where we stand yet their messing about has caused a delay and we are the ones who are even more put of pocket because of it. They knew that the 30th wasn't possible, all Solicitors were aware of this yet they still decided to try and push for it last minute which has then caused even more delays.

We are renting so it wouldn't be a huge loss if we walked away at this stage. I'm not sure if I'm just been really stubborn and cutting my nose of to spite my face or whether I've just had enough of them walking all over me that I'm now at the stage where I've had enough and am now reluctant to let them continue walking all over me

Twopints

G_M wrote: »

You can't force people to exchange on the date you want. Nor to Complete on the date you want. Not to leave the gap between Exchange and Completion that you want.


You can only ask.


and if you get turned down, you can either give way, or find another buyer/seller and start again.

Indeed, but that works both ways. Why not pick a completion date that suits you rather than dance to their tune - if you don't want to be having new carpets before Christmas, or worried about how much notice to give, then tell them that completion will now have to be in January.

AdrianC

beckym1987 wrote: »

We were due to exchange on Friday 23rd

The contracts weren't exchanged as the top chain decided to try and push for th3 completion date to be brought forward to 30th November.

So where does this "due to" come from, since all links in the chain weren't in agreement?

I know it's only a week extra rent but I just feel like we are having to pay out more money because the other solicitors are !!!!ing about

No, this isn't the solicitors. It's their clients. The other buyers and sellers in the chain. People just like you... It's the fact that you aren't all in agreement that's causing the "!!!!ing about".

You are unwilling to move on the date. Why are you the only one whose opinion is important?

Firstly we were supposed to exchange on 19th October then this was delayed as the seller had lied about the ownership of the solar panels (they were leased).

So where has this date come from? You wouldn't even have been close to exchanging when the panel lease came to your solicitor's attention.

Other issues we've had is the seller has ripped up carpets which means we have to get new carpets fitted just before Xmas (another cost we didn't foresee until after xmas)

<shrug> So don't fit new carpets until after Xmas... Nobody'll die as a result of not having carpets for a few weeks. Get to the Swedish embassy for some cheap rugs. And the fixtures and fittings form said the carpets wouldn't be included, didn't it?

her dogs have chewed some of the edges of the skirting boards since our first viewing

A pain, but not a big job. A few quid of timber, and a little bit of DIY.

shower heads on both showers have since broken and need replacing

Seriously...?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/shower-handset-white-68-x-200mm/7320t

and she is possibly taking the nest thermostat (but leaving the heat link box) whivh means it's unusable.

Which, again, was on the F&F form, right...?

I know they're all minor and not that expensive to fix but they're added costs that shouldn't be taken out of our pocket.

They're all things you knew about long before you got near to exchange.

And if you're worrying about a few quid's worth of shower head, then are you REALLY sure home ownership is for you?

Should we be asking the sellers to pay the rent and to fix these minor issues before completion?

You can ask. But remember that your insistence on a particular completion date is just as much to blame for the delays as another link's insistence...


It's not even as if an earlier completion date means you're actually paying one single penny more rent...! You would still have been paying four weeks from the date of exchange - 23/11, so you'd have the keys to the rental property until 21/12... It's just that you'd have the keys to your house on 30/11 instead of 7/12!

beckym1987

My solicitor had spoken to the sellers solicitor who had spoken to the other sellers solicitor and I have also spoken to the seller direct who has spoken to her seller forest and we were all happy to exchange on the 23rd and complete on the 7th December. We were unable to complete any earlier than this because our mortgage lender needed notice for the transfer of funds (which all the solicitors had been made aware of that it couldn't be any sooner). So they tried changing the completion date, knowing full well that it wasn't possible as they had been told this before.

Actually on first viewing everything worked. The carpets and thermostat ARE included in the fixtures and fittings form. Since the viewing the seller and estate agents keep telling me that this now needs replacing and this now needs replacing. Yes it's only an extra £1000 for cheap carpets and fixing the small things but these were working and included in the F & F forms.

You're right, if we put in 4 weeks notice it is still the same amount of time just that we get the keys quicker but we don't want to pay rent on an empty house plus a mortgage. Why don't the sellers just pay 2 mortgages for the overlap, surely it's the same thing??

We were told by the Estate Agents that the completion date needed to be 19th October. The original delay was that our sellers solicitors had the contract for 4 weeks before passing it on. Then my solicitors worked hard to get all the surveys etc, which we got within 2 weeks. The date was then delayed when the solicitors and us picked up on the solar panels lease (They didn't know that the EA and owner had said they were owned to us).

Also we cannot end our tenancy agreement until they have exchanged contracts so the 4 weeks doesn't start until they agree on an exchange date and stop delaying it

AdrianC

beckym1987 wrote: »

Yes it's only an extra £1000 for cheap carpets and fixing the small things but these were working and included in the F & F forms.

So why have you accepted this variation to the agreed F&F forms?

but we don't want to pay rent on an empty house plus a mortgage.

Your mortgage starts a week earlier, it ends a week earlier. It's the same length.

Why don't the sellers just pay 2 mortgages for the overlap, surely it's the same thing??

Because nobody will lend them the money to own two houses - they don't earn enough to borrow £xxx,000 times two. That's why chains are needed.

We were told by the Estate Agents that the completion date needed to be 19th October.

And when did the bloke in the florists tell you it "needed" to be? Because his opinion is JUST as relevant as the EA's...

The ONLY people who get any say in the exchange and completion dates are the actual buyers and sellers - and they're constrained by when their solicitors have everything ready to exchange.

The date was then delayed when the solicitors and us picked up on the solar panels lease (They didn't know that the EA and owner had said they were owned to us).

Thank your solicitor for doing their job properly.

The vendor probably told you what they genuinely believed. The EA told you what the vendor had told them. The solicitor actually checked - it's what you're paying the solicitor for. And until they've done all their checks, you are in no position to determine any exchange or completion date. And nor is anybody else. Not even Mrs Miggins in the Post Office or the nice lady behind the counter at the Indian takeaway.

G_M

Allyour protestations of who told who what, whose solcitor did or did not not do what..... all irelevant. You can't believe it all. It might be true i might not. It doesnot matter.


Sure, demand some money off for breakages etc. They might agree. Or might get p*ssed off with you and make things even more difficult.



Sure demand the exchange/completion gap you want. They might agree. Or might get p*ssed off with you and make things even more difficult.



By all means get stuborn and refuse to accept the other side's dates, costs, prices etc. You might win that contest of nerves and bluffs. But be prepared not to and know whether you'llwalk away if yu don't.


But stop feeling entitled. Stop justifying your position (to us? like it matters to us?). Stop blaming the other parties.And/or their solicitors.


Either accept, or negotiate, or walk away.