Giving Notice (before exchange)

KatieDee

I know, I know. This is a HUGE no no while house buying, but let me explain...

Our vendor has found her property and is now ready to exchange. We are also ready to exchange.

Last minute, the vendors solicitor decided to provide an old indemnity policy that they have always denied existence of, as well as Certass certs which again, they claimed they didn't have. It turns out the vendor had provided these a while ago and their solicitor just forgot to send them on. No big issues, our sol just had to ask them to add to an existing policy due to the value of the house increasing.

We were supposed to exchange today, which all sides had agreed to but due to the above, we were not able to.

Our notice needs to be given by Monday, otherwise we'll need to pay another month of rent on top of the mortgage, which we would struggle to do. The only way around this would be to extend the completion date but I have a feeling this wouldn't work for the rest of the chain.

Our solicitor called us to explain the situation today and said he can see no reason why we could not exchange on Monday. Our vendor has been told the same thing by her solicitor and they are aware of our time frames.

Given that there are no outstanding issues, the vendor has confirmed this to me directly and she is desperate to move, is it worth giving notice to our landlords? They are extremely understanding, very nice and really like us, so I imagine if the worst came to the worst, we could extend our notice period (and we would know by Monday anyway).

I've heard so many horror stories and I know it's a big risk. I suppose I'm just looking for some guidance.

csgohan4

It's a risk to give notice when you haven't exchanged or even set a completion date. I wouldn't and I had 1 month of rent to pay when I bought my house, better that or be homeless

KatieDee

csgohan4 wrote: »

It's a risk to give notice when you haven't exchanged or even set a completion date. I wouldn't and I had 1 month of rent to pay when I bought my house, better that or be homeless

Thank you. This is my fear, that something could go wrong and we risk becoming homeless. I am quite certain our landlord would consider extending the lease either way, but it's a bit selfish to expect them to do that.

Does anybody know if I can give notice verbally or via email, then post off a copy of my notice to my landlord? If so, does it have to arrive before the date you are giving notice, or just be dated on that day? We could hold off until Monday if this is the case, and hope we complete by the end of the day.

G_M

If you were happy to exchange without the policy before it came to light, why not just exchange anyway.....


:huh:

mustang1

I really wouldn't serve notice.

Can't you ask your solicitor to just put a clause in the contract to say the sellers will increase the insurance before you complete? It normally only takes a couple of days to sort that out so provided you have a reasonable amount of time between exchange and completion that could work.

KatieDee

Without boring people too much...

Our solicitor suggested indemnity for a conservatory, which the vendor accepted.

Their solicitor then supplied an older version of indemnity very last minute which the vendor was given at their purchase, but is now outdated due to the amount the house was insured for. My sol had to explain it to their solicitor. This was information that previously never existed. The vendors sol admitted this was the case and then accepted the new indemnity.

Our solicitor was happy to exchange and had requested a call from the vendors sol to confirm details. By the time their solicitor had finally called him back, it was too late to complete the exchange as the new indemnity had to be purchased. He suggested we wait until Monday.

So the plan is to exchange on Monday for definite. The entire delay rests solely on the vendors solicitor who is apparently impossible to get hold off (confirmed by both my solicitor and the vendor).

anselld

It is already too late for service by post. Deemed service by first class post is two business days after posting.
So might as well wait till Monday and then either hand deliver or hope notice is accepted by email, assuming exchange happens as expected.

annetheman

Interested to know the outcome of this - I have a 2 month notice period on my tenancy before it ends, or when the landlord secures a new tenant, "whichever is first".

I have a very good relationship with my landlady, I told her I was looking to buy a house and there might be some uncertainty and she said she understood and would speak to the Lettings Agent - but I have no guarantees or expectations she would let me stop paying rent if I complete on my purchase before the end of the notice period.

To top it off, as I'm buying from a developer, one of the terms is 28 day exchange from the day my solicitor instructs their solicitor (I think?!); so if they instruct tomorrow and I take a huge risk and give my notice tomorrow, I would expect to exchange on the 5th April; my rent is due on the 8th April, so ideally I'd ask to complete on the 7th April. 

As per the terms of my tenancy agreement though, I would still need to pay rent for 8th April to 7th May if no new tenant is found.

So in this situation, I won't be able to get out of paying rent AND the first months' mortgage at least for one month, unless OP or anyone else has managed to find a way around it???

Tiglet2

Do not give notice.  Developers always have this 28 day exchange clause in their terms, but it is very rare that purchasers actually manage to exchange within this very tight deadline.  Usually, as long as the purchase is progressing along nicely, developers extend the deadline to however long it takes for the solicitor to do their work.  Please also be aware that the 28 day deadline starts from when your solicitor receives the draft contract pack from the developer's solicitor in any case, not from when you instruct your solicitor to act for you.  
Is the new build structurally complete now?

annetheman

Tiglet2 said:

Do not give notice.  Developers always have this 28 day exchange clause in their terms, but it is very rare that purchasers actually manage to exchange within this very tight deadline.  Usually, as long as the purchase is progressing along nicely, developers extend the deadline to however long it takes for the solicitor to do their work.  Please also be aware that the 28 day deadline starts from when your solicitor receives the draft contract pack from the developer's solicitor in any case, not from when you instruct your solicitor to act for you.  
Is the new build structurally complete now?

Ah, okay - that's fine then, I can sort of breathe a little then if there is more time (probably) than 28 days...
So the developer's solicitor will send the draft contract pack after the initial searches and whatnot are done, I guess? 

The place is structurally complete and ready to move in, I've seen it a few times now and several others in the block; it was the last building on the development to be finished (although the lift is still covered in dust-covers but use-able).

When would you advise I give my notice, should I ask the solicitor for their opinion on this? Or try to guess based on how my mortgage app is going?

Is it inevitable I will pay rent for my current place and mortgage/SO rent for the new place for at least a month, as I suspect?

Tiglet2

I doubt that your solicitor will order searches until he has the draft contract pack.  Usual advice is not to give notice until you have exchanged, but you can ask your solicitor to guide you.  It's always a good idea to have a contingency fund to allow for an overlap of a month.  It can work out ok since you can move in at your leisure to your new place and not be under too much stress vacating one property and moving into the new property on the same day.