Worrying about seller at end of our chain..no compromise on completion date/ wanting to add to chain

MFM90

Hi everyone was after a bit of advice not sure if anyone has been in a similar situation? 
We have been in the process of buying and selling since November. In a very short chain of three people with us buying and selling. The house we have bought is probate and we were told the seller wanted a quick sale as wanted to get their inheritance money. We are now literally days away from exchange so have been discussing the completion dates. 

The seller has put forward for the end of NEXT month. We aren't very happy about this and have expressed this as we were hoping to exchange and complete within a week. Have tried to compromise and offered up middle of the month however seller is not willing to compromise whatsoever. They have said reason for this is as they need that amount of time to sort the house. Without going into too much detail there is someone living in the house atm but we were assured he had been actively looking for somewhere else to move to and would be moved out.  

I just feel very uneasy about leaving it 5 weeks in between exchange and completion as we are buying and selling I feel like it allows for things to go wrong in that time? Also have read all the horror stories on here about sellers not going through even though legally they are locked into contracts. Just find it ridiculous they are not willing to compromise and are trying to dictate everything when they are not handing over any deposit money etc. 

The other thing that has left me uneasy is the occupier of the house had said he now wants to buy a house and add this onto the chain? The executor of the probate has assured the estate agent this isn't the case but it has left me feeling very uneasy about the whole thing. The end of month date is what the occupier had provided when he gave the estate agent this information and with the executor adamant they want the same date it has just left me feeling like something does not add up. I didn't think someone could just add onto a chain last minute but i'm unsure of what legal rights are regarding this? 

I am trying not to stress about the situation but just wanted to know if anyone had had any similar experiences or any advice? 

Many thanks

kazwookie

Personally I would not exchange in someone insitu if they are a tenant, what if they refuse to leave on completion.

MFM90

 kazwookie said:

Personally I would not exchange in someone insitu if they are a tenant, what if they refuse to leave on completion.

They are not legally a tenant but a family member residing in the property whilst the sale went through. Think he was living there before their parent passed away. I Must admit this has been worrying me as we were under impression he would of moved out by now and he is the one saying he now wants to buy a house and add to chain.

[Deleted User]

The occupier would need to sign the contract I believe to agree that he will move out on completion date. 

Regarding 5 weeks, a month completion always used to be the norm. I guess as its a relative that died, they need more than a week to sort out all the stuff 

Skiddaw1

I agree- I'd be extremely leery about exchanging with anyone in situ. I'd make it a condition that the property was empty before exchange.

Flugelhorn

I would be wary about exchanging with someone still there, particularly as they do not seem to have a clear plan as to where they are going! 
re the delay for a probate house - I brightly said "yes a week between exchange and completion will be fine" as had done most of the clearing and it was just some items of furniture / pictures to go, but when the date came up I was stuck working away for the whole of that week  and had to go to 10 days, must have seemed bad to the v keen purchasers but I couldn't be in 2 places at once!

notrouble

Time to get tough.

1) insist property is vacant before you exchange

2) insist on exchange within (2?) weeks or you withdraw

3) insist on Completion within 2 weeks of Exchange or preferably one

4) start looking for another property now, ideally via the same estate agent, so they get the message you are serious about potentially withdrawing.

iampetesmith

When we bought our house, the paperwork included details of anyone occupying the house over the age of 18 and they all had to sign to say they would vacate the property at completion. With ours, it was just our vendor's son who lived there with them and details of this were in section 8 of the Property Information Form which also stated that he would sign the contract and agree to leave with the vendor. 

It might be worth checking if the person who is living there now is mentioned on any of your paperwork (it was section 8 on the PIF for us), particularly whether or not it says that they've signed to say they'll vacate the property on the completion date. If they're not on there, then I definitely wouldn't exchange until they've gone as it could turn completion day into a right nightmare if they refuse to leave. At least if they've signed the contract to say they'll leave on completion day, they can be removed if they don't.

JGB1955

Insist on the property being vacant at the point of exchange of contracts.  If not, walk away.

MFM90

Flugelhorn said:

I would be wary about exchanging with someone still there, particularly as they do not seem to have a clear plan as to where they are going! 
re the delay for a probate house - I brightly said "yes a week between exchange and completion will be fine" as had done most of the clearing and it was just some items of furniture / pictures to go, but when the date came up I was stuck working away for the whole of that week  and had to go to 10 days, must have seemed bad to the v keen purchasers but I couldn't be in 2 places at once!

They've said they will leave the property prior to completion so I wasn't initally worried but now he's mentioned about buying the house and wanting to add to the chain that has what has worried me. 

I understand that it can take some time to sort things out however it has just been one enquiry to do with our sale that has held it up for the last week or so so the sellers were aware that the exchange date was imminent. I just feel like over 5 weeks is a bit excessive of time to get everything sorted out. Its more aswell that there is literally no compromise on their end with the date. They have given us one date and one date only with no room for any other suggestions which i feel is being very unreasonable. 

MFM90

JGB1955 said:

Insist on the property being vacant at the point of exchange of contracts.  If not, walk away.

I've gone back through the forms and they've signed to say they will vacate the property prior to completion. Do you think I should request they are moved out before the actual day and ask for a definitive date on what actual date they will be vacating the property?