EA Lies & Completion Date

akorn77

Fosterdog said:

Lokolo said:I disagree. Any EA with a little knowledge will know tenants cannot be evicted within a couple of weeks. 

I agree that an EA should know basic legalities of things like this, however in this case the vendor had told the EA that there was an agreement in place with the tenant for just one months notice, the tenant and landlord can agree to any terms they want, if the tenant was happy to accept it and prepared to leave they could accept just a single day notice. It's not the EAs fault that for whatever reason the one month notice is no longer happening, it could be that the vendor lied, or that the tenants changed their mind. These tenants don't have to be evicted, that only happens if they don't choose to leave when their notice is up, if they choose to go down the eviction route then it will be several months.

I think the Vendor probably mislead the EA, as I think the vendor wants to grab as much rental income as possible. My solicitor confirmed that we will exchange once the property is vacant - I will tell the Vendor that if she wants a quicker exchange then she will need to get rid of the tenants sooner. Ultimately, its her problem, not mine. 

I'm also angry that Vendor/EA has lied about the lease length. She only bought the property 2 years ago, and they told me the lease was 98/99 years. A quick look on a land registry indicates that its 95 (94 as of June 2020). I think if someone buys a property only 2 years ago, then they would have a good idea of what the lease is to be honest - its a difficult item to "forget". Money-wise it only makes an £800-£1,000 difference in terms of lease extension which isnt much but still annoying - I may try and squeeze out as much as possible on the fittings/fixtures front from her to make up for it. 

steampowered said:

akorn77 said:

What happens if lets say hypothetically, the tenants leave and there is some damage to the property or any fixtures/fittings are missing? You need to go back and haggle a discount to account for it or ask the Seller to repair it prior to exchange? 

Yes - that's exactly right.

You should have some idea of the state of the property from your viewings but you always face the risk of something changing since you viewed. If you feel strongly about it you can insist on a final inspection once the tenants have left before exchanging contracts.

You also have this risk when buying from owner occupiers - some owner occupiers do silly things like taking curtain rails and lightbulbs with them when they move out.

Remember the tenants being given 2 months notice does not necessarily mean they will leave on that date. If the tenants refuse to leave, it would be necessary for the landlord to apply to court for possession of the property which could take months. Hopefully that's an unlikely scenario but it could happen if the tenants don't find another property.

Thanks. Its a small 1 bed flat, so I wouldnt expect much to change inside the flat but you never know with tenants - sometimes they can leave damage or something may break and the Vendor may not fix it prior to exchange. 

When I bought my first house two years ago, the owner occupiers took all the curtain rails - for something so inexpensive, I'm shocked that people go through the effort of ripping them off the wall and transporting them. 

Well, the EA said that the tenant is moving abroad to New Zealand (probably another lie!), but if it is true then there is a real possibility that the tenant may not leave on time. I wont be exchanging until its vacant so thats the Vendors problem. 

Surrey_EA

Given that your other thread suggests that this purchase has only recently been agreed, and the draft contract was only sent out by the vendors solicitor a couple of weeks ago, I would be tempted to suggest you are nowhere near exchange, particularly as you have a solicitor that you feel you need to constantly chase!

akorn77

Surrey_EA said:

Given that your other thread suggests that this purchase has only recently been agreed, and the draft contract was only sent out by the vendors solicitor a couple of weeks ago, I would be tempted to suggest you are nowhere near exchange, particularly as you have a solicitor that you feel you need to constantly chase!

You don't have anything else to do with your life, besides being an online troll? If you have nothing useful to say, then its better to go troll elsewhere. Presuming by your username you're an EA...which doesn't come as a surprise. 

[Deleted User]

From your post history I guess you are maybe 1 month in to this process at most? 

The tenants have been served to leave at end of April (lets assume they leave on time).   
An average leasehold flat purchase takes about 14-16 weeks to get to exchange (depending on complexity of lease and response of freeholder etc)

I would expect the property to be empty well before you are ever in a position to exchange

Also, Surrey_EA is a very helpful member of the forum offering solid advice from a (seemingly) honest and realistic EA.  Not a troll in the slightest

akorn77

Deleted_User said:

From your post history I guess you are maybe 1 month in to this process at most? 

The tenants have been served to leave at end of April (lets assume they leave on time).   
An average leasehold flat purchase takes about 14-16 weeks to get to exchange (depending on complexity of lease and response of freeholder etc)

I would expect the property to be empty well before you are ever in a position to exchange

Also, Surrey_EA is a very helpful member of the forum offering solid advice from a (seemingly) honest and realistic EA.  Not a troll in the slightest

Then why is he making useless unhelpful posts? 

My solicitor will inform the Seller that exchange will occur once the property is vacant. I told the EA aswell, but havent heard anything yet. 

AdrianC

akorn77 said:

Surrey_EA said:

Given that your other thread suggests that this purchase has only recently been agreed, and the draft contract was only sent out by the vendors solicitor a couple of weeks ago, I would be tempted to suggest you are nowhere near exchange, particularly as you have a solicitor that you feel you need to constantly chase!

You don't have anything else to do with your life, besides being an online troll? If you have nothing useful to say, then its better to go troll elsewhere. Presuming by your username you're an EA...which doesn't come as a surprise. 

You can huff at him all you like - but he's absolutely right... Conveyancing takes several months, longer if one or both solicitors is slow in dealing with things.

A week ago, you were only just getting the valuation done, and getting an offer with the wrong address on it.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76872777#Comment_76872777

A fortnight ago, you were only just submitting your mortgage application.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76836529#Comment_76836529

Four weeks ago, you were awaiting the vendor accepting your offer.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76772426#Comment_76772426

Your solicitor simply won't let you exchange without the vendor already having vacant possession - which means no tenant living there. You exchange on the property in the condition it's in at the time of exchange. So, if you're worried about the tenant making a mess, you view again after the vendor has possession, but before you exchange. And you need to be prepared to walk away from the purchase if you don't like what you see, and if the vendor isn't prepared to acquiesce to your demands before exchange.

As has been said, it would be illegal for the landlord to give their tenant less than two full rental periods notice. The tenant does not have to leave on the day the notice expires, but that's the first day the landlord can start possession proceedings. These can take months.

So if the landlord has already given notice, then the tenant is likely to be out before you're ready to exchange.

akorn77

AdrianC said:

akorn77 said:

Surrey_EA said:

Given that your other thread suggests that this purchase has only recently been agreed, and the draft contract was only sent out by the vendors solicitor a couple of weeks ago, I would be tempted to suggest you are nowhere near exchange, particularly as you have a solicitor that you feel you need to constantly chase!

You don't have anything else to do with your life, besides being an online troll? If you have nothing useful to say, then its better to go troll elsewhere. Presuming by your username you're an EA...which doesn't come as a surprise. 

You can huff at him all you like - but he's absolutely right... Conveyancing takes several months, longer if one or both solicitors is slow in dealing with things.

A week ago, you were only just getting the valuation done, and getting an offer with the wrong address on it.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76872777#Comment_76872777

A fortnight ago, you were only just submitting your mortgage application.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76836529#Comment_76836529

Four weeks ago, you were awaiting the vendor accepting your offer.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76772426#Comment_76772426

Your solicitor simply won't let you exchange without the vendor already having vacant possession - which means no tenant living there. You exchange on the property in the condition it's in at the time of exchange. So, if you're worried about the tenant making a mess, you view again after the vendor has possession, but before you exchange. And you need to be prepared to walk away from the purchase if you don't like what you see, and if the vendor isn't prepared to acquiesce to your demands before exchange.

As has been said, it would be illegal for the landlord to give their tenant less than two full rental periods notice. The tenant does not have to leave on the day the notice expires, but that's the first day the landlord can start possession proceedings. These can take months.

So if the landlord has already given notice, then the tenant is likely to be out before you're ready to exchange.

You are wrong - not every transaction takes several months. You should know that better than everybody. My first one took 10 weeks, and for this one my Solicitor said it was doable in 6-7 weeks due to it being a "simple" transaction with no chain. In some instances transactions can be completed in 4 weeks. Now that it transpired (yesterday) that there is a 2 month notice for the tenants, its' going to be longer than expected. 

Giving a timeline of posts isn't going to achieve anything. What are you trying to do, give me a slap on the wrist?  

As already reiterated, my solicitor has confirmed that exchange will not occur until the property is vacant. I understand now that if the tenant refuses to leave then exchange cannot occur, which is completely out of my control. 

Tiglet2

my Solicitor said it was doable in 6-7 weeks due to it being a "simple" transaction with no chain.

That is something an EA might say, but very doubtful a solicitor would say that, particularly as it is a leasehold property (you said 1 bed flat) and is tenanted, unless of course the solicitor was not aware of this when you instructed.  A simple transaction has nothing whatsoever to do with being no chain.

akorn77

Tiglet2 said:

my Solicitor said it was doable in 6-7 weeks due to it being a "simple" transaction with no chain.

That is something an EA might say, but very doubtful a solicitor would say that, particularly as it is a leasehold property (you said 1 bed flat) and is tenanted, unless of course the solicitor was not aware of this when you instructed.  A simple transaction has nothing whatsoever to do with being no chain.

At the time, our understanding was that the tenants had 4 week notice. I told him I want to aim for a mid-April completion, and he said it was doable, but obviously did not and could not guarantee that.