Help! Completion date won’t be met - New Buyuer

Tiglet2

Soot2006 said:

Even without Covid-19, you're on a pretty good timeline, and unfortunately these sorts of delays do happen and they do usually get sorted out.  We offered in first week of June last year and "agreed" on several completion dates from 29th July to 18th September, actually completing on Wednesday 28th August having suddenly and unexpectedly exchanged the previous Friday with a bank holiday Monday and a Tuesday to arrange for removals. Pretty much all my posts from last summer are about stress, being stressed, anxiety that everything will fall apart, more stress, worry about surveys, building certificates, removals .....  Unfortunately, you've got a difficult ex-husband and Covid to contend with as well; however that too will pass and once you're in your new house you'll forget all about this time.   In the meantime, you really do have my sympathy because it's not a nice anxiety.

I do find the Estate Agents suddenly become useful in these times - they WANT this sale (the solicitor doesn't care - if they're at point of exchange they've already earned their cash). I'd be on the phone to the EA and get them to hassle their client ... They work for the client, but they won't get their money with the ex-husband in place, from you or from anyone. Our EA hassled us on "behalf" of our buyer. Hassled our buyer on our behalf, hassled all the solicitors (and since we were in a chain of 5, they hassled all the other estate agents, too) ... It's literally in their job description to be annoying, so perhaps they can help e.g. by identifying rentals for the ex-husband to consider (helpful if they do rentals as well as sales, but they'll know someone who does anyway) ...

Just so you know, solicitors don't earn anything until completion but it is not their job to hassle everyone.

wilfred30

I don't understand how you can have a completion date of 8 May when it's a bank holiday and solicitors don't work on bank holidays?

babyblade41

wilfred30 said:

I don't understand how you can have a completion date of 8 May when it's a bank holiday and solicitors don't work on bank holidays?

Well that's solved the exchange query then ..

Tiglet2

wilfred30 said:

I don't understand how you can have a completion date of 8 May when it's a bank holiday and solicitors don't work on bank holidays?

Good spot!  

mcpitman

Comms69 said:

mcpitman said:

Comms69 said:

bethan11 said:

Comms69 said:

Price just dropped 10k I assume?

As in the asking price for the house before I purchased?

No. If you haven’t exchanged; drop the price.

Why do this?

Because this is a money saving forum?

No !!!!!!. I didn't ask what website I was using.

I'll reword for you - "What is the purpose of dropping the price?" "Is there a risk involved where the buyer could lose the house buy doing this" "Do you have a magic ball that is indicating in real time house values and how do you know that a £10k drop is either appropriate or realistic".

I am interested into the intention of the offer drop, is it purely financial, is it to be difficult, do you know something we don't?

babyblade41

mcpitman said:

Comms69 said:

mcpitman said:

Comms69 said:

bethan11 said:

Comms69 said:

Price just dropped 10k I assume?

As in the asking price for the house before I purchased?

No. If you haven’t exchanged; drop the price.

Why do this?

Because this is a money saving forum?

No !!!!!!. I didn't ask what website I was using.

I'll reword for you - "What is the purpose of dropping the price?" "Is there a risk involved where the buyer could lose the house buy doing this" "Do you have a magic ball that is indicating in real time house values and how do you know that a £10k drop is either appropriate or realistic".

I am interested into the intention of the offer drop, is it purely financial, is it to be difficult, do you know something we don't?

It tends to focus the vendors mind a little . The vendor is very close to completion but now causing a delay , something they particularly don't want.

Buyer can happily walk away and vendor has to go through the whole process again, if it were me I would be requesting a drop in price if they were playing silly beggars 

Comms69

mcpitman said:

Comms69 said:

mcpitman said:

Comms69 said:

bethan11 said:

Comms69 said:

Price just dropped 10k I assume?

As in the asking price for the house before I purchased?

No. If you haven’t exchanged; drop the price.

Why do this?

Because this is a money saving forum?

No !!!!!!. I didn't ask what website I was using.

I'll reword for you - "What is the purpose of dropping the price?" "Is there a risk involved where the buyer could lose the house buy doing this" "Do you have a magic ball that is indicating in real time house values and how do you know that a £10k drop is either appropriate or realistic".

I am interested into the intention of the offer drop, is it purely financial, is it to be difficult, do you know something we don't?

Careful, MSE towers isnt keen on colourful language.

"What is the purpose of dropping the price?" - to save money
"Is there a risk involved where the buyer could lose the house buy doing this" - yes, but divorcing couples are often desperate to get things over with
"Do you have a magic ball that is indicating in real time house values and how do you know that a £10k drop is either appropriate or realistic" - No. and: because they're desperate.

I wouldn't say 'difficult'. I'd say it's looking after number 1. Desperate vendor, awkward ex / soon to be ex. Perfect opportunity to save some cash. I might even carry on dropping on a daily rate as an incentive to get him out. 

(i wonder if he pays rent?)

steampowered

Why should the tenant leave the property in the middle of a global pandemic? It isn't the tenant's problem that it causes a delay to their landlord's transaction.

The tenant isn't going to move out if they don't have anywhere else to go. Why should the tenant make themselves homeless. The tenant can't view new properties right now, this would be the case even if they weren't self-isolating. You and the vendor are just going to have to wait.

It isn't your solicitor's fault. Your solicitor is not responsible for communicating with your vendor's tenant. It's not really anyone's fault since the pandemic simply changes people's plans.

If you have exchanged contracts the vendor may be liable for any costs incurred, but it sounds like you haven't actually exchanged.

Comms69

steampowered said:

Why should the tenant leave the property in the middle of a global pandemic? It isn't the tenant's problem that it causes a delay to their landlord's transaction.

The tenant isn't going to move out if they don't have anywhere else to go. Why should the tenant make themselves homeless. The tenant can't view new properties right now, this would be the case even if they weren't self-isolating. You and the vendor are just going to have to wait.

It isn't your solicitor's fault. Your solicitor is not responsible for communicating with your vendor's tenant. It's not really anyone's fault since the pandemic simply changes people's plans.

If you have exchanged contracts the vendor may be liable for any costs incurred, but it sounds like you haven't actually exchanged.

We say tenant, but it's an ex husband - could be an excluded occupier.

GDB2222

I do feel for the OP, as she’s been caught up in the ongoing dispute between the divorcing couple. The current resident of the house could drag this out for months.