Setting conditions to an offer

AnotherJoe

WR83 said:

All very valid points - although not sure I agree on the chances of being in by late January are very slim, EA, conveyancer and bank all agree that's a reasonable timeline (albeit if everything is straightforward) at the moment. Only time will tell though, and definitely prudent to prepare for not being in!

And very valid about the committing / due diligence. Offer would still be subject to survey etc.

I think it will probably have to be an indication of aspirational timeline and hope for the best - and be prepared to pull out and find something else if not moving as quickly as we hope.

So, if for sake of argument, it looks like you cant complete in January but maybe February is OK, which will be the shortest path at that time, waiting until February or starting a whole new buying process with a different house?

FWIW i have two house purchases going on at the moment, me and daughter (separately)

I've been told "no chance before xmas (I dont care about the date) and mine is a sale/purchase. Daughter (purchase only, cash) contacted one solicitor and was told "maybe before xmas would be possible in normal times but due to volume we arent taking on any more clients at the moment", and second solicitor (the same one as I'm using) says it might just be possible - and this is a cash purchase with no ongoing chain, vendor is moving in with parents.

moneysavinghero

WR83 said:

All very valid points - although not sure I agree on the chances of being in by late January are very slim, EA, conveyancer and bank all agree that's a reasonable timeline (albeit if everything is straightforward) at the moment. Only time will tell though, and definitely prudent to prepare for not being in!

And very valid about the committing / due diligence. Offer would still be subject to survey etc.

I think it will probably have to be an indication of aspirational timeline and hope for the best - and be prepared to pull out and find something else if not moving as quickly as we hope.

EA, Bank, Conveyancer are telling you want you want to hear. You have Christmas shut down, possible Covid lock downs / restrictions, and all the unexpected things that usually crop (and usually at the last minute) with the conveyancing process.

Pulling out will just put you back to square one and make it next to impossible to meet the stamp duty deadline. Just be patient and have contingency in place for how you deal with whatever the problem is you will meet if you're not in by late Jan.

WR83

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I realise January is optimistic, but can only try.  I have just found out the offer has been accepted, and if push comes to shove the vendor has confirmed they have options to move out and break a chain if it comes to it - although realise empty promises mean nothing.

Will definitely have a contingency plan if it all drags longer than hoped. Thanks again!

Mutton_Geoff

greatcrested said:

jump up and down and do the hokey-pokey .. (and you can only do the hokey-pokey if it's written into the contract)

I've heard of the hokey cokey but not the hokey pokey, is that a version for consenting adults 

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohx_r9B5SY0[/video]

davidmcn

Mutton_Geoff said:

greatcrested said:

jump up and down and do the hokey-pokey .. (and you can only do the hokey-pokey if it's written into the contract)

I've heard of the hokey cokey but not the hokey pokey, is that a version for consenting adults

I believe the colonials prefer pokey to cokey.

NameUnavailable

WR83 said:

Good Afternoon,

We are in the final stages of negotiations of an offer on a house we wish to purchase. The vendor is currently fixed on achieving 98.5% of the asking price - this is after a recent 4% reduction, so effectively 95% of what they had it on the market for originally.  I think they are still asking for a bit too much, but in my current position, I would probably stretch to it if we could agree on some terms.

We have agreed to sell to our buyers with a completion prior to Christmas, but obviously time is too short for that to now happen with our purchase. We are flexible enough that we can put our belonging in storage over the festive period and stay with family, but would ideally like to be in our new home mid / late January at the latest (there are logical reasons for this - but won't bore you with them).  How do I go about making an offer but with this caveat to the seller - my fear is that they could just agree to it now and then hold up proceedings along the way and refuse to move out. I suppose the only thing in my favour is that come December I will have no house to sell and if it doesnt look to be progressing by then I can threaten to cancel the sale and still potentially find somewhere before the stamp duty cut.

Without rambling further - am I correct in thinking there is no way to enforce this as part of an offer, it would just be that it would be down as my aspirational timeline? Or could I impose costs for delay such as rental / removal storage past a certain date?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Yes you can put an offer forward that is conditional on exchange and completion by the end of January. If the vendor accepts your offer and for whatever reason isn't in a position to exchange/complete in January you will presumably then walk away, but you will lose any costs (survey, searches etc) and your vendor isn't liable to you for anything - that's just how it works. 

So, no real point in making a conditional offer - just ask them if they think it's likely that they will be able to complete by end of January (if they are yet to find a property it's very unlikely, and who knows how long it will take).

WR83

I just had a quick thought - if I can persuade the vendor to exchange on my purchase at the same time I exchange on my sale that will at least reduce an element of risk won't it? Even if completion is then staggered? Although obviously shifts the risk onto the vendor so they may not agree anyway!

Is that something to consider?

Falafels

WR83 said:

I just had a quick thought - if I can persuade the vendor to exchange on my purchase at the same time I exchange on my sale that will at least reduce an element of risk won't it? Even if completion is then staggered? Although obviously shifts the risk onto the vendor so they may not agree anyway!

Is that something to consider?

Typically, that's what happens anyway. You really need to be talking to your solicitor! More here: https://www.enact.co.uk/2018/11/explaining-exchange-completion/#:~:text=At%20any%20point%20up%20to,the%20transaction%20at%20any%20time.&text=If%20you%20are%20in%20a,is%20ready%20to%20go%20ahead.

eddddy

WR83 said:

I just had a quick thought - if I can persuade the vendor to exchange on my purchase at the same time I exchange on my sale that will at least reduce an element of risk won't it? Even if completion is then staggered? Although obviously shifts the risk onto the vendor so they may not agree anyway!

Is that something to consider?

So you mean exchange contracts on your sale and purchase on the same day - but you complete on your sale, before you complete on your purchase - and stay with family in between?

I'm not sure that solves any problems.

It sounds like the potential delays are with the conveyancing process - searches, surveys, mortgages, legal stuff etc. That stuff all has to be done before exchange of contracts. So delaying completion on your purchase won't help.

And even if it does help you in some way, everyone else in the upward chain would need to agree to your extended exchange/completion gap.