Long stop date

jls85

Hi all, I have a meeting with Taylor Wimpey today in which me and my partner hope to reserve a new home. We have been informed that we should add a long-stop date to the contract to ensure we won't lose out if we have to pull out for some reason before the house is ready, but I'm a bit unclear at what stage this should be included? I originally assumed our solicitor could add this to the contracts before we exchange, but I'm aware we will also be asked to sign paperwork for the reservation now if we decide to progress, so I'm now wondering if it should go in there instead? Sorry if this is a daft question but this is all quite new to us both and we don't want to make any costly mistakes.

eddddy

jls85 said:

 We have been informed that we should add a long-stop date to the contract to ensure we won't lose out if we have to pull out for some reason before the house is ready, but I'm a bit unclear at what stage this should be included? 

Just to clarify - you can only pull out of the purchase after the longstop date (if the house isn't ready), and not before it.

It might be best to discuss longstop dates in principle at the reservation stage, and maybe get a note in the reservation agreement that you plan to have one.

If TW are going to refuse to agree to a longstop date, or insist on a longstop date that's unacceptable to you -  maybe it's best to find out now, before you spend money on solicitor's fees, mortgage applications etc.

You probably need to have your mortgage offer in place before finally agreeing on the exact longstop date.

AdrianC

jls85 said:

Hi all, I have a meeting with Taylor Wimpey today in which me and my partner hope to reserve a new home. We have been informed that we should add a long-stop date to the contract to ensure we won't lose out if we have to pull out for some reason before the house is ready

That's not what a long-stop is. A long-stop is to enable you to walk away if the building of the house is badly delayed.

but I'm a bit unclear at what stage this should be included?

It's a standard part of a new-build contract.

I originally assumed our solicitor could add this to the contracts before we exchange, but I'm aware we will also be asked to sign paperwork for the reservation now if we decide to progress, so I'm now wondering if it should go in there instead?

You cannot unilaterally add things to contracts, any more than the other side - the seller - can. Both sides have to agree the wording of the contracts. The difference is that the seller supplies the draft contract, the buyer agrees to it (or asks for amendments).

There are three steps to purchasing a new-build.
1. Reserving the plot. Small payment. Small commitment. The plot is held for you for a certain time. It may be no more than a drawing and some mud at this stage.
2. Exchange of contracts. Large payment (~10%). You are now legally obliged to buy the property, likely still being built, except if it's not ready by the long-stop.
3. Completion. The rest of the payment. You now own the house, fully ready to live in, and can move in...

Is your solicitor "recommended" by the developer or their EA?

jls85

Thanks both. My solicitor is not affiliated with the developer at all so that's fine. And for what it's worth I wasn't assuming I could just add things to the contract willy-nilly or that I could just walk away from the sale for no reason with the long-stop date. My concern was that we might lose our deposit if the mortgage offer expired due to delays with the house build. I've obviously worded the post badly though. 

AdrianC

jls85 said:

My concern was that we might lose our deposit if the mortgage offer expired due to delays with the house build.

Yes, you might. You need your mortgage offer to cover you to at least the long-stop.

If you've exchanged, your offer expires pre-long-stop, and you cannot find another source of the funds, then - yes - you lose your deposit, because you cannot complete.