Exchange delay due to our 'cash buyer'?!!

Jules1420

Hello,
At the very beginning of September we accepted an offer on our property from what we were led to believe was a cash buyer.  The next day we put an offer in on a property which was accepted! The estate agent advised us that we would have to effectively prove that we had funding in place before going 'under offer' & sending out a memorandum of sale. Within two days we had a mortgage in principle organised, a copy of our savings & proof of equity in our current property.  This was then forwarded on as requested. There is a total of four us in the chain
On the 16th November we were led to believe we were going to exchange & complete on the 30th. This communication was generally coming from the chain above us but we made sure we copied our estate agent/solicitor in so we were working towards the same goal. Sadly on the day of exchange (11wks after offer was accepted) we found out for the first time that our buyer was in fact going through a divorce & her funding was yHelloet to be finalised! 
17th Nov our estate agent emailed us to say that:- your buyer is ready bar the funds to exchange which should come in imminently. I have left her a message this morning and emailed her and her solicitor to find out if there is any news this morning, I will let you know as soon as I hear back.  
23rd Nov our buyer:-  little update, my divorce papers will be In front of the judge today for his approval. I'm hoping that this process should only take a few days at worst!! Then the transfer and this is when I get the money to exchange! Fingers crossed that it all takes place this week!!

30th Nov our buyer:- Just a slight update, my transfer of deeds have been witnessed and are ready but still waiting on the judge's decision on my consent agreement.

I have fingers, toes and everything crossed that for completion this Friday!! 

4th Dec our estate agent:- I am so sorry that we are no further forwards. I can assure you if we knew timelines and anymore information you would be the first to know. I asked her if we could exchange last week and unfortunately it is not possible as the money for the exchange deposit is coming from the transfer. I completely understand and I am just so sorry for the anxiety and stress this is causing the chain, it is just out of my hands.

Unfortunately it appears our buyer was never in a proceedable situation as her funding was still tied up in her divorce. I imagine our buyer thought this process might of been sorted by this time but this has caused quite a concern in our chain. As far as we knew she was a cash buyer & our agent failed to make us aware of any issues until the day of exchange when prompted!! We've gone from it will be signed tomorrow, to imminently & now unable to give any timescale whatsoever. It's now been 3wks since exchange was due & no further forward & very aware move before Xmas is now not happening. Our main concern is how long do we wait? To remarket our home would be the worse scenario as risk for chain above us as well as time frame on stamp duty holiday. I'm aware the buying process is busier than ever & delays are expected but this delay is not related to any conveyancing issues. Any idea on how long the consent by the judge could possibly take in regards to a divorce? Would appreciate some words of wisdom..

Many Thanks

 

AdrianC

"Cash buyer" just means there's no mortgage. No more, no less. There's no indication that she does need a mortgage, is there?

It may actually be quicker and easier if she did - just because somebody has the funds doesn't mean they're available immediately. They may be in investments that take some time to be liquidated, or - as here - dependent on an external source to release.

Jules1420

AdrianC said:

"Cash buyer" just means there's no mortgage. No more, no less. There's no indication that she does need a mortgage, is there?

It may actually be quicker and easier if she did - just because somebody has the funds doesn't mean they're available immediately. They may be in investments that take some time to be liquidated, or - as here - dependent on an external source to release.

No as far as I know she doesn't need a mortgage, she can by outright. We did suggest if she could make funds available for exchange then would give piece of mind to ourselves & the chain. All monies tied up in transfer of divorce funds so even if she got a mortgage she won't have deposit available. I will run it by our agent though, thank you for your advice.

AskAsk

sounds like the divorce split of assets are taking longer and the buyer is not ready to proceed.  we had a sale where the buyer was getting a small mortgage and relying on inheritance money.  after about 2 months, when everything was ready for exchange, they pulled out as they said the inheritance money was a lot less than they had anticipated.

difficult to say how long this divorce split will take as it very much depends on her circumstance and where in the divorce proceedings she has got to.  it may also turn out that her share of assets may fall short of what she was expecting and she would then have to pull out any way.

maybe give her until the end of this year, then re-advertise the property in the new year.

GDB2222

Your estate agent has let you down very badly. He should have checked the funds were already in place. 

You would have done well to steer clear of a buyer embroiled in divorce, as these hardly ever go smoothly. I suggest that you remarket the property ASAP.  You are on a hiding to nothing with this buyer. I don’t blame her, but your estate agent is an absolute catastrophe.

Jules1420

AskAsk said:

sounds like the divorce split of assets are taking longer and the buyer is not ready to proceed.  we had a sale where the buyer was getting a small mortgage and relying on inheritance money.  after about 2 months, when everything was ready for exchange, they pulled out as they said the inheritance money was a lot less than they had anticipated.

difficult to say how long this divorce split will take as it very much depends on her circumstance and where in the divorce proceedings she has got to.  it may also turn out that her share of assets may fall short of what she was expecting and she would then have to pull out any way.

maybe give her until the end of this year, then re-advertise the property in the new year.

I really do believe their at the final stage of the divorce & literally waiting for the judge to return the stamped document to then be able to release the funds. It's just unnerving when the timescale goes from imminent to no idea! Will try playing the waiting game & not over think it.

AskAsk

Jules1420 said:

AskAsk said:

sounds like the divorce split of assets are taking longer and the buyer is not ready to proceed.  we had a sale where the buyer was getting a small mortgage and relying on inheritance money.  after about 2 months, when everything was ready for exchange, they pulled out as they said the inheritance money was a lot less than they had anticipated.

difficult to say how long this divorce split will take as it very much depends on her circumstance and where in the divorce proceedings she has got to.  it may also turn out that her share of assets may fall short of what she was expecting and she would then have to pull out any way.

maybe give her until the end of this year, then re-advertise the property in the new year.

I really do believe their at the final stage of the divorce & literally waiting for the judge to return the stamped document to then be able to release the funds. It's just unnerving when the timescale goes from imminent to no idea! Will try playing the waiting game & not over think it.

if she has gone to the exchange stage, then she must be near to completing the divorce settlement as she wouldn't spend money on the process if she wasn't confident the money is forthcoming soon.  however with covid 19 everything is slow and divorce proceedings were always slow even in normal times.

i think it is a waiting game or game over, but i would be concerned that she doesn't have an indication of when progress will be made as divorce proceedings tend to have a date for hearing.  maybe ask for a clarification as what she is waiting for in the divorce process, to what exact stage she has got to.

coachman12

AskAsk said:

Jules1420 said:

AskAsk said:

sounds like the divorce split of assets are taking longer and the buyer is not ready to proceed.  we had a sale where the buyer was getting a small mortgage and relying on inheritance money.  after about 2 months, when everything was ready for exchange, they pulled out as they said the inheritance money was a lot less than they had anticipated.

difficult to say how long this divorce split will take as it very much depends on her circumstance and where in the divorce proceedings she has got to.  it may also turn out that her share of assets may fall short of what she was expecting and she would then have to pull out any way.

maybe give her until the end of this year, then re-advertise the property in the new year.

I really do believe their at the final stage of the divorce & literally waiting for the judge to return the stamped document to then be able to release the funds. It's just unnerving when the timescale goes from imminent to no idea! Will try playing the waiting game & not over think it.

if she has gone to the exchange stage, then she must be near to completing the divorce settlement as she wouldn't spend money on the process if she wasn't confident the money is forthcoming soon.  however with covid 19 everything is slow and divorce proceedings were always slow even in normal times.

i think it is a waiting game or game over, but i would be concerned that she doesn't have an indication of when progress will be made as divorce proceedings tend to have a date for hearing.  maybe ask for a clarification as what she is waiting for in the divorce process, to what exact stage she has got to.

First you say she "must be completing the divorce settlement" and later on you say that you should find out what exact stage she has got to"-------both are the opposite of each other.
You don't know what stage things are at but , Jules, YOU should make a point of finding out as quickly as possible instead of listening to this contrary advice. Ask your solicitor to find out.
BTW, do you think it is a waiting game or game over, Jules ?  Make all the enquiries via the proper channels and not on a forum which gives contrary advice and no-one knows the real position of your buyer. That is what you pay your solicitor for. May I wish you every success and hope that all goes well.