Seller delaying completion

Luna1719

Hi all ,

we are in a chain since October ( two houses behind us ) and all ready to proceed on that end . Our original sellers pulled out of their ownward purchases twice so we decided to go with another property ( offer on the 6 January , accepted on the 7 ) .

the agents ( purple Bricks ) were aware we made an offer because there was no onward chain and the owner didn’t live in the house ( however her son was staying there temporarily ) and that we could sim to complete quickly .

Now that everything is progressing relatively quickly - one of enquiry left to reply to and local land authority search expected early next week - I wrote to the seller asking if she d be happy with a completion at the end of February ( as the rest of the chain is putting a lot of pressure on us)

she didn’t reply to me directly but contacted her solicitor who told my solicitor that they can’t complete before end of March as they need to find an alternative accommodation for her son .

im not too sure what to do , as I’m scared our chain will fall if our buyers find out . Should I try to find temporary accommodation for a month and break the chain ? I’m really stressed and disappointed as I didn’t see this coming at all 

Slinky

My friend has gone into an AirBNB whilst waiting for her onward purchase.

WoozieSioux_tse

But it doesn't take 9+ weeks to find accommodation! Why can't he move in with his parents? Have they actually declared him as a tenant in the house you wish to buy? Have they not got him to sign an agreement to vacate form if so?

Thrugelmir

Completion dates are always subject to compromise. Everyone has their own agenda. 

Luna1719

WoozieSioux_tse said:

But it doesn't take 9+ weeks to find accommodation! Why can't he move in with his parents? Have they actually declared him as a tenant in the house you wish to buy? Have they not got him to sign an agreement to vacate form if so?

No they have not declared him as a tenant - they said he was an occupier and my solicitor requested he would also be signing the contract as he currently lives there. 

Luna1719

Thrugelmir said:

Completion dates are always subject to compromise. Everyone has their own agenda. 

I'd be happy to compromise and wait an extra week or two ( stay in an airbnb in the meantime) but an entire month is a bit difficult and would be very expensive. Should I go back and try to negotiate ?

WoozieSioux_tse

Have you even mentioned pulling out? Or do you think they'd know you aren't really serious? Did they market the house as no chain because if they did, it's their amoral behaviour that could wreck the chain. I would definitely try to negotiate. Usually I'd say ask the seller's estate agent to get involved too. But if it's Purple Bricks, apparently a number of the reps are quite useless. Fingers crossed the seller's is a good one.... Regarding breaking the chain by renting- yes, good idea. But make sure it's all in writing through your solicitors. Guess what you really want is reassurance that they'll actually go through with this (move him out) before you finally get the keys....

Angela_D_3

My plan is an Airbnb with 2 kids, 2 cats and a puppy.  If i can find one that’ll take us you’ll be fine  

macman

Your conveyancer needs to establish for sure that he is just an excluded occupier. If a tenancy was created (which simply means he has to have paid some rent, or by other payment in kind-there doesn't have to be anything in writing) then it will take a year or more to get possession, if he doesn't leave voluntarily.

Luna1719

WoozieSioux_tse said:

Have you even mentioned pulling out? Or do you think they'd know you aren't really serious? Did they market the house as no chain because if they did, it's their amoral behaviour that could wreck the chain. I would definitely try to negotiate. Usually I'd say ask the seller's estate agent to get involved too. But if it's Purple Bricks, apparently a number of the reps are quite useless. Fingers crossed the seller's is a good one.... Regarding breaking the chain by renting- yes, good idea. But make sure it's all in writing through your solicitors. Guess what you really want is reassurance that they'll actually go through with this (move him out) before you finally get the keys....

I haven't mentioned pulling out - but I did mention to the Purple Bricks post sales team that this could make the chain fall apart. I also said I'm happy to be flexible and meet in the middle but that end of March is too late. And yes, it was advertised as No onward chain and the agent made it sound like they were happy for the sale to proceed asap

Luna1719

Angela_D_3 said:

My plan is an Airbnb with 2 kids, 2 cats and a puppy.  If i can find one that’ll take us you’ll be fine  

I have a dog and 2 guinea pigs , hopefully we'll find an Airbnb that will take us.