Deadline with decreasing offer

parkingadvice1212

Irishpearce26 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

So what is your timeline? When did you make the offer/paperwork/enquiries/chain etc?

Offered 9/1 - estate agent that showed me round said that the seller was all ready to go as soon as possible and the chain wasn't an issue as he'd already done all his searches, his seller was going to rent, and that was a factor in offering
We were ready to exchange from beginning of Feb and seller's solicitors sent our solicitor a note saying they were also ready to exchange for completion on 2nd march
Obviously this turned out to be impossible so !!!!!! knows why they offered it

We are due to complete on the 3rd but haven't exchanged yet, there is still time for all that to happen as long as your solicitor has notified your lender etc. There can be many things as to why it all hasn't happened yet. I would say it would be pretty cheeky at this stage to try and add £1k weekly penalties when your completion date hasn't passed yet and you haven't exchanged yet, I would assume the seller would just say no. 

Definitely not happening then, as from a conversation to the EA today the top of the chain has no intention of exchanging until the 8th

Are they the top of the chain?

chain is us - our sellers - their sellers - probate house that they keep promising they are going to rent

Irishpearce26

parkingadvice1212 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Irishpearce26 said:

So what is your timeline? When did you make the offer/paperwork/enquiries/chain etc?

Offered 9/1 - estate agent that showed me round said that the seller was all ready to go as soon as possible and the chain wasn't an issue as he'd already done all his searches, his seller was going to rent, and that was a factor in offering
We were ready to exchange from beginning of Feb and seller's solicitors sent our solicitor a note saying they were also ready to exchange for completion on 2nd march
Obviously this turned out to be impossible so !!!!!! knows why they offered it

We are due to complete on the 3rd but haven't exchanged yet, there is still time for all that to happen as long as your solicitor has notified your lender etc. There can be many things as to why it all hasn't happened yet. I would say it would be pretty cheeky at this stage to try and add £1k weekly penalties when your completion date hasn't passed yet and you haven't exchanged yet, I would assume the seller would just say no. 

Definitely not happening then, as from a conversation to the EA today the top of the chain has no intention of exchanging until the 8th

Are they the top of the chain?

chain is us - our sellers - their sellers - probate house that they keep promising they are going to rent

Sounds like its out of your sellers hands if their sellers are stalling until after the budget announcement. Unfortunately things change when purchasing a property but having stated in early January you are doing pretty well timewise.

Tiglet2

parkingadvice1212 said:

Indigo_and_Violet said:

For us putting a monetary value on extending the time between exchange and completion worked to our favour but this was in the context of us having previously been very patient (offered in August, exchanged in Jan), being willing to be flexible in other areas, having documented that the hold up was on the sellers side (we had requested a doc in October that was not supplied until late Jan) and having demonstrable additional costs (rent) plus the looming expiration of our mortgage offer and end of stamp duty holiday gave credence to us being willing to pull-out/renegotiate if necessary. 
Our solicitor cautioned us that is was a risky move in terms of potentially annoying your seller, running the risk of the sale falling through and losing even more time/money having to go through it all again, so it's something I would consider carefully. You're not currently losing out by waiting (except getting frustrated). Is that frustration enough to drive you away from the sale? If so, probably worth starting to look for alternative properties so that you have a credible threat of 'I have found another property I am considering putting an offer on' if this sale does not progress. You could also consider the 'squeaky wheel' route of pushing your solicitor to keep contacting their solicitor for progress updates and being in regular contact with the agent (who works for the seller, but wants their commission) for updates on exchange etc.
I don't think its unreasonable to ask for a reason why they want to wait for the budget. Is it to do with their ongoing chain or did they price for a quick sale and now think they can get more? 

The Budget thing is because the seller's sellers are buying a house with a dead owner. This has been in progress since September with still no grant of probate. They agreed with our seller that they would enter a rent-to-buy agreement (as apparently, the Executor is able to do this until they have the grant of probate required to actually sell) so as not to hold up their sale/our purchase and not cause everyone to have to pay SDLT.
I have now been informed on three separate occasions over the space of several weeks that "the rent-to-buy agreement was all finalised today and we will exchange next week" which has all turned out to be a load of !!!!!!. Our solicitor correctly predicted from the start that they were making this up to stall in the hope that probate will be granted.
We now believe they are waiting to see if the SDLT holiday is extended so they can delay even further in waiting for the grant of probate. From what I've read, this can take years.

There's your problem.  This transaction is going nowhere until that Grant of Probate is finalised.  The rent-to-buy agreement was a red herring.

Indigo_and_Violet

In your position I'd start looking at other options. 
You particularly want a quick move. Your sellers are clearly committed to their purchase which involves a complicated step with an unknown timeline that is out their control. You've only been with your sellers max 7 weeks, they can probably find another buyer and get another sale sorted in the time it takes to sort out the probate. They don't have much leverage over the probate issue (especially if the SD holiday is extended) and you don't have much leverage over them (any financial penalties you suggest would be balanced against financial and personal costs of pulling out of their sale). There is no point of pulling out of this sale until you've established you can find a better, quicker, option, but it's probably hit the stage where you could legitimately start looking to see if that option exists. No need to make a final decision on this sale until you've seen what else is out there. 

parkingadvice1212

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

Tiglet2

parkingadvice1212 said:

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

You know that EAs have no control over timelines and are not party to the legal work, right?!

parkingadvice1212

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

You know that EAs have no control over timelines and are not party to the legal work, right?!

Yes but the EA is the only person who has contact with all the parties involved and their solicitors

Tiglet2

parkingadvice1212 said:

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

You know that EAs have no control over timelines and are not party to the legal work, right?!

Yes but the EA is the only person who has contact with all the parties involved and their solicitors

That is correct, but the EA can only go on what they are told.  They do not see any of the legal work and have no idea what is being done when and how.  They often don't understand the process and embellish what they think they know, but to be clear, they will tell you what they think you want to hear.  

parkingadvice1212

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

You know that EAs have no control over timelines and are not party to the legal work, right?!

Yes but the EA is the only person who has contact with all the parties involved and their solicitors

That is correct, but the EA can only go on what they are told.  They do not see any of the legal work and have no idea what is being done when and how.  They often don't understand the process and embellish what they think they know, but to be clear, they will tell you what they think you want to hear.  

Let me think positively!! 

Tiglet2

parkingadvice1212 said:

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

Tiglet2 said:

parkingadvice1212 said:

EA now promising exchange on the 2nd for completion on the 15th.. let's see..

You know that EAs have no control over timelines and are not party to the legal work, right?!

Yes but the EA is the only person who has contact with all the parties involved and their solicitors

That is correct, but the EA can only go on what they are told.  They do not see any of the legal work and have no idea what is being done when and how.  They often don't understand the process and embellish what they think they know, but to be clear, they will tell you what they think you want to hear.  

Let me think positively!! 

Haha!  In a month's time, you'll be sitting in your new home and all this will be a long distant memory, how's that for positivity?!