Should we insist on a date for exchange?

EdithSitwell

Any advice - house move has gone completely bonkers. Our vendors are useless. After nine weeks they finally admitted their onward purchase was stalled as no lender willing to take it on, due to issues from survey. Parties down chain from us couldn't keep hanging on so we decided to exchange because we really want to sell, this was our choice and we've no regrets. We've found a place to rent short term from late May when our sale completes but crucially we haven't yet signed a rental contract, and have paid only a few hundred holding fee. So we could pull out (I'm not usually that unprincipled, I promise). This morning we heard vendors of the house we'd given up on have had an offer accepted on some new place theyve found, which is chain free. They need us to buy their place, and we do still want to as we love it, but we'd given up on them as they are disorganised to say the least. We can go to an Airbnb in local area for a few weeks after our sale, if we've got a guaranteed completion date. So only way to protect ourselves is to insist that our vendors exchange. Our solicitor's asked do we want to impose a date by which to exchange. We've said not yet, as I assume it's the last card we have to play. Only other leverage we have is that by chance conversation at an exercise class I found out someone else at the class had already walked away from buying same property as lost patience with the vendors. The vendors' agent (who is also v unpleasant to deal with) doesn't know that we know this. Welcome any constructive advice. 

AdrianC

There's a lot of houses which are chain free, honest, then turn out to have an upward chain...

You don't get a "guaranteed completion date" until exchange of contracts. Until that point, it could all be off again for any reason or none.

If you set a deadline for exchange, and the other side aren't ready, then either you're going to shuffle your feet and look embarrassed... or walk away.

UnderOffer

The vendors sound like time wasters, I’d just continue to look at other properties and find something better. 

AnotherJoe

EdithSitwell said:

. So only way to protect ourselves is to insist that our vendors exchange. Our solicitor's asked do we want to impose a date by which to exchange. We've said not yet, as I assume it's the last card we have to play. Only other leverage we have is that by chance conversation at an exercise class I found out someone else at the class had already walked away from buying same property as lost patience with the vendors. The vendors' agent (who is also v unpleasant to deal with) doesn't know that we know this. Welcome any constructive advice. 

Yes but mean it and walk away if they dont. Which it sounds like, you'll have to if theyve already had one sale fail. Start looking again anyway.

eddddy

EdithSitwell said:

 if we've got a guaranteed completion date. So only way to protect ourselves is to insist that our vendors exchange. Our solicitor's asked do we want to impose a date by which to exchange.

Do you mean you want your vendors to exchange contracts with you (with a guaranteed completion date), before they exchange contracts on their purchase?

I guess you can ask. It would be unusual for them to agree - but having said that, it seems you exchanged contracts on your sale, before you exchanged contracts on your purchase, so maybe they'd agree for the same reasons that you agreed.

But if they don't agree, you'll need to weigh up the options and decide whether to gamble on AirBnB or rental.

Alter_ego

Sounds like a divorce could be involved.

EdithSitwell

eddddy said:

EdithSitwell said:

 if we've got a guaranteed completion date. So only way to protect ourselves is to insist that our vendors exchange. Our solicitor's asked do we want to impose a date by which to exchange.

Do you mean you want your vendors to exchange contracts with you (with a guaranteed completion date), before they exchange contracts on their purchase?

I guess you can ask. It would be unusual for them to agree - but having said that, it seems you exchanged contracts on your sale, before you exchanged contracts on your purchase, so maybe they'd agree for the same reasons that you agreed.

But if they don't agree, you'll need to weigh up the options and decide whether to gamble on AirBnB or rental.

Yes that's what I mean. After radio silence from them for more than a week, we heard yesterday they've had an offer accepted and their agent is saying it's all guaranteed to complete by 30th June. Of course that's just agent speak. The only thing our would-be vendors can do to secure our confidence in them is exchange asap, with completion date at end of June. If by end of June their onward purchase is complete, good, if it isn't, they need to move to temporary accommodation. So our solicitor asked us would we like to name a date by when exchange must take place and not knowing how to answer, that's when I thought I'd consult you good people

EdithSitwell

AdrianC said:

There's a lot of houses which are chain free, honest, then turn out to have an upward chain...

You don't get a "guaranteed completion date" until exchange of contracts. Until that point, it could all be off again for any reason or none.

If you set a deadline for exchange, and the other side aren't ready, then either you're going to shuffle your feet and look embarrassed... or walk away.

Good point. We've no way of knowing if it really is chain free. We'd already walked away, having decided to break the chain ourselves (before it broke us) because we are not phased by moving to a rental while we search. Our buyer's been patient but he was indicating his patience was running out. We really didn't want to return to square one with house back on the market. Anyway out of the blue the vendors' agent said yesterday hey they've found somewhere. Their solicitor communicated same thing to our solicitor, so it's not just the agent talking BS (which he totally would, I have no doubt).

saajan_12

EdithSitwell said:

Any advice - house move has gone completely bonkers. Our vendors are useless. After nine weeks they finally admitted their onward purchase was stalled as no lender willing to take it on, due to issues from survey. -okay, 9 weeks isn't that long, but if its a stalemate then better you know now. 
Parties down chain from us couldn't keep hanging on so we decided to exchange because we really want to sell, this was our choice and we've no regrets. We've found a place to rent short term from late May when our sale completes but crucially we haven't yet signed a rental contract, and have paid only a few hundred holding fee. So we could pull out (I'm not usually that unprincipled, I promise).

This morning we heard vendors of the house we'd given up on have had an offer accepted on some new place theyve found, which is chain free. They need us to buy their place, and we do still want to as we love it, but we'd given up on them as they are disorganised to say the least. - you need to look elsewhere.. might find something else you like quicker, or they might get it together.. whichever happens first, you can go from there. 
We can go to an Airbnb in local area for a few weeks after our sale, if we've got a guaranteed completion date. So only way to protect ourselves is to insist that our vendors exchange. Our solicitor's asked do we want to impose a date by which to exchange. We've said not yet, as I assume it's the last card we have to play. - you can impose whatever dates, and the vendors could agree in principle. Its all meaningless until you actually exchange. Up to you to decide how likely they actually are to speed up their purchase or break the chain, despite what they promise.   
Only other leverage we have is that by chance conversation at an exercise class I found out someone else at the class had already walked away from buying same property as lost patience with the vendors. The vendors' agent (who is also v unpleasant to deal with) doesn't know that we know this. - its another reason to not believe or be strung along by the vendors, but not sure how you can use it as leverage. Your options are just to find elsewhere or wait. 
Welcome any constructive advice. 

Despite what deadlines you set on exchange or what they might promise, you have no guarantees and so still stuck on ongoing rent / AirBnB until you actually exchange & complete. 

So you could ask them to break the chain and exchange by a certain date very soon. If they don't then youre basically waiting for them to do the due dilligence on the new property.. which is on avg the same as it would take for you to start surveys / searches / etc on another property yourself. So I'd start looking elsewhere, if the vendors are ready to exchange before you are on another property, then go with them.