FTB messed up the process - might end up homeless!

sareenz

Hi folks, I'm extremely stressed out given the way things have going for our first home and would appreciate some advice/thoughts! To provide some context, we had our offer  accepted in March and were done with pretty much everything that was asked of us, that includes:

1. Getting searches carried out
2. Survey done
3. Mortage approval done
4. Sending across signed copies of transfer deed, mortgage deed and contract with witness signatures

This was all done by 24th May and our solicitor confirmed nothing else was pending from our end. We then decided to hand over our notice to the landlord of our rented apartment (big mistake!) since we had already requested our solicitor to start the exchange. Fast forward 7th June, our conveyancer still says that she needs to "review the file" before she can provide an exchange date and she is currently handling other completions. She has ignored mails from our agent and mortgage advisors when they ask for a completion date.

As you can see, we are not in a great position now. Our solicitor has been extremely unhelpful during the whole process and provides absolutely no guidance. She has not yet clarified in terms of what remains and I'm confused with the literature on the internet (or maybe I'm too stupid to parse it!). All this has started freaking me out because I need to vacate the property by 23th of this month which just leaves us with around 13 working days.

So my question is do you think exchange plus completion if possible within 13 working days if we continue to requesting our solicitor or this is a lost cause? What other steps might remain which can trip us up now? Your experience/advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

RelievedSheff

Try not to panic. 13 working days is plenty of time to exchange and complete.

You need to chase the solicitors though and make them aware that you will lose your rented property on the 23rd.

Too late now but really you shouldn't have handed in your notice until you had a firm completion date.

AdrianC

TALK TO YOUR LANDLORD!

Tiglet2

Is there an onward purchase for the seller?  If there is, it is very difficult to know how far along the process that transaction is.

You should not have given notice to your landlord until you had exchanged contracts, however perhaps you could explain to your landlord and they may be agreeable to you staying a few extra weeks.

gingercordial

Is everybody else in the chain also ready to exchange and complete?  If you don't know this, it might be completely out of the question for this to happen. 

Also solicitors are all going to be really busy for the rest of the month pushing through transactions before the end of the SDLT holiday, and so if this isn't critical for your chain you are likely to be at the back of the queue.  Even if you can get your conveyancer to hurry up, your seller's conveyancer might be too busy dealing with their urgent caseload.

So I would be trying my hardest to push this along but also making back up plans.  Has your landlord already found a new tenant?  They might be very happy for you to stay a little bit longer if you ask nicely.  Or could you put your belongings into storage for a month, and stay with family or in an Airbnb?

MaryNB

You need to make sure the sellers are also in a position to complete by that time as well. If they have an onward purchase they may not have progressed as well as you have.

I heard nothing for ages on my purchase, next thing I new my sellers wanted to exchange the following week so the last stage was pretty quick after a dragged out few months. 

Worst comes to worst, find a nearby storage facilities for you possessions (make sure to spend time doing a clearout so you don't pay to store things you don't need), pack up a suitcase with essentials and find an airbnb for a bit.

sareenz

Thank you for all your replies; I was unable to edit my original post but wanted to mention that it's a chain free house and a vacant property. This was one of the main reasons why we handed over our notice since there was nothing remaining from our end. I'll also try to speak to the landlord since I don't think they have found someone yet.
Also wanted to know how many steps still remain the process which is not apparent to a home buyer but solicitors have to carry out when initiating exchange and completion?

gingercordial

Chain free and vacant is good - but do you know if it is a probate sale or a divorcing couple?  As those are situations where things can be going well then one of the parties decides not to play ball (one sibling thinks they could have got a better offer and more inheritance, the couple can't agree the split of proceeds etc).  If it isn't one of those, you have a better chance.

Edit: or a repossession?  In those cases the bank will be looking for the highest price so would accept a higher offer over yours even at the very last minute.

sareenz

Wow so many possibilities we were not even aware of! Our situation is a bit different wherein an elderly couple was living in the house but the husband passed away so the lady is now moving out.

moneysavinghero

sareenz said:

Wow so many possibilities we were not even aware of! Our situation is a bit different wherein an elderly couple was living in the house but the husband passed away so the lady is now moving out.

Moving out or has already moved out?

sareenz

moneysavinghero said:

sareenz said:

Wow so many possibilities we were not even aware of! Our situation is a bit different wherein an elderly couple was living in the house but the husband passed away so the lady is now moving out.

Moving out or has already moved out?

My bad for using the wrong tense, already moved out. The EA is very anxious to get the deal done ASAP and mentions that the sellers solicitors are ready and waiting on instructions from our solicitors.