Seller wants to complete before my homebuyer survey is done

DavidBrentsLifeCoach

theoretica said:

Did the agent perhaps provide a list of potential surveyors who can usually respond to a short deadline?

He has a list, but none could accommodate at short notice unfortunately. 

DavidBrentsLifeCoach

Thanks all for the comments, it's kind of reassuring to see that most people are saying the same thing. 

DavidBrentsLifeCoach

AdrianC said:

DavidBrentsLifeCoach said:

Hi, I am purchasing a 1 bed ground floor maisonette. The seller, understandably, wants to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

For his onward purchase, presumably?
How many links in the chain?
>> Yes, they are buying a house. 3 in the chain apparently, incl me. 

Exchange date is set for next week already

Exchange is set by mutual agreement amongst everybody.
You don't want to exchange yet, you aren't exchanging yet.
>> Yes, I was not so happy to be informed by the agent, rather than a decision made after discussion  

but I haven't been able to find a surveyor that can do a homebuyer survey before then. (Broker was late getting the mortgage offer and the searches weren't straightforward either)

When was your offer accepted?
Why couldn't you get the survey done in parallel with the searches and mortgage?
>>> Took the broker ages to secure the mortgage (issues not of my making) and I was advised not to get a survey until I had the offer. 

Bottom line is that I will have to exchange and complete without a homebuyer's survey, which I feel worried about.

So don't.

I feel it's unwise to proceed without having a survey done, but if I put my foot down and say I want to wait for a survey, the seller may need to pay an extra £10k in stamp duty, but then they couldn't afford to move

Will the entire chain fall through because somebody buying a £450k property needs to find another £10k?
Is it an empty threat?
>> I suspect it might be ........
          

            

pinkteapot

DavidBrentsLifeCoach said:

Bottom line is that I will have to exchange and complete without a homebuyer's survey, which I feel worried about. OTOH the property (about 100 years old) was last sold in 2016 so I am assuming its condition hasn't deteriorated drastically since then. The seller has also done some refurb (floor insulation, new kitchen etc). 

I would absolutely not buy a 100 year old property without a survey - doubly so if the vendor's refurbed it! 

And the bit in bold... It could have got a terrible survey in 2016 - the fact it sold tells you nothing about whether it was in decent condition at the time. 

letsbetfair

The refurb work could also have been bodged (or could be making problems harder to see). I'd not buy a house that age without a survey. Have you rung round all the surveyors that serve the area, to see if one is available on short notice?

DavidBrentsLifeCoach

letsbetfair said:

The refurb work could also have been bodged (or could be making problems harder to see). I'd not buy a house that age without a survey. Have you rung round all the surveyors that serve the area, to see if one is available on short notice?

Yes, managed to get a survey at very short notice! (not easy when you have a day job too, but this is the reality ) 

DavidBrentsLifeCoach

LAD917 said:

The vendor is under no obligation to this buyer either.  The OP has presumably known they're purchasing the property for a long time -- why have they waited so long to book a survey?  It sounds like the OP has been late with mortgage, late with searches, then set an exchange date, and is now looking to push it back because they can't find a surveyor?  No wonder the vendor is annoyed.  It's the 7th of June.  There are still more than three weeks to the stamp duty deadline.  Figure out a way to get it done if you want the property.  Otherwise, if the vendor truly can't afford to move, expect the vendor to pull out or raise the price by the amount of extra stamp duty they'll have to pay.

I did not set an exchange date - I was informed of it by the broker. Was advised - rightly or wrongly - not to instruct a survey until the mortgage offer was received. 

user1977

DavidBrentsLifeCoach said:

LAD917 said:

The vendor is under no obligation to this buyer either.  The OP has presumably known they're purchasing the property for a long time -- why have they waited so long to book a survey?  It sounds like the OP has been late with mortgage, late with searches, then set an exchange date, and is now looking to push it back because they can't find a surveyor?  No wonder the vendor is annoyed.  It's the 7th of June.  There are still more than three weeks to the stamp duty deadline.  Figure out a way to get it done if you want the property.  Otherwise, if the vendor truly can't afford to move, expect the vendor to pull out or raise the price by the amount of extra stamp duty they'll have to pay.

I did not set an exchange date - I was informed of it by the broker. Was advised - rightly or wrongly - not to instruct a survey until the mortgage offer was received. 

Unfortunately it does seem to be common advice these days, and I suppose is "moneysaving" in the sense that it means you're not "wasting" money on the next step in the process before you're satisfied that the current step is done - but it does drag out the process for months longer than it ought to, which in itself increases the risk of something else upsetting the whole thing and you having to start from scratch.

AdrianC

DavidBrentsLifeCoach said:

I did not set an exchange date - I was informed of it by the broker.

You set it. You are the actual buyer here - everybody else is working for you.
You cannot exchange until everything is ready, but once it's all ready, the exchange and completion dates are in your court.

Obvs, if there's a chain, they need to be mutually agreed with the other buyers and sellers...

Was advised - rightly or wrongly - not to instruct a survey until the mortgage offer was received.

Whether you do searches, mortgage app, survey etc serially or in parallel depends on your concerns and priorities. They do not depend on the outcome of each other in any way, so no need to wait for X before Y.
If time is critical, do them in parallel.
If you're most worried about one of them, do that first to minimise potentially wasted outlay.

m0bov

Wait until you have an Offer, then do your survey, then searches. Your sol will ask if your ready to exchange.

Exchanging is nothing really to do with the broker, they are just supplying you with the best mortgage product.