Question on estate agent fees etc

Rosesgirl

My house STC and due to Covid the buyer has been more than patient and when I say more than patient I mean more than patient. I went to the solicitor to sign the paperwork in preparation for the exchange to happen but as I need to find rental accommodation she told me she couldn't exchange contracts until I had secured a place she said something about breach of contract if she were to go ahead knowing I had not yet secured a place ? The estate agent phoned me to tell me the buyer will not wait any longer than October so if I can't vacate the property by October he's walking away and then the estate agent said if that's the case I've spoke to my manager and you owe us over £1900 in fees. 

 My questions are as I'm new to all this why is the solicitor saying she won't go ahead and exchange until I have secured a private rental. I understand in one respect that is in my interest but at the same time I'm a tad confused as I have to pay out deposit etc for rental and the buyer could withdraw up to exchange. Also why is the estate agent demanding their fees if the buyer won't wait any longer than October then surely the buyer has withdrawn from the sale that's not me the vendor .

Reginald74

It sounds like the agent, and possibly the solicitor, believe you may be deliberately frustrating the sale. Check the terms of the contracts with each to see if this would leave you liable for their fee.

PollyWollyDoodle

Doesn’t make sense - your solicitor has to protect your interests by making sure you are ready to move, but it would only be breach of contract if you then refused to move out. It’s not a reason to prevent exchange of contracts. I wouldn’t sign a rental contract until you’ve exchanged although it would be sensible to find somewhere first and maybe pay a deposit. 

Why is this being delayed?  If you are moving into rented property it should be going ahead ASAP.  Have you actually started looking for somewhere to live?  

Your buyer was probably hoping for the final tranche of stamp duty relief by completing this month. 

ilikewatch2

Sounds like you need to reassure your conveyancer that you're fully aware of the binding nature of the contract and you will have vacated your property by completion date whether or not you have succeeded in finding rental accommodation. Maybe it would put the conveyancers mind at rest if you explained that you have a contingency plan in place in case you haven't secured rental accommodation by completion day.

Flugelhorn

have you looked at rental properties - how is the search going?

WoozieSioux_tse

We found a rental, explained the situation to the landlords and delayed signing the rental agreement until we had exchanged (literally 2 days).
Once you've exchanged, if the buyer pulls out, you could pursue them for the rental costs. Our solicitor advised this method so that we didn't make ourselves homeless and wouldn't be at risk of paying out at least six months' rent for no reason if it all went wrong. We were in a really competitive rental market and it took us two months to find a rental, but if you are up front (and a pretty safe bet), many people will be helpful if you offer a short timeframe.

ejury

It doesn't matter if you've secured a rental or not! When we sold our flat, estate agent's wouldn't let us view any properties to rent until we had exchanged incase our buyer pulled out last minute. So we ended up putting everything in storage for two weeks and moving in with family until it was sorted. 

eddddy

Rosesgirl said:

My house STC and due to Covid the buyer has been more than patient and when I say more than patient I mean more than patient. I went to the solicitor to sign the paperwork in preparation for the exchange to happen but as I need to find rental accommodation she told me she couldn't exchange contracts until I had secured a place she said something about breach of contract if she were to go ahead knowing I had not yet secured a place ? 
 .

I think you may have misunderstood.

The solicitor is probably just advising you not to exchange contracts until you have rental accommodation arranged. If you say you want to go ahead and exchange contracts anyway, she will almost certainly do so.


The point about breach of contracts is... if you exchange contracts, you 'must' move out on completion day, even if you have no rental accommodation to go to. If you don't move out on completion day, you'll be in breach of contract and you could be sued for tens of thousands of pounds.


So you have a potential risk whichever way you do things..

• You sign a rental agreement first before exchanging contracts, and then... if your house sale falls apart, and you're stuck with your house plus a tenancy that you don't want.

• You exchange contracts first before signing a rental agreement, and then... if the landlord changes their mind about renting to you, you'll have nowhere to live

And ignore the EA's comments for the moment. Just tell the EA that you and your solicitor are working hard to get contracts exchanged. And tell the EA to reassure your buyer about that.