Five months between exchange and completing?

ktwllmskw

We had an offer accepted on a London flat back in July and are not at the stage where we're ready to exchange.
However the seller has not found a property to move into. When the offer was accepted they believed they'd be moving abroad with work and not need to buy a new place. That job has fallen through for them so now we're back to square one. We are pushing to exchange regardless, as they have previously indicated that they would be willing to move into rented. Now they say that's not an option as they have a young family.
The sellers have said that they don't want our offer to fall through and they will work hard to move as fast as possible to secure a new property. Or they have said that we can exchange now, with a completion date in 5 months time - so April 2022. 
So if we want to buy the property we have to keep waiting indefinitely while they search for a new property, more than likely forming part of a chain and knowing they can pull out any moment meaning we've more wasted time. Or exchange now and wait for five months to move in, with all the risk that entails on our part. 
Walking away seems like such a no brainer. But we've been looking at places for over a year and this is the only one we have found that we liked that's in the location we need. If we walk away we won't find another place like this - and even if we found somewhere else we loved tomorrow, we won't be in by April anyway. 
Is it totally insane to exchange now and complete in April? Is there an insurance police that exists that we could take out to protect ourselves in this scenario? Or is there another way we can secure the property at the agreed offer for the period they search for a place, without formally exchanging?
Thank you for any advice you can share

TXC

surely you wouldn't want to subscribe yourself to a breach of contract / loss of deposit scenario? There's literally nothing to stop him from rolling that date indefinitely once you're locked in to an exchange or you lose out massively.

user1977

TXC said:

There's literally nothing to stop him from rolling that date indefinitely 

Can you explain what you mean? There'll be a contractual completion date binding on both parties.

lookstraightahead

They obviously don't want to move, and are just leaving you hanging around.

just move on with your lives and let them wallow in theirs (why do people put their homes up for sale when they don't want to actually move?)

NB there will be others - this flat doesn't hold the monopoly on places to live. 

LittleAcorns33

What risks are you concerned about? 

If there is a completion date set out in the contracts exchanged then surely the purchase completes, just a little later than you hoped. April will come round in no time if this is really the property for you.

Will your mortgage offer still be valid in April?  And are you anticipating any significant change in circumstance in the meantime? E.g how stable is your work situation etc.

Your only other risk as I see it is that you see a property you want more after you've exchanged and then can't pull out without penalty on your side?

I'm thinking that new builds often have long timescales between exchange and completion dates and that works out fine for lots of people every day...

LittleAcorns33

Also, have you asked the vendor's what's going to be different in their circumstances by April 22 that they're so confident they'll be able to complete by then?  Because once you've exchanged they'll face stiff penalties if they fail to complete...

ktwllmskw

LittleAcorns33 said:

What risks are you concerned about? 

If there is a completion date set out in the contracts exchanged then surely the purchase completes, just a little later than you hoped. April will come round in no time if this is really the property for you.

Will your mortgage offer still be valid in April?  And are you anticipating any significant change in circumstance in the meantime? E.g how stable is your work situation etc.

Your only other risk as I see it is that you see a property you want more after you've exchanged and then can't pull out without penalty on your side?

I'm thinking that new builds often have long timescales between exchange and completion dates and that works out fine for lots of people every day...

Thank you for your replies. We are pretty confident that our jobs are stable but you never know - and we also worry that the flat could explode/burn to smithereens etc in the period after exchange and we'd still be committed to buy it! The risks are minimal, sure, but if the worst does happen, the consequences would be huge for us.

I have no idea why they think they'll be able to complete in 5mos when they have nowhere to buy yet. But we kind of see that as their problem? As they will be legallly committed to that date and have to rent somewhere if it comes to that. 

diego_94

Just please please please don't agree to this. Start looking at other places and leave that offer on the table.

What happens come April when they are still there and wont move? What are you going to do? It will cost you more money and time to evict them. 

Sacher50

This is not a promising situation. Now that their plans have changed they don't sound motivated at all.

Also my understanding is that, even if you exchanged, the cost to them of pulling out at this point would be much less than if you did the same. They would only be liable for your costs, whereas you would be liable for their costs + the 10% deposit. It would probably be cheaper for them to pay all your costs to date than it would be for them to do a move they weren't keen on.

My biggest takeaway from my own long, long, experience with trying to buy my first property (26 months and counting) is that it's the uncertainty that's the most painful and difficult part to cope with. Knowing something isn't going to happen allows you to put it out of your mind, whereas dwelling on unlikely and potentially worsening possibilities is maddening.

You haven't said how keen you are on the flat, if it truly is the place for your then that is a reason to gamble and stick it out. But maybe take a look at what's available on the market and see if there's somewhere else you could see yourself living.

In your position I would withdraw your offer but say to the EA, that when the vendors do find somewhere they want they should get in touch with you again. Then you'd have the same choice again but with a more motivated vendor and on your terms.

ktwllmskw

Sacher50 said:

This is not a promising situation. Now that their plans have changed they don't sound motivated at all.

Also my understanding is that, even if you exchanged, the cost to them of pulling out at this point would be much less than if you did the same. They would only be liable for your costs, whereas you would be liable for their costs + the 10% deposit. It would probably be cheaper for them to pay all your costs to date than it would be for them to do a move they weren't keen on.

My biggest takeaway from my own long, long, experience with trying to buy my first property (26 months and counting) is that it's the uncertainty that's the most painful and difficult part to cope with. Knowing something isn't going to happen allows you to put it out of your mind, whereas dwelling on unlikely and potentially worsening possibilities is maddening.

You haven't said how keen you are on the flat, if it truly is the place for your then that is a reason to gamble and stick it out. But maybe take a look at what's available on the market and see if there's somewhere else you could see yourself living.

In your position I would withdraw your offer but say to the EA, that when the vendors do find somewhere they want they should get in touch with you again. Then you'd have the same choice again but with a more motivated vendor and on your terms.

I think we knew this is what we had to do but we didn't want to accept it due to the fact we love the place and have spent so much money already on searches and a survey. The system is so shockingly terrible and unfair. I had no idea! Good luck with your search. 

sammyjammy

Ask yourself how you would feel if house prices dropped 20% in that time?  Walk away, its not mean to be.