Delayed completion but vendor seeking exchange without long-stop date

london21

Don't exchange with the terms.
Too risky to lose 10% deposit.
Your solicitor is looking for your best interests.
The vendor is looking for only their interest. 

Slithery

Listen to your solicitor.

kazwookie

Tell them to foxtrot oscar!

You then exit stage left, and look for something else.

nyermen

I seem to recall a thread a few months ago from someone who had signed such a contract. It was something like a year or two on, and the other party was comfortably settled and showing no sign of completing.  They could literally take forever, and mean time, the solicitors sit on your 10%...

peterhjohnson

MeAndMrG said:

My solicitor is clear that I shouldn't exchange on this basis - a position which has infuriated the vendor to the extent that they suggested I should move to a Conveyancing firm of their choosing! They have now given me an ultimatum, either to agree to exchange on the current conditions or have the property put back on the market.

The expression "Nice try!" comes to mind
They probably will remarket it and, such is the demand for property right now in many places, they may well get someone more gullible

ACG

I can only echo the above, your solicitor works for you. Take their advice. 
If the vendor is not prepared to put a long stop date in then dont exchange. They cant have it all, they either wait to exchange until they can give a completion date or you wait as is.

Just keep an eye out for another property as they may put it back on the market. 

robatwork

2 pages of replies all in 100% agreement. So just to give a contrary view....nah...obviously this is ridiculous and you should listen to your solicitor and also give THEM an ultimatum - exchange on YOUR terms by xx/xx/xx or you pull out

rexmedorum

robatwork said:

2 pages of replies all in 100% agreement. So just to give a contrary view....nah...obviously this is ridiculous and you should listen to your solicitor and also give THEM an ultimatum - exchange on YOUR terms by xx/xx/xx or you pull out

  how often does that happen!

MeAndMrG

Okay, so to summarize, I should get on and exchange forthwith...

Thanks everyone for such a united, unambiguous response. Clearly, I won't be proceeding unless the vendor has a change of heart. Whilst I could provide my own ultimatum I would probably be wasting my breath - with the new build not now completing until the Spring they know that they can probably push the price up a bit and still find somebody else to buy it in time. I will at least be restarting the process a little less naive than I was the first time around. 

LeoPP

MeAndMrG said:

Okay, so to summarize, I should get on and exchange forthwith...

Thanks everyone for such a united, unambiguous response. Clearly, I won't be proceeding unless the vendor has a change of heart. Whilst I could provide my own ultimatum I would probably be wasting my breath - with the new build not now completing until the Spring they know that they can probably push the price up a bit and still find somebody else to buy it in time. I will at least be restarting the process a little less naive than I was the first time around. 

So what was the conclusion to this?