Delay in exchange. I don't understand why?

bflare

_Sam_ said:

bflare said:

I honestly don't understand the buying process so anyone could be pulling the wool over my eyes. Also, the solicitor and broker were both recommended to me by the EA as they are all familiar with each other so how can I trust any of them? I thought my solicitor was supposed to sort all this c@ap out for me?

I literally have no idea what to do now.

Luckily I managed to keep my own broker when we were buying the house just now (though the EA were almost aggressive in the number of calls they made trying to persuade me to use theirs) but I agreed to use the EA's solicitors and it was a nightmare, at one point my broker had to step in things were so bad and I'm sure both the EA and solicitors were lying. We completed but that's a lesson learned for the future, to always use local independent solicitors and an independent broker.

I really regret using the EA suggested solicitor now. They havent helped in the slightest & have actually been quite rude!

saajan_12

badger09 said:

bouicca21 said:

Just because top of the chain have been told by the builder that their house will be ready in March/April doesn’t mean it will actually happen. Builders are notoriously optimistic about dates.

has the top of the chain exchanged with some sort of long stop date? If they have than OP is in a powerful position.

That's what I was wondering.

Seems strange if top of chain are buying a new build, which was scheduled for completion Jan/Feb (now slipped to end March) but haven't yet exchanged.

Someone is not telling the truth

Sounds like a bit of background knowledge would help you go in with more confidence. Apologies if I start from something you already know, thought it would be clearest this way: 
1. You (A) offer on a property first, then that seller (B) finds and offers on a property to buy, then that seller (C) finds and offers on a property to buy, which is a new build so the chain ends there. So you have been involved the longest. 

2. A house builder will give expected dates when the property will be built, but this is invariably prone to building delays. 

3. When everyone has completed surveys / searches / enquiries / agreed dates, they 'exchange' ie enter a binding contract to buy / sell the houses at a certain price on the completion date. The completion date can be a fixed date (usually the case for exisiting properties) or 'on notice' (usually the case for new builds). Usually everyone has the same exchange date and same completion date as the rest of the chain. 

4. Often the house builder will push to exchange within 28 days of offer and the contract would say that completion is 10 days after they serve notice saying the build is ready. There would also be a long stop date so if the build isn't ready several months later than expected then the buyer doesn't have to wait indefinitely for this notice and can walk away. Note this doesn't force the build to finish by that date. 

5. You have both new build and existing properties in the chain -> so options are
    i. A & B (you and your seller) align to completion on notice with the same long stope date as C has for their new build (only advisable if your mortgage offer expires after the long stop date)
    ii. C agrees to exchange with a fixed date and goes into rented until the build is ready and they receive the notice
    iii. everyone waits until the build is ready and then exchange with a fixed completion date

Sounds like the top buyer (C) is pretending to go for option (ii) but might take a while to find the rented place so might end up pushing for option (iii). 

You can either wait for the top seller / house builder to get around to option (ii) or (iii) respectively, or you can look elsewhere. The deadlines are all fairly meaningless as you probably can extend the mortgage or even reapply without all the new searches / enquiries. However the question is how long do you wait before you cut your losses. 

So I'd just start looking elsewhere now, and if you find somewhere better then switch. Make it clear to the EA what you're doing, so they need to push the seller to hurry up before you find somewhere better. 

bflare

Update: I now have had the keys to my new home since the 8th of March. The top of the chain did break the chain & move into a rental. It appears that the EA was telling the truth & I am very happy with my purchase. 

CasaCroft8

bflare said:

Update: I now have had the keys to my new home since the 8th of March. The top of the chain did break the chain & move into a rental. It appears that the EA was telling the truth & I am very happy with my purchase. 

Fantastic. Congratulations 

No41edwardianhouse

bflare said:

Update: I now have had the keys to my new home since the 8th of March. The top of the chain did break the chain & move into a rental. It appears that the EA was telling the truth & I am very happy with my purchase. 

Great news! I hope we can post the same in a few weeks!!!