Can the developer cancel my reservation if I can't sign the exchange contract on time?

diystarter7

Silvertabby said:

diystarter7 said:

Silvertabby said:

Sounds like nothing has changed in nearly 30 years.

The new build we really wanted had already been reserved, but the developer registered our interest in respect of similar houses in the next stage of the estate.

Then we got a phone call saying the sale of the first house had fallen through (chain had collapsed)  and were we still interested - with a discount if we could complete in less than 2 months?

We were in Armed Forces married quarters at the time, so the answer to both questions was 'yes' - but I did feel sorry for the first chap and did think it must be awfully difficult to buy a new-build when you have to sell a property first.

It's a business. If you disagree with that and felt very "sorry for the other.." you could have backed out.
It is supply and demand.

Not that sorry!  30 years later, we are still in the same house, with no intentions of moving.

Thanks for the clarifications, appreciated it.

Your comments reminded of people at work about 20 years ago when the lottery was once a week is the only time I've done it. Several used to use that winning more than a million is "too much... I would not want more than that." I used to say to them, anything over a million give it to me and if you agree, we'll sign an agreement. Lol, you should have seen the looks on their face.

I hope you are happy there for at least another 30 years.

1886travel

Golden_Glow90 said:

We are going through this right now and the developers have said they will put the house back on the market on 1st July us we don’t exchange and complete. The buyers buyers are still waiting for the sales pack to be sorted which won’t be done on time so we’re gutted

would you be able to get your reservation fee back though? Our chain failed in April once as buyer's buyer pulled out but we had our deposit and reservation fee back . Not surprised as their houses are indeed poplar.... Our new developer released the new phase with the same house type in May but good to see that it's still on rightmove... i bet its hard for them to find a new buyer as well...

Golden_Glow90

1886travel said:

Golden_Glow90 said:

We are going through this right now and the developers have said they will put the house back on the market on 1st July us we don’t exchange and complete. The buyers buyers are still waiting for the sales pack to be sorted which won’t be done on time so we’re gutted

would you be able to get your reservation fee back though? Our chain failed in April once as buyer's buyer pulled out but we had our deposit and reservation fee back . Not surprised as their houses are indeed poplar.... Our new developer released the new phase with the same house type in May but good to see that it's still on rightmove... i bet its hard for them to find a new buyer as well...

No we won’t get the reservation fee back because we didn’t meet the exchange deadline. Luckily we didn’t spend anything on the house as we negotiated what we wanted as incentives so we will only lose the £500. I know houses are moving quick at the minute and they’ve said our plot is really popular and they have loads of people asking if there’s more coming but I think this is a scare tactic as there’s actually 2 other plots available plus ours was on the market for months before we reserved as we only just got in before first fixings, any later and we wouldn’t have been able to choose our kitchen, etc so I’m hoping that they’re not as popular as they say and don’t pull out. If it wasn’t their half year I wouldn’t be worried about their threats at all

happyc84

if you really want a new build, 1 option is to sell yours; move into rented accommodation, try and match the completion date of the new build. It's likely they will slip, but the contract  is tipped in their favour.

Good luck 

TripleH

Our newbuild was where the previous buyer had pulled out. The house was completed (not properly...) and we were buying another new build until it collapsed over a dodgy lease. In both instances we were in rental but I'd not like to be involved in a chain with a new build as I'm not interested in buying then waiting an undefined period to complete.

GDB2222

Golden_Glow90 said:

1886travel said:

Golden_Glow90 said:

We are going through this right now and the developers have said they will put the house back on the market on 1st July us we don’t exchange and complete. The buyers buyers are still waiting for the sales pack to be sorted which won’t be done on time so we’re gutted

would you be able to get your reservation fee back though? Our chain failed in April once as buyer's buyer pulled out but we had our deposit and reservation fee back . Not surprised as their houses are indeed poplar.... Our new developer released the new phase with the same house type in May but good to see that it's still on rightmove... i bet its hard for them to find a new buyer as well...

No we won’t get the reservation fee back because we didn’t meet the exchange deadline. Luckily we didn’t spend anything on the house as we negotiated what we wanted as incentives so we will only lose the £500. I know houses are moving quick at the minute and they’ve said our plot is really popular and they have loads of people asking if there’s more coming but I think this is a scare tactic as there’s actually 2 other plots available plus ours was on the market for months before we reserved as we only just got in before first fixings, any later and we wouldn’t have been able to choose our kitchen, etc so I’m hoping that they’re not as popular as they say and don’t pull out. If it wasn’t their half year I wouldn’t be worried about their threats at all

One of the selling points of new builds is that you can choose the finishes, etc. Hopefully, you chose well, or Persimmon will have trouble selling the house to someone else. 

Maybe, as a practical joke, I should pay my £500 reservation fee, then insist on say purple tiles, orange units, green worktops, and black carpet. Then put it on YouTube and get my £500 back that way. 

Sorry, I know you are unhappy about your situation, but you have to look at the bright side.

GixerKate

Have you kept the developer in the loop, been up front and honest?  While they can cancel the reservation, if you have a good relationship with the developer they can also be pretty relaxed about it all, if they believe you are a serious buyer and doing everything you can to keep things moving in the right direction.

GDB2222

GixerKate said:

Have you kept the developer in the loop, been up front and honest?  While they can cancel the reservation, if you have a good relationship with the developer they can also be pretty relaxed about it all, if they believe you are a serious buyer and doing everything you can to keep things moving in the right direction.

If the OP got a very good price and/or lots of incentives,  you can understand that the developer may be happy to reoffer the property if the OP doesn't meet the agreed deadline. On the other hand, if someone agrees to pay top whack, the developer will bend over backwards to keep them onboard.