Offer accepted... Am i being unreasonable?

MrBounce

I have had an offer accepted on a house after another purchase fell through for us when we were near completion. 

I have stipulated on this new house, that Happy to proceed provided seller can agree to vacate / complete by end of March, as thats when my mortgage offer expires, we have already extended it previously as the previous purchase was taking a long time due to the sellers going through a divorce...

We are not part of a chain, they need to find somewhere...

Is this unreasonable of me? 

Martin_the_Unjust

Probably not but, it’s pretty meaningless really.

What are you going to do if they fail to complete before your deadline?

……and how is that different to what would have happened then if you hadn’t imposed a deadline?

At least it lets them know I suppose.

tacpot12

Martin_the_Unjust said:

...

What are you going to do if they fail to complete before your deadline?

……and how is that different to what would have happened then if you hadn’t imposed a deadline?

At least it lets them know I suppose.

The OP will presumably pull out of the sale, and given that the offer was conditional on completion by end of March, she can do so without losing her deposit, providing that the solicitor that pays the deposit carries over this stipulation into the contract. 

Martin_the_Unjust

tacpot12 said:

Martin_the_Unjust said:

...

What are you going to do if they fail to complete before your deadline?

……and how is that different to what would have happened then if you hadn’t imposed a deadline?

At least it lets them know I suppose.

The OP will presumably pull out of the sale, and given that the offer was conditional on completion by end of March, she can do so without losing her deposit, providing that the solicitor that pays the deposit carries over this stipulation into the contract. 

Think you need to rethink that.

Mutton_Geoff

tacpot12 said:

Martin_the_Unjust said:

...

What are you going to do if they fail to complete before your deadline?

……and how is that different to what would have happened then if you hadn’t imposed a deadline?

At least it lets them know I suppose.

The OP will presumably pull out of the sale, and given that the offer was conditional on completion by end of March, she can do so without losing her deposit, providing that the solicitor that pays the deposit carries over this stipulation into the contract. 

If this is in England, no deposit will be needed until exchange of contracts. Completion date is normally set upon contract exchange and is usually soon after (same day to two weeks) therefore I can't see a situation where a deposit would need to be refundable.

The OP can ask for completion by March but this has no real meaning but their best chances of achieving this is by employing a decent solicitor not a cheap conveyancing company since there will be many occasions when things/people need to be leaned on to get things moving.

Soot2006

I think it's reasonable as it makes things clear from the very beginning. It also means that if the sellers haven't found a place of their and aren't willing to move into rented, then you'd know by January that it's time to move on and try for a different house. The question then becomes how much you love THIS house and what alternatives you've got - stay put where you are (renewing a rental for another year, for example), buy a different (maybe cheaper if prices are coming down) house .. or apply for another mortgage after all and wait for this particular house. Personally, I'd rather know about hard deadlines from the very beginning. It doesn't mean the seller can make it happen for sure, but they are likely to at least try.

MrBounce

Soot2006 said:

I think it's reasonable as it makes things clear from the very beginning. It also means that if the sellers haven't found a place of their and aren't willing to move into rented, then you'd know by January that it's time to move on and try for a different house. The question then becomes how much you love THIS house and what alternatives you've got - stay put where you are (renewing a rental for another year, for example), buy a different (maybe cheaper if prices are coming down) house .. or apply for another mortgage after all and wait for this particular house. Personally, I'd rather know about hard deadlines from the very beginning. It doesn't mean the seller can make it happen for sure, but they are likely to at least try.

I am not selling my existing property, but this property is in a poor state (I can't believe they are still living in it), and been on the market a little while... However if I am buying this, need to get to work on it as soon as possible..

I was thinking by stipulating the completion deadline in advance, if they agree, shows their seriousness to sell, as I wasted 7/8 months on another property for it to fall through!

lookstraightahead

Of course, because for you not being in by that date makes a huge difference to you.

 This is a business transaction and you're not prepared to, and cant, wait, just let them know your intentions and make it clear from the start.

if in a few weeks you don't think it's going to happen, move on before it's too late.

if you tell them the truth and that it actually won't happen if they don't vacate, then they're less likely to think they can potter about.

Im surprised more vendors don't hurry up given that good mortgage deals (ones already agreed at lower rates) are coming to an end and that buyers are likely to lose out (so pull out) if things don't happen relatively quickly. 

Tiglet2

MrBounce said:

I have had an offer accepted on a house after another purchase fell through for us when we were near completion. 

I have stipulated on this new house, that Happy to proceed provided seller can agree to vacate / complete by end of March, as thats when my mortgage offer expires, we have already extended it previously as the previous purchase was taking a long time due to the sellers going through a divorce...

We are not part of a chain, they need to find somewhere...

Is this unreasonable of me? 

It's not unreasonable for you to stipulate this, however, this stipulation is also dependent upon the solicitors acting for you and your vendor being able to complete their legal work in your preferred timeframe. 

A conveyancing transaction 'should' be able to complete by March, but as yet, you do not know if any issues with the legal title will crop up during the course of the transaction.  This is why you will never get a solicitor to confirm dates or provide guarantees when they haven't yet reviewed all the paperwork. 

The vendor may agree to vacate but change their mind once they realise the extra costs in moving twice, how long they have to contract to rent somewhere, the availability of suitable rentals (particularly if they have pets) and the inconvenience of packing up and storing their furniture etc twice.

So, as said above, deadlines set by clients are pretty meaningless at this stage.

hazyjo

Sometimes it just takes longer, so I agree it's pretty pointless. I once sold to an investor. Said we'd exchange within a few weeks (forget now, but it was very short). I was ready, but it took 5 months to buy my house due to a few legal complications - they had to get a Deed of Variation. Managed to extend my mortgage offer.

housebuyer143

The seller probably has every intention of moving by march and will tell you that, but if they don't find a house or the solicitors are slow then it might not happen. What if they find a house but it's also in a chain and that person needs to find something. 

You are best of saying that you will only proceed if the seller agrees to go into rental because at this stage that is what you are asking them to do.