Contract Exchange Frustration

FlyMeSomewhere79

Hi All

Back in January us, our first time buyers and our sellers signed contracts (our seller never found a property they liked so they've agreed to go into rented accommodation).

We all agreed via our solicitors a completion date of 23rd Feb. I chased the solicitors on Tues who said they hoped to exchange on Tues or weds, found out on Thursday that our buyers solicitor is waiting for something from our buyer before they can exchange. 

I chased again yesterday (Friday) and never heard anything - it's frustrating because it's running down the clock and we only have this weekend to fully to pack to go, I had to notify royal mail because they need 5 working days to redirect the mail.

I'm hoping I'm worrying over nothing as I did emphasize that we urgently needed to know of anything was going to get in the way of moving next Friday.

You just think, why didn't they do the exchange a week earlier! I'll be glad when this hopefully all over and done with!! 

bryanb

Sorry but till you exchange there is no contract, no completion date, nobody moving house

FlyMeSomewhere79

bryanb said:

Sorry but till you exchange there is no contract, no completion date, nobody moving house

did I not state that I was wanting the solicitor to let me know if this would affect the completion date? You seem confused if you believe contracts only get written up, signed and exchanged the day you complete.

I can confirm that I read and signed a physical contract in Jan, we all agreed a completion date back in Jan and everyone has been happy with that since. The contacts are waiting to be exchanged between the solicitors.

anselld

FlyMeSomewhere79 said:

bryanb said:

Sorry but till you exchange there is no contract, no completion date, nobody moving house

I can confirm that I read and signed a physical contract in Jan, we all agreed a completion date back in Jan and everyone has been happy with that since. The contacts are waiting to be exchanged between the solicitors.

I think the point being made is that until actual exchange has happened there is not an agreed completion date nor an effective contract.  They are all just proposals at this stage.

Tiglet2

Solicitors can only exchange when everything is done.  If the buyer's solicitor is still waiting for something from the buyer then everything is not done. 

The solicitors will all wait until that 'issue' is sorted out before an exchange takes place.  They might even exchange the day before or day of your 'agreed' completion date, so you need to prepared for this. 

If the issue with the buyer isn't sorted out by next Friday, there will be no breach of contract because you won't have exchanged.

 

GDB2222

FlyMeSomewhere79 said:

bryanb said:

Sorry but till you exchange there is no contract, no completion date, nobody moving house

did I not state that I was wanting the solicitor to let me know if this would affect the completion date? You seem confused if you believe contracts only get written up, signed and exchanged the day you complete.

I can confirm that I read and signed a physical contract in Jan, we all agreed a completion date back in Jan and everyone has been happy with that since. The contacts are waiting to be exchanged between the solicitors.

You are obviously in a stressful situation, but nobody here is responsible, and we are just trying to help.

Signing the contracts is, as you know, just part of the process, and exchange is what matters. Until then, the contracts are just drafts. It seems that your buyers are not ready to exchange. I have no idea why not, but maybe they have a problem with their mortgage? If so, there’s no guarantee that they will ever be able to exchange contracts, let alone in time to complete on the agreed date. 

It is up to you whether you pack in a hurry this weekend, hoping to keep to the schedule, or renegotiate the schedule to give everyone more time. 

EssexHebridean

Give the OP a break - they are clearly aware of the legalities around “signing” the contract not being the same as “exchanging” contracts. 

I completely sympathise with being the position of all dates being agreed then being messed around by a buyer and/or their solicitor - it’s a PITA as it does just shorten the time you have to get things sorted. We were there back in August - having had to book and eventually even pay for the removals in full, not being able to risk the redirect because we were concerned it would need to be cancelled again…and even down to the packing - there is a huge difference between being happy to pack the stuff that’s used constantly and managing without it for a week, to then discovering that in fact you’ll be without it for two weeks! 

OP - have faith - if everyone is still talking about the agreed date being the one then with luck the buyers want that just as much as you do, and they will get their backsides into gear early next week. We ended up with 2 days between exchange/completion in the end and I wouldn’t wish that level of hassle on anyone! 

loubel

Did you call your estate agent to find out what your buyer needs to send their solicitor in order for them to exchange? Personally I wouldn't be booking anything until exchange has taken place, and if that means delaying completion then so be it. In a chain it is just not practical to be exchanging last minute, you want at least a week, preferably a couple of weeks,  from exchange to completion to give everyone time to get ready. If it were me I'd be telling the agents that if your buyer can't exchange on Monday then the 23rd is off.

EssexHebridean

There is no reason why a shorter gap can’t work if everyone is solidly committed to making it work - it’s just a faff, and nerve-wracking! 

At this point also, liaison should be solicitor to solicitor - not via the agents. Use the agents for pushing things if needed, but be guided by your solicitor if that is helpful at this stage. 

housebuyer143

You have agreed a proposed completion date with the seller, that is all. In between that time the solicitors have to ensure everything is ready and if it isn't they won't exchange. Until exchange completion date is up in the air and can change. 
As an example, we agreed a completion date with our seller of 21st March and the solicitors worked to it however, on that date we all got ready to exchange and complete only to find out that the sellers solicitor lied on the enquiry and changed it at the final hour - because of this everything stopped and the completion ended up two weeks later once it was resolved. 

Hopefully it all works out but you shouldn't do anything until you exchange and if you need a certain amount of time to sort things then insist on that amount of time between exchange and completion, even if that means pushing out the completion date..

NameUnavailable

What is the OP's question?