Urgent advice needed - exchange

Jemma01

It's clear you're really stressed out and rather fed up since November back and forth, it is a draining process.
I'd be less concerned about the property being sold to someone else, because they'll be going through this process for many more months, why would a developer bother with that!? Every buyer needs to go via a solicitor and all this takes time.

I also believe that it is a legal requirement to have a completion date in order to exchange, so no matter which way you turn, you need a completion date. I understand your frustration that she's only just asked for it, but at this point, that's no longer relevant. You need to focus on what will get you there fast, and that's the completion date needs to be set. The delay is now caused by the developer failing to provide a completion date. 

user1977

Jemma01 said:

I also believe that it is a legal requirement to have a completion date in order to exchange

You believe wrong, all that is needed is a mechanism to determine what the completion date will be, and it's perfectly normal for newbuilds to be completion on notice - how else could people exchange if the house hasn't been built yet? Nobody is going to promise a specific date if the place is still a building site.

Also bear in mind that a common problem these days is the house itself being built, but it's not habitable for some other reason - e.g. often the utilities aren't connected on time.

JustMe18

user1977 said:

Jemma01 said:

I also believe that it is a legal requirement to have a completion date in order to exchange

You believe wrong, all that is needed is a mechanism to determine what the completion date will be, and it's perfectly normal for newbuilds to be completion on notice - how else could people exchange if the house hasn't been built yet? Nobody is going to promise a specific date if the place is still a building site.

Also bear in mind that a common problem these days is the house itself being built, but it's not habitable for some other reason - e.g. often the utilities aren't connected on time.

We are now good - developer agreed to wait until the 10th of July for the house to be signed off and then they can provide a fixed completion date. It was quite tense when they wanted us to exchange in June and "on notice", but that was understandable , because house wasn't completed yet. 

BikingBud

I trust you have a plan in place for snagging:

do-i-need-a-snagging-list-for-my-new-build-home

JustMe18

BikingBud said:

I trust you have a plan in place for snagging:

do-i-need-a-snagging-list-for-my-new-build-home

Yeah, don't worry, we do..it's not a first new build house we are buying! previous one was excellent and been there 8 years