chain-free property sale - seller delays moving out without a good reason

Schwarzwald

Mattti said:

Linton said:

If you find the seller’s date inconvenient because of the holiday period why not propose  completing after the new year? If the seller does not want further delay you  both may be able to compromise on an earlier date.

You have to work with the seller to get a date both sides can accept. There is no other way, unless you want to pull out of the deal.

Today is November 7th, so it's nearly six weeks until December 20th. For a chain-free sale, a six-week gap between exchange and completion is excessive. Two weeks should be more than sufficient to move without rushing—unless the seller is actually part of a chain.

Are you exchanging today?
if not, when?
to me it sounds you made a lot of assumptions about your conpletion date?
what is your valid reqson to want to complete within much shorter time frame?

GrumpyDil

As above you need to try and negotiate. The seller presumably has their reasons for wanting that gap, maybe they need to organise their own rental or moving into a relative's house. Either way this is a matter of negotiation. You can't force them to work to your timeline unless you want to threaten to pull out if they don't agree to an earlier completion date. 

Voyager2002

Mattti said:

The seller hasn’t provided any real reason for the delay, other than needing time to move his belongings. He could have started the process once the offer was accepted, especially since he mentioned during viewing that he’s moving in with his partner and they already have a place. On our end, all documents are signed, and the deposit has been paid.

He could NOT have started any process once the offer had been accepted, since buyers can and frequently do pull out for any or no reason.

Your concerns seem to be that (i) you don't want to move at Christmas; (ii) the wait is costing you money because you are paying rent. On (ii), remember that you need to give your landlord notice that starts on a rent day, and you cannot do this until contracts have been exchanged, so a shorter wait would probably cost you even more money, leaving you paying rent on an empty property. On (i), as already suggested on this thread you could agree a completion date in January.

alri08

The seller has given a reason, you just don't like it. Your opinion of their reason doesn't make any difference. Your seller may or may not be a nice person. They may think you are a pita buyer. That doesn't make any difference either. 

As above, your choices are to negotiate a different completion date or walk away.

penners324

Suggest November 22nd or no sale

oldernonethewiser

Mattti said:

TheJP said:

Mattti said:

TheSpectator said:

Why did you assume they would move out before completion? You can't move in before completion. 

You either accept the completion date or negotiate an earlier one.

We don’t want to move before completion, but afterward. There’s no valid reason for him to set the completion date that far out. With no chain sales, completion can be easily set  2 weeks after exchange.

The seller has given you reasons as to his proposed date, all you can do is negotiate a slightly earlier date, stick with the date or walk away.

How close to exchange are you? Has all enquiries been sorted etc?

The seller hasn’t provided any real reason for the delay, other than needing time to move his belongings. He could have started the process once the offer was accepted, especially since he mentioned during viewing that he’s moving in with his partner and they already have a place. On our end, all documents are signed, and the deposit has been paid.

That is a real reason.  You may not like it but the seller feels justified.  As others suggest you will need to negotiate and hopefully come to an agreement

Bonniepurple

OP - you sound very entitled.  The seller has said that they need time between exchange and completion-good for them.  We’ve had nightmares with trying to find, book and keep removals with short timescales.  They have suggested a date which works for them - perhaps work, school, building incentives etc.  You can counter that, but remember that if your proposed date doesn’t work for them then they won’t agree to it.  They might not have a chain, but they’ve got other commitments.

FWIW, we moved just before Christmas one year.  Never again.  No chance to really decorate/locate presents in amongst the boxes/work out the oven - or indeed get an engineer out to find out why the heating wasn’t working.

GDB2222

4 weeks always used to be the normal delay between exchange and completion. Has that changed? 

I don’t think the OP’s landlord is going to be happy with a very short notice period ending in December, which is a dead month for letting. 

Mattti

GDB2222 said:

4 weeks always used to be the normal delay between exchange and completion. Has that changed? 

I don’t think the OP’s landlord is going to be happy with a very short notice period ending in December, which is a dead month for letting. 

The seller doesn’t need to rent another property—when the process began, he claimed he already had a place to move into. He was clear about wanting to complete the sale quickly. 

I’m not someone with unreasonable demands; in fact, I’ve done everything possible to show the seller that I’m serious about completing this process as soon as possible, which is typically a positive approach. However, he also needs to consider our position in this situation.

oldernonethewiser

Mattti said:

GDB2222 said:

4 weeks always used to be the normal delay between exchange and completion. Has that changed? 

I don’t think the OP’s landlord is going to be happy with a very short notice period ending in December, which is a dead month for letting. 

The seller doesn’t need to rent another property—when the process began, he claimed he already had a place to move into. He was clear about wanting to complete the sale quickly. 

I’m not someone with unreasonable demands; in fact, I’ve done everything possible to show the seller that I’m serious about completing this process as soon as possible, which is typically a positive approach. However, he also needs to consider our position in this situation.

Does he?

You can outline your position in the hope of reaching some sort of compromise but he might not be interested.