Buying a new build with delay

Aqua1985

A colleague of mine has purchased a new build and exchanged in November and had an estimated completion date of Dec. The developer has now put this back until at least the end of feb and the developer is hiding behind a rolling completion date. What rights does my colleague have as she has already exchanged and essentially locked in. The property was also not watertight with the roof not completed at the point of exchange as the developer we believe rushed the exchange through before the end of the annual year. would this be a breach of her mortgage offer as presumably the build must be at a certain point to exchange? 

elsien

Presumably she asked these questions of her solicitor at the time?  And if she had those concerns she shouldn’t have exchanged. 

She signed the contract. She should have checked she fully understood and was happy with it before signing.
and for what it’s worth, the financial year finishes at the end of March not the end of December.

user1977

Aqua1985 said:

presumably the build must be at a certain point to exchange? 

Why would it? Purchases are often off-plan, the property could still be a green field with Farmer Giles's cows in it on the date of exchange.

The contract will just say the purchase completes x days after the developer tells the purchaser that the construction is complete. It will not promise anything about a completion date. At most there is likely to be a longstop date at which point the purchaser is entitled to walk away.

Your colleague would/should have been advised on all of this by their solicitor before they exchanged.

pinkshoes

This is normal with new builds.

There is sometimes a stop date in the contract where she can get a refund and pull out. She needs to check her contract and what she agreed to.

RelievedSheff

All very standard for a new build purchase.

Delays happen and exchange can take place at any point during the build process.

SarahB16

pinkshoes said:

This is normal with new builds.

There is sometimes a stop date in the contract where she can get a refund and pull out. She needs to check her contract and what she agreed to.

Exactly this.  

She should of course read the whole of the contract to familiarise herself with what she agreed but usually there will be, as pinkshoes says, a stop date.  Usually if that date has passed then she can walk away and receive her deposit back too.