First time buyers pushing for early completion

mcc100

[Deleted User] said:

Basically the stamp duty increase will not add more than £2.5k onto a property. Maybe you're talking about something else?

Depending on the purchase price, it could be far higher than £2.5k

 https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/stamp-duty/

EssexHebridean

Ok - you need to remember that although the circumstances that have changed things might not have been within your control, you did originally agree with your buyers that all would work towards completing during the timescale which meant they could afford the purchase. This means you now have a decision to make. If you choose not to complete by the end of March, they may simply pull out, leaving you with no buyers and needing to remarket etc. this might not be from an attitude of “trying to spite you” but because they simply now need to find somewhere in a lower price bracket.

your choices as I see it are to proceed as planned agree to a late March completion date and get the exchange done so you can start properly looking at rentals (or go the storage route for a short time using Airbnb type places until your purchase goes through? Or to tell the buyers right now that the completion date is going to be later, that you are sorry but it can be helped, and then let things play out as they will. 

[Deleted User]

grumpy_codger said:

[Deleted User] said:

Basically the stamp duty increase will not add more than £2.5k onto a property.

FTB:

up to 31 March 2025
    no SDLT up to £425,000
    5% SDLT on the portion from £425,001 to £625,000

from 1 April 2025
    no SDLT up to £300,000
    5% SDLT on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000

If the house is  £425K-£500K, the increase is (425-300)*5%=£6.25K, isn't it?

More if the house is more expensive.

That sounds right. I must have been using the calculation for non-FTB.

NameUnavailable

Regardless of what the FTB's want do you even know if the repective solicitors are going to be ready to exchange/complete by the end of March?

If they both say yes, everything is ready, then it's up to you to decide to move your stuff into storage and rent anything you can find or stay in a hotel, or just say it's not going to happen that quickly and think about losing the sale or covering some of their SD to keep them.

You say you're looking for a bungalow but for a temporary home you could look at ground floor flats or flats with a lift?

ruslara

NameUnavailable said:

Regardless of what the FTB's want do you even know if the repective solicitors are going to be ready to exchange/complete by the end of March?

If they both say yes, everything is ready, then it's up to you to decide to move your stuff into storage and rent anything you can find or stay in a hotel, or just say it's not going to happen that quickly and think about losing the sale or covering some of their SD to keep them.

You say you're looking for a bungalow but for a temporary home you could look at ground floor flats or flats with a lift?

Flats for us are a no-no. They are too small for all our stuff (we are moving from a 1400 sg ft top floor apartment). But most importantly, we have had such a bad experience in our block of flats with vapers and smokers. Not only you can't open your windows as their fumes are coming through the windows, but also these people spray scents in communal areas to conseal the smell of vapes, tobacco and weed they are smoking. Their conduct caused us allergy to all chemical smells and aggravated my DH lung cancer. The fumes are getting into our flat through the gaps in the (insulated) door, windows, we can't sit on our balcony to enjoy fresh air. It smells of poison and causes allergic reactions! We don't go out of the flat unless it is absolutely necessary as we have to go through a smokescreen coctail of chemicals that no mask is capable to block out. And we have serious breathing broblems. Never again will we want to experience this hell ever again.

whizzywoo

Can you find a static caravan to live in temporarily?  And put your stuff into a self-storage place?

This is what we did between house sale and finding a new place.

saajan_12

If the actual purchase transaction is close to exchange and with no chain, late March is possible. No point arguing over dates now.. they're probably just looking for longer buffers in case things slip, but they don't really need it. I'd just focus on looking for rentals (if its short term it doesn't have to be the perfect bungalow, surely another flat would be fine). As the purchase is actually ready to exchange, you can agree a final date. 

ruslara said:

Since it is our buyers who are saving a lot of money, should it be them who finds a solution with moving dates? For example, complete on one day and move on another later? Or move into storage etc.

If that's the condition they offered under, then I'd say that's the context you're getting to sell your property.. you may find after the new rules, people are willing to offer less for the property. Besides, there isnt really anything else they can offer.. the contract for completion states you have to provide vacant possession on that day. Residential mrtgage lenders wouldn't really accept anything less. 

ruslara

whizzywoo said:

Can you find a static caravan to live in temporarily?  And put your stuff into a self-storage place?

This is what we did between house sale and finding a new place.

For all our stuff to be put into storage we were quoted an extra 3K for removals and £150 per week in storage. So it is more expensive that moving into a rental property. 

RelievedSheff

ruslara said:

whizzywoo said:

Can you find a static caravan to live in temporarily?  And put your stuff into a self-storage place?

This is what we did between house sale and finding a new place.

For all our stuff to be put into storage we were quoted an extra 3K for removals and £150 per week in storage. So it is more expensive that moving into a rental property. 

The chances of you finding a rental bungalow in less than a month are slim to none quite frankly.

You have to face up to the facts that you will either have to move into temporary accommodation that is not your ideal or risk losing the sale.

The time to be picky and choosy about where you are going to move too has been and gone. 

gm0

Take the emotion out of it. You have needs. And costs. So do they. So what. Arms length business transaction to buy property.

If you want to keep this buyer - you can perhaps split the duty cost impact of it with them - adjust the price 50:50. And the time for exchange/completion continues to drag until a chain resolution is reached.  They are unhappy and have to extend their current arrangements to "wait" for you.  But it gets there in the end.  If they want this property sufficiently badly it is a path to resolution without remarketing, viewings, new buyer. Or an unwanted rush into an Airbnb + storage without a clear path out to something medium term rental or your intended end state.

If I was them I would want a firmer deadline at 2nd time of asking. And some visible commitment from you to it.  To incur inconvenience on your part to achieve it.  So that you are embarrassed and ashamed to break your word.  This is just tactics though to push things along. There is no useful legal mechanism to commit you to it.   And the "plausibility" of any commitment from you is in doubt given both your circumstances, needs for permanent or temporary accommodation and the state of the market and how you describe the situation.  So even if you say a date - they can't in fact rely on it.  As you will rationalise letting them down again. Because - excuses.

You could agree a target e.g. April 15 for exchange, 2 week completion and then fail to exchange. And shrug.  If the circumstances don't line up. No recourse for anyone.  They pull out or don't.  The now more furious buyer will have sunk costs, and if emotional about it - be annoyed with you for lying (as they correctly see it) about being committed to a date and then being unethical in not honouring your word.  Not really interested or caring about the 100 reasons why you didn't make a costly or other compromise around temporary arrangements in order to do what you said you would do.  Pushing you to get on with it - is rational.  But ineffective legally pre-exchange. How you feel about making promises you probably won't keep is in your head.

England - The transaction can happen at an agreed price. When timing lines up for both parties.  Or it can't.  People may be nice, not nice, eccentric - whatever - none of it is relevant to the transaction.  Exchange happens. Or not.

If you don't care if they pull out you just say - no it's not happening by the deadline.  And the schedule drags on until a satisfactory moving chain resolution is reached as above. Or they may give up on you and pull out. Their best interest is to NOT to tell you they have pulled out but to seek to buy other properties via other agents first - and only reveal they are withdrawing when they reach the exchange step on an alternative.  Keeping an accepted offer on a flat they like (with some sunk conveyancing costs) as a 2nd option makes all kinds of sense to them.  Stomping off in a snit does not.  Though some would do that due to emotions being engaged and/or thinking you will in fact "never" move - and are just wasting their time and effort. 

You may find the dream place and suddenly want to move forward.  At which point they proceed - or they have other options and they ultimately don't.   Leaving you with a remarketing problem and perhaps losing your intended next step.  Which is the potential price of dithering and losing your buyer.

Or they adjust their offer down by an amount to reflect the stamp duty change.  Perhaps 100% the SD change as you didn't do what you said you would at the agreed price.  Price X before the change.   Ethically it's reasonable to lower the offer subject to - if you missed it.  And legally they can do ENTIRELY as they please prior to exchange,  As can you in accepting that change or not.  Or countering with half each as a compromise to keep the thing at the current process stage.  There is NO "correct" answer.  Only the answer you both accept.  Arguing about what the prior request/offer acceptance meant or not - is irrelevant.  Only what you both will accept now is.

If you muck them about - whether for good reasons or bad or generate that impression via dithering and inconsistency.  At some point they will buy something else - and move on.  You may not find out about this at a schedule that is convenient to your own plans.  In which case - no tears.  You brought it on yourself by not pushing your transaction forward in a timely fashion.

Since it does not sound like you are able or willing to hurry and make significant compromises to do so. The path is therefore obvious. 

Say no. Keep your buyer on hook with stamp duty split offer if you want to. But with no timing guarantee.  What happens. Happens.