Seller not exchanging contracts - baffled as to why

October22Mover

EDIT: We have an answer - the seller has a non-high street lender who is taking ages to provide the discharge documentation. Unclear why they couldn't have told us this three weeks ago and saved us a huge amount of stress?!

Tl;dr:
We, the buyers, have had everything lined up to exchange contracts for three weeks in order to meet the seller's completion deadline of end of Feb, but his solicitors won't update us on what's going on and when we can exchange, and that deadline is now impossible to meet. The estate agents say they've spoken to the seller and they are working out some "final query" with the solicitors but all is fine and on course, but we just cannot fathom what they could still need to do that is taking so long and they won't give a clear answer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the problem might be?

Full explanation
I am coming to the end of a complicated flat purchase - we got a good price because the lease needs extending and there were tenants in the flat, plus it needs work, so it was a calculated gamble we knew might not pay off.

But all has progressed - the tenants are out, the seller carried out some remedial work required by our lender and our leasehold solicitor thinks the extension will be straightforward.

But in the last month things got weird. The seller sent an email saying they were fed up with how long things were taking (par for the course as they've been grumpy and argumentative throughout, but still always in the end did what was required) and if we didn't complete the sale by the end of Feb they'd pull out.

While an ultimatum is a bit stressful, we were also eager to complete and pretty much tied up on our side, so got on with the final paperwork and had the deposit and signed docs with out solicitor within a week, ready to exchange in plenty of time to meet the deadline.

But since then, crickets. The seller's solicitors have not been in touch with any update, and we've been chasing both them and the estate agents constantly. The agents seem as baffled as us on what the hold up is.

It's now too late for us to meet the seller's own deadline and they are not telling us what's going on. All the estate agent has got out of them or their solicitor is there is a "final query" they are working out, but that the seller has sent in all of their signed documents ready for exchange. Despite the ultimatum the estate agent seems convinced the seller is committed to the sale and just wanted to get it over the line.

I am just so confused - we don't need anything else from the seller and I cannot work out what could possibly be outstanding that has taken them three weeks to resolve after months of work already to get to this point, and we're not getting a clear explanation.

Can anyone suggest what it could be that the seller might still need to work out with their solicitor? I spoke to my Mum who sold her house a few years ago and she can't think of anything.

They do seem to have demonstrated their commitment to the sale by evicting the tenants and doing all the work we asked for, so it would be a bit crazy at this point to decide to walk away especially as the place is a hard sell given the lease length and state of repair, but is that the most likely possibility?

NameUnavailable

Did you ask the EA what the 'final query' was exactly? Have you asked your own solicitors what the hold up is?

It could be that the seller has changed their mind about selling, who knows. You could threaten to pull out unless exchange happens within X days, that should bring things to a head either way!

October22Mover

NameUnavailable said:

Did you ask the EA what the 'final query' was exactly? Have you asked your own solicitors what the hold up is?

It could be that the seller has changed their mind about selling, who knows. You could threaten to pull out unless exchange happens within X days, that should bring things to a head either way!

Yes our solicitors have been chasing the seller's solicitors daily and they aren't getting any responses. I'm pushing the estate agents to get a clearer explanation on what the issue is of course, but so far haven't got anything.

Threatening to pull out is obviously on the cards but feels like a nuclear option I only want to press if I can't work out an explanation for the hold up that makes sense - hence me seeing if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Like I say the seller has done everything required but is also a bit mercurial, and while it's unlikely, I can't rule out that he'd withdraw out of spite if I start issuing ultimatums of my own, and we have spent a fair bit of money at this point. Doesn't mean I won't do it but I want to make sure it's the right call.

EssexHebridean

If their solicitor so give yours a straight answer it’s a pretty solid bet that they won’t tell the agents - after all, the only conclusion that can be drawn from them not explaining things to your solicitor is that they don’t want you - as the buyer - to know the detail.  

This is sounding a bit like them playing for time though - although there’s no logical reason for them doing that allowing it was a rental! 

October22Mover

EssexHebridean said:

If their solicitor so give yours a straight answer it’s a pretty solid bet that they won’t tell the agents - after all, the only conclusion that can be drawn from them not explaining things to your solicitor is that they don’t want you - as the buyer - to know the detail.  

This is sounding a bit like them playing for time though - although there’s no logical reason for them doing that allowing it was a rental! 

Yeah, they also still have a mortgage so the delay is costing them money now the tenants are gone, which is part of why they were so pushy to complete. It's so weird!

NameUnavailable

Why could they want to delay? I would say it's because they're either thinking of not now selling for whatever reason, or possibly more likely given your earlier comments about the price, they've had interest from someone else and are trying to confirm a higher offer.

I get that you don't want to put them off but unless there's movement within a couple days (how long can it take for the solicitor to deal with a query on their own side?) I think you need to apply pressure to find out exactly what is going on.

DullGreyGuy

October22Mover said:

Full explanation

It's very possible you are unable to fulfil the title... why were they selling a rental property with a sitting tenant? This sort of thing typically isnt a chain but there may be more going on than you realise. 

The seller doesn't have queries in relation to the property for sale so on the face of it your solicitor saying all is good but their solicitor saying there is an outstanding query doesn't make sense unless the funds they'll receive from you are to be used for some other transaction and everything may fall down if their dependent transaction doesn't go ahead.

It's speculation, but I've spent much of my career claiming I am doing one thing when for the Exec and a few others they know I am really doing something very different. 

October22Mover

Well we have an answer now - the seller's lender is just taking forever to provide the discharge documentation. Absolutely crazy they weren't just upfront about this in the first place and let us spend three weeks tearing our hair out about why no one would talk to us.