How can you confirm the buyer is financially qualified to proceed

20122013

My buyer’s solicitor is delaying exchange over a £180 Deed of Covenant. What other issues can delay exchange and is there anything I can do to stop the buyer from dragging their feet?

eddddy

20122013 said

What other issues can delay exchange 

Anything can delay exchange. The buyer (and/or their solicitor) can delay exchange for any reason they choose.

Or the buyer can decide not to exchange and walk away if they want to - for any reason they choose.

20122013 said

is there anything I can do to stop the buyer from dragging their feet?

You could ask the buyer to hurry up - either directly or via the estate agent.

Or you could make threats, like if they don't hurry up, you'll put your property back on the market.

But the delay might or might not be the buyer's fault. And making threats could have any of the following results:

• The buyer ignores your threats
• The buyer hurries up because of your threats
• The buyer gets annoyed by your threats, and decides to walk away

elsien

Or if it’s just about 180 quid against a house sale worth many thousands, you could just pay the 180 quid. No, you don’t have to, but it’s an option.

user1977

There is an infinite range of things which could delay exchange. I don’t see what purpose it will serve for us to try listing them.

TroubledTarts

Anything from birth to deaths and everything in between can halt a house sale.

20122013

I realised that there are (lots of) uncertainties, aside from paying the £180, is there anything I can do to get to completion. At the moment it seems it is never ending, as my solicitor's have already passed on the information from the management company over a month ago, and now this happens.

RelievedSheff

If your buyer, or their solicitor, is not happy with some paperwork then they are not ready to exchange so they are not delaying anything.

Tiglet2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82028429#Comment_82028429

Nothing you can do - it's in the hands of others, over which you have no influence.

elsien

All you can do is keep them momentum up from your end, trying to anticipate anything else and making sure that your solicitor response promptly.

20122013

Update: The buyer's offer was accepted a few months ago believing the agent's claim that this was a chain-free sole buyer who had been financially vetted.

Today, I found out that this buyer needs to complete a transfer of equity. This process must finish before they can exchange contracts, and they are using a different solicitor for it.

They also intend to sign the Deed of Covenant on completion but simultaneously claim they will not exchange until it is signed—is this even possible?

They claim they only received the survey report today, which confuses me since they have been asking questions quoting from the same report for the past few weeks. While I know there is no definitive answer, I have never encountered this situation before. Based on what I have seen so far, I lack confidence that this will complete within the next three months, or before the mortgage offer expires, either way will they still be able to use the same mortgage offer if they need 'transfer of equity. is this a ready, willing, and able buyer? Anything I should be mindful ?