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Homeless now due to incorrect completion date given by Solicitors, HELP!

So I am currently going through a house move, My parents are selling their house to move abroad and I am going in as a first time buyer, however my family will be living with me for sometime whilst I settle in and they also get a little bit more funds together to retire.

My parents have been living in their home for over 29 years now, to which we will be moving everything into the new house I am purchasing, BUT now the solicitors have basically messed everything up for us leaving us homeless for 9 days.

The buyer of my parents home have now exchanged for one day which was agreed on, however despite my solicitors being told that this date would not be met by my sellers (for the property I am purchasing) they still went ahead and agreed on exchange for my parents property. Now she was chasing my property's sellers to agree on the same date however they have agreed on a later date (9 days later) for completion, which basically means we are left homeless for 9 days in-between!!

Taking in consideration I am having to move an entire family across country, this includes two young children, and 29+ years worth of household things.

My solicitors did not even advise me on what impact this would take on me if this was to happen either, they asked for authorisation twice from me and my parents for the go ahead for exchange.

Now I had no clue this would happen as the emails between the solicitors and negotiators used such legal jargon I had no clue, I was messed around from the beginning and passed onto several different case handlers, each only acted when I started sending chase emails and CC'ing their managers in.

Can someone please advise me what I can do?? the sellers cannot bring their date for completion back either as they will be moving into a new property which hasn't even completed but due to the chase they have agreed for the date (9 days later) they also have a very ill child and having to move into a friends home due to earlier completion date. The buyer also cannot move his date to the new suggested date as his solicitors have already organised the mortgage from the lenders and they cannot hold onto such large funds.

Please help me in which way I can go to seek help or guidance.

Thank you:(:(
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Comments

  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,570
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    You mention that the solicitor has agreed a date for exchange on the old property but this is not completion and therefore not the date you need to move out.

    I think you are getting confused about exchange v completion.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,570
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    The main difference between exchange and completion is that exchange is an exchange of contracts, which makes the matter legally binding between the parties, whereas completion is the date the parties physically move and transfer legal ownership of the property.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622
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    Whilst I find your post confusing and with plenty of extraneous and unnecessary detail, the key point seems to be that you (or your parents ? ) agreed to two different exchange dates. Why ?

    It's certainly strange that your solicitors arranged such a thing, are there perhaps two different related transactions going on, one with your parents and one you and this is the source of the confusion ?

    At the moment I would focus on putting your stuff in storage, finding a place to stay (holiday rental? ) and sorting the practicalities and claim whatever compensation you might deem reasonable later though if you have been asked if the dates were OK twice and you agreed I suspect you are out of luck.
  • So basically the buyer of my parents property are set for completion on the 18th, my completion has been agreed for the 29th.

    The main mix up was when the solicitor went for the exchanges she requested for completion for the 18th when she was told by my property sellers that they cannot meet this date and can meet the 29th, but my solicitors still went ahead with the 18th completion date.

    hence the 9 day gap because now we have to leave my parents property by the 18th as this was the completion agreed on for the buyers for my parents property.
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,570
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    I'd do as Joe suggested; pack up, put the belongings in storage and have a few days relaxing in a holiday rental before moving and unpacking again.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,570
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    In terms of your parents 29+ years of household belongings; the new house is yours, will you have your own furniture/belongings? I hope they're not going to clutter up your new home with all their stuff.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622
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    elm2889 wrote: »
    So basically the buyer of my parents property are set for completion on the 18th, my completion has been agreed for the 29th.

    The main mix up was when the solicitor went for the exchanges she requested for completion for the 18th when she was told by my property sellers that they cannot meet this date and can meet the 29th, but my solicitors still went ahead with the 18th completion date.

    hence the 9 day gap because now we have to leave my parents property by the 18th as this was the completion agreed on for the buyers for my parents property.


    Are there two different solicitors involved, one for you one for parents ?
  • just one solicitor which is dealing with the sell and purchase and the still managed to mess everything up!
  • no they will be moving everything into another flat but everything would be coming to my new house first whilst they went though their purchase, we wanted to settle my purchase first and then they will be buying a flat of their own.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977
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    I strongly suspect that the solicitor instructed by the two parties, was not given clear instructions.

    He seems to have treated the two conveyances as unrelated. This is the normal state of affairs where he receives instructions from two different clients.

    On the other hand, if the two clients (the OP and OP's parents) both wrote to their solicitor, clearly instructing him to align both the Exchange of Contracts, an the Completion dates, of the two matters, then he is clearly at fault for failing to follow instructions.
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