Exchange and Completion Nightmare

[Bruno1959]

We found the perfect house in April and were lucky enough to find buyers for our house who are renting at the moment. The woman whose house we are buying said at the time she would be prepared to move out independently of an onward purchase (she hadn't found a property at the time) so we thought "great" - no chain!

About two months ago our seller advised she was going to buy a new build flat, she put down a deposit. After chasing her solicitor for weeks, our seller's solicitor received the contract for the new build 3 weeks ago with an exchange deadline of 20 August. We have now heard that her solicitor has asked for an extension to the deadline as she is still waiting for replies to enquiries and won't exchange with us until she receives these. She has also stipulated that she won't complete until 6 October!

I feel like telling her to go to hell as she has constantly moved the goalposts throughout this transaction and everyone is meant to accommodate her - I feel sorry for my purchasers as they are desperate to buy our house and everyone is on hold.

My feeling is that we should tell her we need to exchange by 20 August or we will walk away - I don't know what her problem is as the flat is hers - they are not going to sell it to anyone else so I don't see why she won't exchange with us.

So stressed and would like to hear other people's opinions on this.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Well you can do that - but you must be prepared for the risk that she will withdraw from the sale. How much do you like the house?

On the face of it, her solicitor is being reasonable in not exchanging until she has a response to her queries.

Can your solicitor not call her solicitor and find out why the completion date is now 6 October and whether that can be moved to a date that is more mutually satisfactory.

[Bruno1959]

The completion date is 6 October as I think her new build isn't going to be ready until the end of the year and she wants to spend as least as possible on renting accommodation until she can move into her flat.

Our problem is also that our purchasers are Hindus who are very religious and they can only exchange and complete on certain "auspicious days" in their calendar so they need to exchange on 20 August and complete by 4 September. This means as well that if this went ahead I will have to move out and rent for a month which will also incur me in costs as well as extra removal costs etc as our house contents will have to go into storage.

I really think we have been reasonable and have tried to accommodate both sides in this transaction but am nearing the end of my tether with this!

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

What's your lawyer suggesting as a way to resolve this?

I'm a lawyer (not a property one!) and I do think that you can get a lot resolved with a phone call explaining all this. Quicker than by email or letter.

[Bruno1959]

Our lawyer thinks our seller is being unfair and said she has moved the goalposts all the way through this transaction.

There is a possibility that if we threaten to walk away the seller will exchange on 20 August but it is a gamble. On the other hand our purchasers will walk away if they don't exchange by 20 August so I expect the transaction is dead in the water anyway :(

[wowfudge]

What do you think the chances are of your vendor being able to secure a new sale in order to complete in October? I'd issue the ultimatum and be prepared to walk away if necessary.