To now refuse to change settlement date?

[diggerdigsdogs]

We are buying a house and are at the end of the three person long chain.

Settlement was supposed to be the 3rd.

If settlement takes place before the 9th we can't legally be charged late fees.

Settlement will be delayed because our bloody deposit hasn't arrived yet from the overseas bank that has it. We are supposed to receive it any day.
Settlement was verbally agreed to change to the 10th but we were told we would be charged late fees for every day over the 3rd (ie be in a worse position than just waiting and seeing when the money comes in and doing settlement immediately).

I thought "well what's the point in changing it as you will charge us late fees anyway" so nothing was signed and no document written by either side to change things.

We tentitivlely booked settlement for the 8th (the last day we can do it without fees) but it turns out our sellers went ahead and CHANGED the settlement date for the house they are buying. So now they have no where to move in to until the 10th.

They would have the option to either put their stuff in storage and move out on the 8th after settlement or just say "we aren't ready for settlement" and we could charge them a late fee for each day they aren't ready.

Each day we don't move out of our rental is another days rent we have to pay.

AIBU to refuse to change settlement?

I'm properly fence sitting. DH thinks we should charge them. I think that's probably bad karma!

[Wineandrosesagain]

No such thing as karma.

[QforCucumber]

Are you actually guaranteed to have your money in place by the 8th/9th?

If you've warned them that you could be delayed can you really blame them for trying to cover their own backs and not end up stuck themselves if your deposit doesn't process properly?

Surely the snowball effect has originally been caused by yourselves by not having your funds in place by the required date?

[Bearbehind]

From what you've posted though, this issue has been caused by you not having your funds in the right place and you cannot guarantee they'll be there on the 8th, 9th or 10th?

Personally I think the latest date is entirely reasonable- people can't make plans for the earlier dates only for you to let them down as you don't have the funds again.