PULL OUT NOW! She is messing you around and you don’t know whether she’ll keep this new completion date either. You’ve offered full asking price with no chain and wanted to complete quickly. Most people would love a buyer like this, but instead she has messed around, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next week comes and goes and you still do not own the property. If you had purchased the property for a bargain price I could see why you continued to chase this, however you offered full asking price and I say cut your losses. Find a cheap Air BnB and look for a new property to buy or rent.

As a side note, not having family support is unfortunate, but that does not make people walk all over you - neither does being a first time buyer. You need to be firm on what you what from the beginning and clearly advise what action you will take if the agreed terms are not met. Tell them as she has failed to complete several times, she either completes today or you walk away and your offer is revoked. If you don’t want to lose the property completely, tell them if they do not complete today and wish to delay AGAIN until the 26th, that you are dropping your offer £5k (or whatever amount you deem reasonable given the price of the property). You may suddenly find she can complete today.

Very glad we are out of the English property system - in the state I live in in Australia you make an offer via estate agent, all offers must be presented (by law), if offer accepted contract of sale usually signed within 24 hours. Once both parties (vendor and buyer) have signed, both parties have only 48 hours to get property reports etc and only during this time can either party withdraw from the sale without penalty. Once the 48 hours is up the contract is binding and sale will proceed on an agreed date (usually 28 days after contract is signed). It is very rare that settlement (the date of legal ownership changes over) is delayed, and if so, the vendor can legally charge the purchaser a certain percentage of sale price for every day late that settlement is delayed, but this is very rare.

Good luck!

It's not clear if you have exchanged contracts or not? Can you push to do this right now with a fixed completion date?

Pull out! They bloody deserve it. And I say this as the OP of the waiting to exchange thread! 

Look at other properties this weekend and start again or go into short term rented if you can?

The whole thing is a bloody nightmare but yours sounds particularly bad  for you OP

PS come and join us on the waiting to exchange thread if you do continue, we're a lovely, if frustrated & slightly sweary bunch!

I'd also say pull out or give the seller the option of exchanging today and completing on the 26th, but for £1000 less to pay for your hotel room & storage costs.

If you pull out now you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's been a complete nightmare but you're literally a week away from the end now. I hate the whole process because you're completely at other people's mercy - vendors, estate agents, solicitors. Do ask your solicitor to pass on to his counterpart that all bets are off if completion doesn't take place next Friday. I assume you haven't yet exchanged and are doing both on the same day.

I'd say pull out. Either get your solicitor to speak with the other side - dropping the price as someone above mentioned - or just tell the EA yourself. No doubt they will all try and get you to stay on board, but this should be an exciting time for you, and it's been tarnished by the Vendor's demands. They should be falling over themselves to keep you happy, instead they're acting like they are doing you a favour. Find somewhere to rent, take a few months to get over it, then look for something else. The Vendor is being massively unreasonable and it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up being one of those types that takes all the lightbulbs, etc - anything that isn't built in!

When we were delayed by a month, the vendor paid 6 weeks rent which was negotiated by my solicitor. Definitely speak to yours today.

Of course the agent says it's terrible. Less commission for her and an earful from the seller.

I would set your position out to the agent - no chain, full asking, have been clear about when needed to complete but been flexible (at own inconvenience)- and then say that you cannot keep living in limbo, with everything in storage, at the mercy of friends to provide accommodation and you will start viewing other properties this weekend. If you find one you like and is proceedable you will be withdrawing your offer on this house.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot with the agent- the next property you spot may be through them! And agents talk to each other- don't give them anything to blacklist you to other agents with.

Sorry, just seen your update.
Jeez the agent sounds like a real charmer.
I suspect they think they've got you over a barrel.

Oh and btw, when we moved recently our solicitor said that any change in price (up or down) would mean reapplying for the mortgage so would be more delay.
If you have a solicitor I would advice going through them from now.

Don't talk to the agent. They're working for the vendor. Do everything through your solicitor. That's what you're paying them for.

Regardless of whether next Friday is set to suit your vendor or not, that's a week away. You're so close now that, painful as it is, I'd just suck it op, see what your solicitor can negotiate in terms of compensation before exchange and put all this behind you when you move in. And make sure you've bought half a dozen light bulbs and a pack of loo rolls!

I’d pull out. This is ludicrous. Take a break and look again in the new year.

They’re taking advantage and you’d be better off washing your hands of them.

If they have an ongoing purchase I doubt that will be done in 4-6 weeks. More like 10-12. If I were you I would start looking for rentals and other properties to buy or at least insist on exchange next week and a fixed completion date even if it’s four weeks away at least then you are certain it will happen.

Say you will delay by a week, but only if she pays your living costs for the next week. If not then pull out. she is taking the piss

and insist on a completion date you are happy with OP!

Your request was not awful, you've been messed around and have needed to source alternative accommodation for a sale that was advertised as chain free and able to complete quickly. Put the same proposal to your solicitor.

I'd start looking for somewhere new ASAP.
You might find somewhere you like better and check gumtree for short term let's/rooms.
Our seller acted like this. We wanted to complete in early June and ended up completing late July.

I would pull out and look for something else. They have not completed when they said. You have not exchanged.

Most people would jump at a first time buyer, no chain and ready to go.

After all the messing around someone had suggested I ask for a price reduction, and so yesterday I rang the agent and said if we don't have it in writing that it's going to be completed by Monday 22nd, I want £5k knocked off the price.

If you are in England, the only thing that ties a seller into a date is exchange of contracts.

If she was happy that nothing was stopping her from completing next Friday, she should be ready to exchange contracts today.

She is completely stringing you along.

Give her 48 working hours to exchange. End of tues next week if you’re feeling generous.

If not, pull out.

They do not have you over a barrel. You mentioned they have now purchased a property, which one assumes they don’t wish to lose, so the agent is trying to bully you into doing what they want. I would stand firm - complete now or walk away. Tell her you will not continue to be bullied by anyone - you have been more than generous by delaying several times and it is either complete today or offer revoked. My last words to agent would also be along the lines of “wave bye-bye to your commission” if they continue to be so rude.

I also wonder if the vendor may be looking to get out of their purchase and are trying to get you to pull out so they have an excuse?

As for all the “Estate Agents will blackball you” stuff, that won’t happen. They don’t care who they sell to - as long as they sell for the highest price in a reasonable timeframe. If you had shown previously that you had no intention of completing on a property that you had an offered accepted on, then they would be reluctant to recommend a buyer accept your offer, however that is not your situation.

They are trying to call your bluff - call theirs instead. Stay strong and I wish you the best of luck again.

You can't insist on anything. You can get your solicitor to ask very strongly. You'd really be better off discussing this with your solicitor who has seen every possible property transaction scenario and is the expert on how to handle the situation.

Cross post - demand generous costs for the entire period she has delayed for. You were expecting to be in weeks ago. Costs should be paid as a reduction in sale price only.

They will be messing you about.
Just say the date and say that you are pulling out at 4PM on that date if the completion hasn't happened and you want price reduction. Stick to your guns. You can rent for 6 months elsewhere if the worst happens nad look for another one.

I had to do it when I was buying. They stalled few things and then tried to move pre agreed completion date 2 weeks further.
I simply couldn't due to ending rent contract.

And regarding the agent. Any chance your solicitor would kindly call her once instead of you? Especially with this ultimatum?