To insist on a certain completion date?

[packingthekitchensink]

Name changed as this is possibly outing....

Our offer was accepted back in March, only us and them in the chain (they are going into a new build, we rent).

First completion date was end of May then end of June as their house isn't ready.

Which brings us to now. I'm tired of changing our plans to suit them and have said we complete by a certain date or I'm pulling out of the sale.

My solicitor is very supportive in this (as she would be as I'm paying her I guess) but I've had a phone call today from the estate agent telling me I'm 'being ridiculous' and I'm effectively making the other family homeless.

Times ticking on our rental as I've handed in my notice and my landlord has a new tenant lined up.

So, go on... AIBU? I can certainly see it from their point of view but until we exchange contracts and set a date my family and I are in limbo.

Why on earth have you given notice when you haven't even exchanged? You are actually making yourself potentially homeless. Where will you be staying when you move out if you haven't exchanged?

By the way there has never been a first or second completion date. Completion date is set on exchange. They were possible/prospective dates that you were working towards.

When are you due to exchange? You wouldn’t normally give notice until you had as anything could go wrong up to that point.
But it’s not unreasonable to put the pressure on.

YABU. It is not the vendors fault that the new build isn’t ready plus you shouldn’t have given notice before exchange. I’m an estate agent and cannot stand when buyers do this. If your landlord is getting itchy about you moving out then pulling out of the sale isn’t going to change that. Suck it up

So go ahead pull out of the transaction. You'll still have to move out of your rented and you'll just have incurred a load of costs for nothing.

Appreciate that's it's frustrating but you sound ridiculous.

Dont you have to exchange contracts first before setting a completion date.

Thank you for your replies. Their solicitor suggested the completion date hence me handing in my notice... although I do realise it was never set in stone.

How long is a reasonable amount of time to wait? I could be stuck in this situation for months.

You needed to have negotiated a rolling break clause with your landlord.

No completion date until exchange in England & Wales.

No point pulling out unless you have a better house lined up. You'll still need to live somewhere.

Have you got a date for exchange.

What exactly is holding the sellers up? You’re perfectly within your rights to pull out if you don’t believe it’s moving but it’ll put you back to square one in terms of negotiation, searches etc. Yes four months has been a while but these things happen in a chain.

If I were you I’d find a short term rental and ask the sellers if they’re willing to commit to X date even if it means them going into rented. Oh and don’t take advice from the sellers EA - they’ll do anything to maintain a deal and avoid more work for them and more delay to the commission. I worked in an EA office in another lifetime and take everything they say with a massive pinch of salt. This is a decision for you to make.

Your solicitor suggested it? In a chain it needs to be agreed by all parties and usually discussed when exchange happens. Something sounds off!

I did exactly this with our buyers, I said unless we exchanged the following week the house was being put in the market, we did end up exchanging that week!

Assuming their stated reason if heir newbuild not being ready is genuine, then I think YABU. If they were in any way dragging their heels then you’d be within your rights but there’s nothing they can do about this.

I understand your frustration, though wouldn't have put notice in on the rental yet. We are trying to sell and buy a new build, if we find a buyer we won't try to delay, we will sell as quickly as possible and go into rented if we have to, to be fair it's quite easy for us to be able to do that for various reasons, but I wouldn't expect to hold a buyer up months because my house is being built.

Sorry, I can’t work it out - have you actually exchanged contracts yet? I can’t get the timeline in my head because you don’t get a completion date until exchange and I wouldn’t think you’d give notice until exchange...

Their solicitor contacted my solicitor with the date not the other way round. I've had the purchase report, signed paperwork and transferred the money in readiness for exchange which should've been next week.

It was Friday that I heard from my solicitor that the builder wouldn't commit to the date anymore.

As the majority think IABU what is your suggestion?

You are within your rights to pull out but what is your plan b? Would you do a short term let? Plus all the money spent on surveys and solicitor fees wasted. Might be cheaper if its just a couple of weeks to negotiate with the seller

For us the exchange and completion happened within 2 days of each other. After the seller accepted our offer and withdrew the property, we had very little time, and I also gae notice on my rented appartment in the same way. Luckily all went smoothly.
At worst, they should move out and rent for a couple of weeks- that;s what my family did in the past when they sold their house to move into a newly built home which was not finished on time. Otherwise you will be the homeless one! So you are NBU.

Oooo be super careful if you’ve transferred the money prior to exchange. You need to check that your money is being held in a client money bank account to maker sure it’s protected

Sorry if I've not made it very clear (FTB). I believe we were ready to exchange but my sellers builder won't exchange with them as they won't / can't commit to a date.

I guess what I was thinking was why couldn't they go into short term rental rather than keep me hanging on indefinitely.

I've taken a step back now I've had your views and need to reconsider my actions. Think I'll stick to talking to solicitors rather than the EA too!

I am on your side. You need to give notice to your landlord and most people cant afford to pay rent and a mortgage.

I had this happen to me, we had to move in with family, and I loathe people who make moving more difficult because they are selfish.

How long should you give them 2 months, 5, 10? It has to end at some point. YANBU

I don’t think you are being unreasonable, Interesting that others disagree. We are selling our house to a chain free couple and I am only expecting them to have a finite amount of patience. I think you are in a strong position and would start making a fuss and probably start booking appointments in with their estate agents too.

Personally I would say I want exchange next week with a completion date set a reasonable amount later if they’re moving to a new build. Say, 2 months? That why you can make your plans without stress.

You’re not necessarily being unreasonable to be considering pulling out, but you may be cutting off your nose to spite your face.

The real error here was giving notice before exchange if that’s what you’ve done.

The house buying process in this country is ridiculous, I agree that you should be able to fix a date- but as you haven't exchanged yet I don't think you can stipulate. It's a shame they weren't more transparent during the process as you could have considered the fact you might be waiting x amount of months. We kept having a completion date thrown about, which although not binding, factored into our decision to progress based on our circumstances. We didnt complete for another 6 months and it cost us a lot- stress wise and financially!

I work in the new build industry and I can assure you that you putting your foot down and pushing them will make absolutely no difference. Their developer will not give a completion date until they’re ready, which is often 2 weeks before completion of less. You’ll be putting them in an impossible situation. I appreciate it’s so frustrating but try to see it from their perspective.