Can I change completion date

[Sellinghouses101]

Aibu

Sold my house STC

Used to be my home, had to relocate due to health reasons .

We didn't agree to a completion date.

Found out they want to complete on the same day the tenants move out.

I emailed solicitors saying I want to move date to a month later

Shit hit fan - buyer goes crazy

EA says she will walk if irs not tht day.

Back story , me n dh work full time , daughter is slap bang middle of gcses plus we are now 7 hours away too .

We wanted to go on the weekend the tenants move to empty

Loft etc .

EA now phoning me tomo and feels like he will ply on the pressure.

Aibu or should I be allowed to change date?

A week is reasonable. A month is not!

Well obviously you can’t just leave them on the street but you can also hire people to empty houses and dispose of everything as needed.

Completion dates are never fixed until contracts are exchanged.

Towards the end of our house sale every question to the person we were buying of was met with "we don't want to answer this question if you insist we will rent the house out and find another buyer"
I found the person's solicitor to be overly aggressive to every question and actually when pushed the answers were very simple. A letter from the builder to provide evidence that certain work didn't need planning etc.
With both of our house sales the completion date has been set from the start. One was the first working day after the new year, completed prior to Christmas. For the second house the completion date was set a few days before our buyers mortgage offer expired and we exchanged a week before that. We would have been charged extra to exchange and complete on the same day and our solicitors have always requested 5 working days between exchange and completion I think so they can make sure all the paperwork and cash is in place on completion day so it can run with minimal issues. Any gap much longer than this would be unreasonable

Exchange is when you legally agree to sell the house.

Completion is when the sale is complete and you hand over the keys.

It's completely utterly normal to have a conversation and a negotiation about the Completion date. The Exchange fixes the date. It can be a couple of days or weeks or even months later.

Basically if you don't want to complete until a certain date that's fine.

But your buyer can walk away if its not right for them

So you haven't exchanged yet? Matter for negotiation, either side can walk away

This is weird, as no solicitor would advise completing on the same day the tenants move out. What if they don't ? Then the buyer has bought a house with tenants to evict.
I suspect you're talking about exchange, but even that seems weird to have agreed to a date with tenants in situ.

@Sellinghouses101 exchange is exchanging contracts - seller and buyer solicitors will compare the contracts (usually in a phone call) to make sure both contracts say the same thing. Completion is when the sale completes and you get the keys. It’s usual to set a date for completion for a couple of weeks after exchange though can be same day (but not a good idea in case there is a problem during exchange). In our last sale/purchase the chain had proposed some possible completion dates and a preferred one, exchange was delayed a few days and in the end we completed on the preferred day but it was only 5 days after exchange. Often removal firms won’t commit to a booking until exchange in case the completion date moves. Your purchaser can’t get in before completion but your tenants could leave whenever you agree with your tenants, so working out dates to suit all of you leaving a gap
for you to clean up shouldn’t be an issue.

UPDATE: it doesn't matter now as the EA rang me to let me know that my tenants are refusing to leave and being awkward , even though my EA have been helping them find somewhere .
They have known we were selling and we even gave them first refusal so they are just beings CF.
SO now it' looks as though a possession order and the buyer will walk ...

How on earth are you buying a house without knowing the difference between exchange and completion?! Mind boggling.

Exchange is not the same as completion. At the point of exchange the deal is confirmed and you pay a deposit. Completion can be simultaneous, a day, week, month or year later. Its usually a week or two to allow admin odds and ends to be done as the sale is not firm until contracts are exchanged.

Your tenants are not being cheeky fuckers. They can legally remain until the tenancy ends (which can only be done by them or the court).

It's always a risk selling with tenants, hence why it's generally best to wait until they've left before marketing.

Yes they are, I've given them ample time and helped them and they have refused help and now are refusing to vacate. I haven't just done it without warning.

They're really not. As a landlord you are required to follow the law. They are not obliged to take your 'help' or to vacate because you ask them to.

You are a landlord. You need to follow the law.

Your tenants are also allowed to follow the law