here is the situation.
some of you may know that we have been attempting to move house for quite a while (previously discussed on mumsnet, but i can't find the thread now).
we told the estate agents and our solicitors some while ago that if we hadn't exchanged contracts by 4th June we would have to postpone our move until October (due to the fact that i'm currently nearly 33wks pg - baby due at end july) - wanting to allow 4 wks between exchange and completion to make sure the stress on us (we have a toddler as well) was minimised.
our buyers have had trouble with their buyers and to cut a long story short are now running behind schedule. last week we reluctantly agreed to move our deadline to this friday 11th june. have just been told by the estate agent that they will not be able to exchange contracts this friday, but will "definitely" be able to do it by next friday, leaving us 2 wks between exchange and completion. of course there is no guarantee whatsoever that we would be able to exchange next week either.
needless to say i'm getting a lot of pressure from the estate agent to agree to this - e.g. it's very usual (he says) to have only this amount of time between exchange and completion. i'm getting irritated by the hard sell, by the lack of understanding of our situation (most people aren't in an advanced state of pg with difficulty walking some days) and by the fact that we are getting this grief even though we have been consistent right from the outset about what our needs were in terms of timing. that's the sale of our house.
on the purchase side, we are ready to exchange subject to agreement on the fixtures and fittings (also discussed before on mumsnet - can't find that one either) and to consideration for items highlighted from the building survey needing immediate attention.
the seller has been quite adamant from the outset that they are taking most things with them (including the bath from the second bathroom) and what they are leaving they are charging hefty prices for. so far they have refused to consider lowering the price of the house in consideration for a breached damp course and woodworm infestation (house not already priced to reflect that this type of work might need to be done).
dh and i have estimated the costs of not coming to agreement on either of these things and think the additional cost to us would be in the region of £15,000. since we also have my maternity leave to fund for 3m, i'm very reluctant to raid our savings for this much money, especially as we had earmarked it for improvements of our own, not for just making the place habitable, iyswim.
so wise mumsnetters, should i give them the extra week, pull out now, or stick to our plan b of potentially moving in october? (of course our buyer and seller might call the whole thing off if we don't move till october).
thanks in advance
ps - has anyone else noticed they can't find things on search atm?