Has anyone exchanged on payment of a deposit?

[fallopiana]

We are in a tricky situation. Our LL wants to sell to us but due to our employment situation we can't even apply for a mortgage for 3 months. We have suggested paying a sizeable deposit (say 100k) and exchanging, with completion following up to 6 months later.

Has anyone done this? Is there a better way of securing the property?

What happens if you can't get the mortgage? I assume you forfeit the £100,000.

Seems exceptionally risky to me.

And wouldn't your solicitor have to get everything in place before exchange including a mortgage offer. It seems fraught with issues.

Bowlersarm yes we would forfeit the deposit. So is it technically impossible to exchange without a mortgage offer?

I don't know .

But I would have thought any solicitor worth their salt wouldn't let you do it?

What about giving them a much smaller holding deposit? That would show your intent, and if it all went horribly wrong you would lose much less (and actually it may be returnable anyway.)

Regarding the completion, you can definitely have a fluid 'on or before the 1st January 2015' kind of arrangement, so that in itself isn't a problem.

exchange means a commitment to buy, which you can't make without funding, for which you need the mortgage if you don't have a house-worths of cash.

I can't think of any way round this - hopefully your landlord will wait (sounds worth doing).