Ready to exchange contracts on house we're selling, but house we're buying won't be ready for approx another 4 weeks

[TooFly]

Is this unusual?

We put an offer on the house we're buying at the start of July our buyer put an offer on our house about 2 weeks earlier.

No it's not unusual. Doesn't seem like an unusually long period from acceptance of offer either. Particularly given the time of year (holidays and stuff).

That's what I thought too!

But our solicitor acting for the sale of our house thinks it is, and is pressurising us to move into rental for rental for 4 weeks to please the buyer (first time buyer, single male) who is keen to move before the end of August. Apparently he's already booked his leave from work!!!

you can't rent for 4 weeks; it will be holiday cottage, hotel etc and with your stuff in storage.

that will cost a bit.

Well yes there's that too. There's nothing in the way of holiday cottages round here so will be hotel or holiday apartment in the city centre which will be ££££.

Anyway it's not really that realistic with 2 kids, one who is only 6 months old.

We said no way, but solicitor (who is our solicitor BTW) thought we were being unreasonable given how unusual the situation was?!?!

Our solicitor wouldn't let is exchange contracts for the sale of our old house and purchase of our new house at different times. The logic being, if you exchange on the sale before the purchase, if the purchase fell through you would still be legally obliged to proceed with the sale, leaving yourself homeless. Worst case scenario of course, but it made sense, even though I was desperate to exchange!

Yes good point diving.

Both our solicitor and estate agent were putting pressure on us, but at least our EA understood why we said no.

Solicitor making out like we're being soooo unreasonable! Which I don't understand because surely she should be working for us not the buyer!

If its a practice of solicitors I would consider asking for a different one to take over. They should advise not pressurise and if it starts to feel like they've got their own agenda its an awful lot of money you invest in your home you want it handled in your best interests.

Yes it's a big practice of solicitors. They're also acting for the buyer, but apparently he has a different solicitor in a different branch

Wondering whether I should complain....but I've told them categorically NO now, so hopefully they will accept this now and leave us alone!

I feel like both the solicitors and the EA should be managing the buyers expectations a little and not telling him the situation is unusual

Were you advised when you signed contracts that the same company was acting for the buyer?

I think a firmly worded email stating you are questioning whose interests are being looked after is in order.

Yes we were advised but assured it would be dealt with by a different solicitor in a different branch. So we assumed would be ok.

We've never sold a house before so we're inexperienced, maybe we should have found someone else, but it's too late now

I'm hoping this will be the end of it....if not I will definitely be complaining!

This is why we have rules about conflicts of interests etc. One firm acting for both parties is always risky.

Stand firm.

Our solicitor asked us to make arrangements to go into rented because our sale has been exchange ready for a while whilst our purchase isn't quite there yet. We said no way and that was the end of it. Our buyer is single man as well whereas we have 2 young children. Far easier for him to have to go somewhere else than us.

We also haven't exchanged on our sale yet because the purchase isn't ready. Like PP said, what if it went tits up?!

OMG crapbag sorry you're going through the same thing It's stresssful isn't it?

Is this standard practice then to push sellers into temporary accommodation? I assumed the solicitors worked together to coordinate sale/purchase at the same time.

Obviously don't want to lose our buyer and I'd understand a bit more if he'd been waiting months, but it's been 8 weeks since his offer!

It is stressful. I have wanted to jack the whole thing in but we really need to move.

They are suppose to coordinate an date that suits everyone in the chain. They can suggest you move into temporary accommodation as my solicitor has twice. Luckily I am pretty firm on things I absolutely not want to do so I said no not possible and that was that.

2 weeks ago our buyer dropped a bombshell saying he was in rented and had to be out by 29th August and had no where to go. He and his solicitor has known this since May and they told no one until now. Cue much panicking from us as we try and push things through, our vendor agreed to this date then forgot she has a wedding elsewhere and can't do it. Our EA were very much 'he HAS to be out and has NO WHERE to go, you NEED to complete by 22nd August' we know full well it won't be sorted in time. Today he has agreed for the first week of September! Panic over but I think it was something they were trying on to get us to move out before our purchase was ready.

Stand firm, ultimately they want to buy your house and it hasn't been very long at all. It is perfectly reasonable that your purchase is not ready and it is not on for your solicitor to be bullying you in this way.

If you don't want to move out just so your first time buyer can move in at the end of August when it suits him and his leave from work, then say no. Your buyer is not going to be able to buy anything else any quicker. Let him rent somewhere if he's that bothered. Honestly these EAs are not doing themselves any favours by continually pressurising people to agree to vacate when there is absolutely no need to. Solicitors usually work on the principle that sale and purchase are simultaneous, anything else is not possible unless someone in the chain is happy to go into rental or has got family to stay with/holiday booked etc.

Well done crapbag for standing firm, I'm glad it's all sorted out now and good luck for your move

I assumed solicitors worked on that principle too spickle