Sellers arsing about week before completion..

[cooperG]

Hi, never posted on property before but hoping someone can advise as to what they think's going on here..

We're first time buyers, house we're buying was touted as 'no chain' - death in the family and the sellers are moving into a house left by this. We got everything done and our sol happy, came to us and said vendors sol had suggested 1st May for completion.

Fine, great, transferred deposit and their bill so we could exchange. Got a phone call from my sol saying he'd rang to exchange and their sol said they hadn't exchanged on their purchase yet so couldn't... I'd already had message from my bank at this point saying mortgage funds would be released on 30 April.

Emailed EA asking what was going on as I thought the property had been left to them so they'd be ready to go when we were. EA didn't know (this was yesterday) and has since even trying to find out, but seems to be getting fobbed off by vendors sols, main contact is out of office til Monday and person dealing with "busy".

I've said I need to have exchanged by end of this week as I'm not happy about the idea of my bank releasing funds if we don't actually end up completing on 1st May.

Does this sound normal? Is it normal to purchase a house that's been left to you or has some misleading been done at time of viewing? I'm majorly stressing, I've got to book time off work and a van etc and just get the feeling something's going on.

Why would you agree a completion date if you weren't ready to exchange?! Arrrrgh!!

Is there a chance they've got held up getting probate, or something along those lines?

If ít was left to more than one person it would need to be transferred into your vendor's name and he potentially buy the other/s out.

In your shoes I would indeed find out if they are purchasing something else.

If they are you are in a strong position because they will need your money to buy the other place.

Therefor get your solicitor to send an email stating you need to be in on the date agreed, otherwise you are considering pulling out.

The other people can easily stay with relatives or elsewhere for a few weeks.

Momzilla - their house has been on and off the market since sept last year so I would expect probate would have been sorted by now? I don't really know how these things work though...

Quitelikely - I thought I had made myself clear, but obviously not clear enough, that we need to be in by the end of April. I just don't understand why they agreed to complete if they had issues on their purchasing side. I'm getting very and I don't want to annoy them by saying we'll pull out, because there's not a chance we're pulling out and what if they called our bluff?!

Your bank won't release the funds until exchange has happened and you can't complete until you have exchanged so don't worry about that.

I was just going to say precisely that, MOUMOO. In my case last year, my mortgage lender only released the money as the final act when they were happy e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g was in order.

Update: sellers went into their sols yesterday to sign everything they needed. Told them they had permission to exchange "whenever". Was informed of this around 16:00 yesterday, and that exchange should happen either today or tomorrow (mon or tues).

Informed my sol of this and didn't expect it to happen until today anyway. Rang EA around 11 this morning to find out what was going on, ie, why hasn't vendors sol carried out his clients instruction and exchanged? She phoned them and was told "the file is being worked on", which I know is office talk for "nothing is happening" because I work in an office!

16:00 still no updates so I email both EA and my sol and remind them that if we haven't exchanged by weds lunchtime I'm gonna have to contact my bank (I don't trust they won't release the funds if exchange and completion are possible on the same day it must happen!)

Reply from my sol saying she's just had a phone call informing her that they're having trouble getting a redemption statement for their mortgage. Absolutely fuming!!
Why did they suggest a completion date if they weren't even ready to exchange?!

My question is, does their redemption statement affect the transaction between us and them, or just their purchase? (From their brothers) because if it only affects their purchase then why should we not exchange on our purchase? I am SO angry that we've been lied to for the past week and a half!

Redemption certificate is for their current property so affects the sale.

ah, so there was a chain. That was the initial lie. You are being treated as little people who can be pissed about. Sorry.

trying for exchange and completion on the same day is ridiculous. How can you arrange removals/post forwarding/phone line transfer etc etc etc with absolutely no notice?

get the exchange through by phoning every hour on the hour and work on another months' delay.

Thanks special. I'd amend the title of the thread if I knew how, it wasn't the sellers, it was their crappy solicitors!
We have now exchanged and are completing tomorrow ??