Seller threatening to pull out if we don't exchange in 2 weeks :(

[Definitelynotme]

Had an offer accepted back in June. Some trouble getting the mortgage agreed, but this happened last week. In the meantime we have moved forward, so solicitor engaged, searches completed, survey carried out. A few minor requests from solicitor but nothing major. We are first time buyers, place is currently let, tenant is moving out end of September.

Just heard via estate agent seller is now threatening to put the house back on the market if we don't exchange in 2 weeks . They know we have the mortgage approved and paid out to solicitors. They know we can't move until 1 October as this is their deadline for the tenant moving out. So what are they playing at?! Also we are told by our solicitor they have not had any responses from the seller's solicitor on any requests raised.

We have done everything we can and are so close to completion, what can they achieve by threatening us now?!

Now vendor is saying he wants to exchange today or tomorrow . He must be aware that there is to and fro between our solicitors and his and we can't speed this up! Really don't know what he expects us to do, but there isn't even a contract to sign at the moment!

Definitelynotme and Bearsinmotion Apologies, are you one and the same? I thought you were signing contracts a few days ago.

You cannot exchange just because the tenant has been issued with notice. Tenants can and do ignore notices. Your solicitor will want confirmation that the property is vacant.

No matter how much the vendor threatens and demands, it sounds like this matter is nowhere near ready and your solicitor will not agree an exchange on this basis. Believe you me, we have clients jumping up and down demanding exchange take place today, tomorrow, by the end of the week blah blah. Sorry, not ready, no can do. There will always be a client that actually does pull out but the majority do wait because they will not sell/purchase anything quicker because the whole process has to start again from the beginning.

Yes, sorry, both me!

The solicitor is happy to exchange before the property is empty, as is DP and the mortgage broker doesn't think it is an issue either. I am just a lone voice in the wilderness where this is concerned

Ask your solicitor:

If we exchange, what happens if the tenant has not vacated by the completion date?

Would the mortgage company give you the mortgage to complete?
Would you lose you deposit from failure to complete if no mortgage?
Who would pay for any damage by the tenant to the property?
As you are responsible for insurance between exchange and completion, how much is that with a tenant in situ compared to vacant?
Will you, as the new owner, be able to enforce the section 21 notice from the previous landlord or have to start all over?

Who will pay for your rent for 6 months whilst evicting the tenant?

If he and the mortgage broker say you have no additional costs from all of these issues then get it in writing and report him/her to the law society.

you need answers to all those questions; send them to the vendor as well as to your solicitor. Also raise with the senior partner as I think you have an incompetent solicitor.

it IS an issue. You are risking a lot of expense and not being able to get into the place for months if the tenant decides not to go.

Thanks all, this is really useful. Will send these to DP so he can see why I am worried and forward the specific questions on. There is certainly a disconnect between what you are all saying and what we are hearing from our solicitor.

Bears, I suspect he's had another offer.

I have another half-baked theory.

My previous message wasn't very clear but what I mean to say is that the sellers of our cottage had very incompetent solicitors - with a strange twist.

As we are not local we asked the estate agent, off hand, if he could recommend someone. He recommended the seller's solicitors! He knew who was acting for them too. But conflict of interest wasn't noted and I wonder what would have happened if we had enquired with them. In the end we found someone else who was fantastic.

Is there any chance you're in a similar situation - i.e. buying in a new area? Are you 100% sure there is no conflict of interest via your solicitor and the seller? Maybe not on this transaction but otherwise?

I would be taking this further up the chain than the person you are dealing with directly.

Good advice here on the questions. Please, please don't let this go.

I would not suspect a better offer, they can just withdraw and accept the better offer.
I would suspect they have concerns about the tenant leaving.

Please do not exchange. The mortgage broker should not be advising you, only your solicitor. I would expect you will invalidate your mortgage terms and conditions exchanging with the tenants in situ, irrespective of whether notice has been served, unless a buy to let mortgage is in place. I presume you have a residential mortgage. Further checks are completed by mortgage companies prior to release of funds far more than often now. Therefore the checks will reveal the property still has tenants in situ, worse case scenario the mortgage company may withdraw their offer. If you have exchanged you are therefore committed to buy. Your solicitor should not allow you to exchange. Do not be forced by anyone else in particular the vendor or mortgage broker, they are only thinking of their own interests not yours!

I don't see how it benefits the vendor to force us to exchange at this stage, other than convince him we are serious. We'd be happy to exchange and complete within a few days once the tenant has left.

The solicitor has not said anything ab

...about issues with the mortgage if tenants are in place between exchange and completion, just that the only way to ensure they leave on time is to wait for vacant possession to exchange. Have copied carol's questions for DP to forward on. Will wait for her response before we escalate????????

Hi

Since it is the weekend, it might be a good time to stand back and make a cool reassessment of the situation. Then work out your various options.

It can be all too easy to get caught up with getting this thing moving forwards and with the emotions of buying a home.

I have known people who have been messed about with and forced to withdraw, only to find a completely different sort of place and be very happy with the way things have turned out.

FWIW, I think an offer to exchange and complete quickly once the tenant is out is a good one. If they have no problem with providing a vacant property, it should not make a difference. If you are going to exchange with the tenant in situ, there should be significant and definite compensation arrangements for if it goes wrong. Unfortunately, if things do not go to plan, if they don't cough up, you then have to go to court, get bailiffs etc. It is so much better to avoid it happening in the first place.

( It would be interesting to know the situation from the tenant's point of view, but not sure if that would be harassment or something.)

Sorry, thought that posted!

About problems re insurance or mortgage company not allowing us to complete. Have copied Carol's questions and passed them on to the solicitor.

We were originally told the reason for sale is that the tenant is leaving rather than the vendor deciding to sell and evicting her, but that is still no guarantee.

What a farce! They want you to exchange because when you exchange you pay your deposit.

If you try to pull out of the sale they may well let you but you lose your deposit in the process.

It's possible their tenant is refusing to move and they know it's going to be a long road to getting her out. If you exchange they will know your hands are tied as they will get to keep your deposit!

Do not exchange contracts unless you are prepared to potentially wait months for the tenants to leave.

Explain you will exchange and swiftly complete as soon as she is out.

Absolutely DO NOT exchange before the tenant is out.

Your solicitor sounds incompetent. We used a high throughput, cheap conveyancing firm when we sold our house. There are still legal repurcussions from doing this months after we sold. Luckily, I was able to get a solicitor friend to check over all the important bits but it was like pulling teeth getting them to do things correctly. Their failure to act in your best interests is a red flag and I WISH I had paid attention to our red flags and just changed solicitors. It really would have been easier than all the mess we were left with.

I agree with the PP that said get any advice your solicitor gives you from this point on IN WRITING. Can't stress that enough. If they won't commit it to writing, ask yourself why.

Also, ring the solicitor's firm and ask to speak to the senior partner overseeing your transaction and explain your concerns (the list of qs above is a good start). Again, what does s/he advise and will s/he commit it to writing? Tell them what your solicitor advised and see if they are happy with that.

Don't exchange while the tenant is there.
I was the landlord in this scenario. I told my tenant nicely in Feb that the house was on the market, I gave a substantial rent discount to facilitate viewings, issued notice as soon as I accepted an offer in the May (which should have left a clear month between her leaving and completion). She wouldn't leave, just said she had nowhere to go. It looked like we would have to evict which would have taken until the Dec. I ended up finding her a house, paying the deposit until our agent had processed the end-of-tenancy, and DH moved her furniture. The landlord in this instance is probably not going to be willing to do that. Once you've exchanged you'll be trapped. My tenant was a lovely lady in her 50s, working and solvent, never missed a rent payment, ran a car etc. then she turned into the tenant from hell.

Two experiences with tenanted properties. We bought one where the owner had family members living in the house as his tenants. He needed to sell for financial reasons. We did exchange before the tenants were out and they moved out on completion a week later. We only did this after extensive discussions and assurances were provided. The only issue in the whole process was that the tenants were awkward over when the survey could be sorted out. When this happened we did threaten to pull out if there were any further hold ups and everything then went like clockwork.

Last year we sold a house where the tenant had given notice. Exchange only took place after the tenant had moved out. Completion was just a couple of days later. As a landlord I had to take on the void period of just over two weeks, but it's more of a cash flow issue than anything else when you are selling. The gap between the tenant moving out and exchange was in relation to searches and enquiries.

Spickle and other legal people - how much would you expect the solicitor to lead on these kind of queries and how much would they be led by us? We received a note from the buyers solicitor saying there would not be vacant possession until October, which our solicitor received several weeks ago so she is clearly aware, but she has only answered specific questions ( mostly suggested on here!) rather than raise them herself. From the latest correspondence she would not object to exchanging before the tenant leave, just said it's the only way we can guarantee they go.

I realise I am woefully lacking in knowledge about the whole process, and I guess I expected the solicitor to guide us more than she is...

If she said you exchanging is the only way to guarantee the tenant leaves, you really need to report her and change solicitors/escalate up the firm. The ownership of the house has no bearing on the tenant's rights.

Sorry, phrased that very badly! She said the only way to guarantee the tenant leaves is to wait until then to exchange. But this is only after we asked explicitly whether it should be vacant on exchange.

Which is, I think what we have been saying and she should have warned you about. She seems totally useless and you really should speak to a senior person at the firm and complain.
you are paying for this and you would not accept this level of service in a supermarket, which is a darn site cheaper.

That's the thing carol, it does feel like she is only responding to our specific questions, which came from the responses on here. Which makes me wonder what else has been missed just because we didn't ask about it

On that note, thanks again everyone who has provided expert knowledge on here, it has been extremely helpful

A good solicitor will lead you, and when a situation comes up, point out all the potential legal implications and provide some advice on what to do. Often they will be quite risk averse, and you might even have to tell them 'ok this is a risk we're prepared to take, don't pursue x any further'.

If their business model is push through as many transactions as possible within a minimal number of hours (maybe for a fixed fee) this is what you will get. They won't bother to advise you on anything you don't explicitly ask about.

Given that this situation could turn into quite a big headache for you, I would say the solicitor is beyond lazy and actually failing to advise appropriately (ie incompetent).

You've had some good advice here so do follow it. It only takes a day or two to transfer to a proper solicitor, it's just a matter of these clowns sending the file across and them getting up to speed.