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Original poster

Delaying completion once you've exchanged - help!

89 replies

EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 21:07

Very stressed buyer here.

We exchanged on a property a week ago. Due to complete on Thursday. There's a possibility that we won't be able to - some money that forms part of our completion funds is stuck in a bank account and may not make it over in time.

Has anyone been in this situation? What happened in practice?

I understand that we will be liable for compensation/costs but first-hand experience would be greatly appreciated - I'm beyond stressed by it all.

OP posts:
everymummy · 11/04/2017 21:12

We've done this - ended up dragging it out for an extra week. Our solicitor just let them know we weren't ready (in our case our onward plans were changing). They were annoyed and called us but we explained our situation and basically just sat it out. We didn't incur any extra costs although I can imagine this might happen.

specialsubject · 11/04/2017 21:38

So everyone who is expecting a clear four day weekend to sort out their new homes won't be able to? You need to move heaven and earth to sort this, you will not be popular!

Take tomorrow off and spend it on the phone escalating this.

Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 21:40

Thanks both. special - I know. I'm going to do my best to sort this out tomorrow, but I have chased and escalated and chased and escalated today, and gotten nowhere, so I'm anticipating the worst at this point.

OP posts:
DancingLedge · 11/04/2017 21:41

This happened to someone I know- they begged their bank for help, and the bank came up trumps with a short term personal loan.

CotswoldStrife · 11/04/2017 21:41

We had to transfer the deposit into our conveyancer's client account before we exchanged, never mind completion - how did this happen, is it possible to borrow the amount from your own bank (like a bridging loan) until the funds come across?

ChristinaParsons · 11/04/2017 21:42

You will be served notice
Are you in a chain?

FiveShelties · 11/04/2017 21:46

What has your solicitor advised, I am surprised they have not already required the funds to be in the clients account by now. I would also approach bank and hope they would be able to help with a Bridging Loan.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 11/04/2017 21:48

How many in the chain? If you're at the bottom of one affecting lots of people, ouch. Chase, chase, chase. It surely has to be sortable.

Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 21:49

dancing I've applied for a personal loan. It's one of the things that may come through tomorrow, but I really can't rest easy until the money is in my account.

We had to transfer the deposit into our conveyancer's client account before we exchanged, never mind completion - how did this happen, is it possible to borrow the amount from your own bank (like a bridging loan) until the funds come across?

We transferred 10% ahead of exchange (as requested), but we have an 85% LTV mortgage, and that 5% (which includes the missing amount) is quite a large sum of money. The money that's missing is missing because my bank has helpfully decided to select it for "additional verification" ahead of release, in spite of huge amounts of begging and pleading on my part today. It looks like a bridging loan isn't viable to arrange between now and end tomorrow, though I hope a personal loan is.

christina I'm not sure if we're in a chain. I think it's a chain of three, but I wouldn't put money no pun intended on it.

I'm actually on holiday at the moment but intend to spend tomorrow on the phone to HSBC pleading my guts out.

OP posts:
Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 21:51

five solicitor has advised DH that this is to be avoided at all costs. I understand the theory of compensation that applies, but I'd really like to hear a worst-case scenario for what we are facing.

OP posts:
FiveShelties · 11/04/2017 21:57

A few years ago, we sold to a couple who only viewed once, offered full price and I worried about them not actually going through with the sale (they did). The solicitor advised that after exchange the buyers could lose the 10% deposit they had paid if they did not complete.

Not sure what happens if you have not paid 10% as seems to happen in a lot of exchanges now.

FiveShelties · 11/04/2017 21:59

I cannot imagine how stressful this must be though, bad enough buying and selling without any further complictions.

GU24Mum · 11/04/2017 22:01

It depends how long the delay is going to be. If you don't complete on time, the seller is likely to serve a notice to complete on you (and may charge a nominal fee but that's the least of the issues). You'll then be liable to pay interest until you complete. When the notice is served, you typically have 10 working days to complete and if you then fail to complete, the seller can walk away and take your deposit. That's the worst case scenario.
As others have said, you need to pull every stop possible out to get the money sorted out. Although you don't want to worry the rest of the chain unnecessarily, equally you can't (reasonably) leave it to the day of completion if there are going to be people packing up and loading stuff into removal vans before you mention that there's a problem.

Good luck.....

Kiroro · 11/04/2017 22:01

Fuuuuuuuurk OP hope you get this sorted!

Escalate up the chain in the bank
Personal loan
Can any family step in?

CotswoldStrife · 11/04/2017 22:03

We collated all the money in our joint account and then paid to transfer it over to the conveyancer, as HSBC will only let you move around 10K a day free of charge - as we needed to move more than that at once, I found I had to turn up at a branch bearing passport ID and pay a fee Angry It is a pain. Good luck with the bank tomorrow.

I do think your solicitor or conveyancer should have insisted that all the money you were providing for the sale should have been in their client account before exchange to prevent this kind of thing though. It's not exactly their fault but I am surprised that they exchanged without it.

CotswoldStrife · 11/04/2017 22:08

Just to point out that there usually has to be a paper trail for money used for a property purchase, a bank loan you can provide the paperwork for but a loan from another person would require them to sign paperwork to say that they do not have an interest in the property - so it's not a good option for the OP. The bank loan might be better given the circumstances (well the bank handing over the OP's dosh would be the best, but as they seem reluctant to do this ...)

Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 22:09

GU - I really can't see 10 working days being a problem, it's just the long weekend which is likely to bear the delay. It's effectively a matter of £30ish,000 which is stuck in an account somewhere.

It's an incredibly frustrating situation. The vendor threatened to pull out repeatedly, and apparently seriously, if we didn't agree to complete before the long weekend. We took the view that we could make it, and agreed in order not to lose the sale. And here we are.

This is not helped by my being on holiday abroad and DH struggling at home on his own with this. DH has asked a work colleague whether he could help, so that may come through, but like most people we don't expect large sums of money to fall from the sky.

OP posts:
Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 22:10

The loan point is helpful cotswald, thank you.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 11/04/2017 22:11

How long have the bank said it will take? In my experience they are reasonable in these things, refusing you your own money and costing you big time isn't going to get them good publicity, if they know when it's due they should help push it through. It's your money sfter all. They have no right to hold on to it.if you've abided by the terms of the account via withdrawal.

We put a large amount of cash down as part payment on this house and we had it to our solicitors account at the point of exchange and notified the bank well in advance of what we would be doing snd when.

TheHobbitMum · 11/04/2017 22:13

Eeek! Good luck OP I hope you sort everything tomorrow

FiveShelties · 11/04/2017 22:18

I would also get your solicitor involved, he may be able to hurry things along and yes ---- Good Luck from me too.

peukpokicuzo · 11/04/2017 22:19

If the only reason is money stuck in a bank account then don't cause a delay, you can get round this.

We had something similar when we were first time buyers. Stupidly hadn't accounted for the notice period on the savings account that we had out deposit in. It was all fine. The bank kindly agreed a £15,000 on our current account for 10 days. It cost us a couple of hundred pounds in interest payment but it was all fine.

You have signed contracts. If you don't complete you will be liable for a shitload of costs and penalties incurred by other people in the chain.

Original poster
EssentialHummus · 11/04/2017 22:20

bluntness it's supposed to be 24 hours, but this additional check malarkey can stretch it to 4 working days, which brings us to Tuesday. Gaah.

OP posts:
CotswoldStrife · 11/04/2017 22:28

I would check with your conveyancer whether any additional paperwork will be required for the extra funds - when we bought a few years ago I was staggered at the proof we had to provide!

Kiroro · 11/04/2017 23:06

I would check with your conveyancer whether any additional paperwork will be required for the extra funds - when we bought a few years ago I was staggered at the proof we had to provide!

I did similar to peukpokicuzo and got the notice on my notice account a bit wrong... my parents transferred the cash into my a/c and I transferred that to the sol. Once the notice funds cleared I sent those to my parents.

I didn't have to do any additional paperwork because I had already given the proof to the Sol where my funds were coming from, and the funds came from my bank anyway so no way for the Sol to know they weren't the ear marked funds in the notice a/c.

I reckon really really escalating at the bank and getting a temp overdraft/loan would be the best bet.