Exchange while work is being done?

[Strawberryshortcake40]

Have an earlier thread about this but can't find it!

Basically am buying house and survey showed work that needs doing. Sellers have agreed to pay for this. However my options are currently exchange before work is started and complete midway through works, a week before Xmas (meaning most of downstairs will be unliveable and I won't be able to work from home over that time). Or wait till works are completed to move in early Jan (thus upsetting my buyer who wants it all to go through asap).

I really don't know what is the better option. Any thoughts from someone who has had similar. If it was summer time I wouldn't hesitate to just move in, but the thought of not being able to actually live in the house properly over Xmas seems a bit depressing!

Wait until January when the Work has been done

Wait.

My only problem with waiting (apart from annoying my buyer who I know!) is there is nobody in house to see work is done properly/carefully etc. Also with no windows open the plastering will presumably take a long time to dry at this time of year?

I would knock the money off the sale price and organise it yourself. Lower sale price also means less Stamp Duty.

It could get horribly complicated as the builder doesn't know if he is taking the seller's instructions or the buyer's instructions. If the work is not done to standard, then can you sue if you didn't appoint the builder. What if this work exposes further work to be done? What if you exchange (commit to buying the house) and the builder causes damage to what is now your house - it's your problem to sort, not the sellers.

So many things can go wrong.
Ask your solicitor - I'll bet that they advise against.
Get a reduction in price, complete the sale and control the whole process yourself.

No way would I exchange until the work has been completed to a satisfactory standard. Exchanging before or during the project is asking for trouble.

I agree that the most logical option would be to knock money of the purchase price and sort the work out yourself.

If you complete part way through the works and they don’t finish them you’ll be up the creek.

According to their estate agent this kind of scenario is really common (?), according to my solicitor it has a ton of pitfalls. So I'm really stuck what to do.

Both my buyer and the sellers are not happy that "I'm" holding this all up when the fact of the matter is I'm desperate to move just not into a load of aggro just before Christmas.

Had been considering today asking for money to be knocked off and sorting the work myself as I'm concerned it won't get done properly.

I'm concerned it won't get done properly.
YY to this. You will always worry that it was done on the cheap or as a bodge.

According to their estate agent this kind of scenario is really common (?), according to my solicitor it has a ton of pitfalls. So I'm really stuck what to do.
Hmm. Who to trust? - the seller's agent or your solicitor, whose sole purpose in this whole transaction is to watch your back. Tricky one.

Solicitor has told me to wait. I can see this dragging on though as surely any work will be hard to complete over Xmas? I know a very good plasterer who I would rather get in for the finishing than whoever they are using, whose work I don't know.

Their estate agent has been horrendous to deal with so far. Have no faith in them at all.

Solicitor has told me to wait.
You are paying good money for his/her advice so take it.

Is the work actually urgent? Can it wait until the better weather?

I think most of the work could wait until slightly better weather, although it's going to be messy so I wouldn't want to start redecorating until after it.

Yes I do want to take my solicitors advice but I also don't want to lose my buyer at this stage.

Your buyer isn’t going to find a new house and get it completed before new year anyway so everyone needs to be patient, and you need to direct all estate agents to your vendor because they are the ones “holding it up” if they don’t get the work done ASAP.

As I see it there are two paths:

Let your vendor, their estate agent and your buyer bounce you into a timetable of getting work done. Work over which you have no control.

Or you get your house at a reduced price with a simple, speeded-up conveyance. Live in it in a sub-optimal condition for six months and then get it fixed to your liking under your direction with tradespeople you trust. They always say live in a house for a while - to get the hang of how light works, of how traffic flows around the building, etc - before getting any work done.
Six months is nothing, a blink of the eye.

"According to their estate agent this kind of scenario is really common "

You're not planning to believe him, are you? An estate agent?

Haha no I don't believe him! They have already told some real whoppers of lies that I've caught them out on. So silly when it could have been a straightforward process without all of this.