Appropriate compensation (for delaying completion)

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

We've had a few setbacks in terms of being able to start the process big conveyancing (and now the mortgage). It looks like it will be delayed at the very, very least by a month but more likely two. We know the vendors are paying two mortgages as they have two properties (one had tenants but they've moved to that one). So we're thinking of two mortgage payments?

Have you exchanged contracts yet? If not - surely none is the answer?

But only your solicitor can really answer this.

It's a good will gesture as we don't want to lose the house.

More info needed. Nothing you have said stands out as being any different from thousands of other sales/purchases, therefore I can’t see why you believe you need any compensation. Are you FTB?

Legally I'm not s FTB but in practice I am. We have no chain, they have no chain. If everything had been in place we should have completed within 6-8 weeks.

But our conveyancers are a bit useless and the mortgage broker wasn't the clearest in his communications. So 5 weeks have passed since offer got accepted and nothing has moved and as far as I can tell nothing will.move for another 4.

Well, it would be a nice gesture. However, if I was the vendor, I’d want to see you cracking on at extra speed as I’d want the property sold.

The delays are completely out of our hands for now, so even if we can't to crack on we can't, thus why we thought of compensating them so they don't pull out.

*want to crack on

Hi OP, if you mean delayed completion after you've exchanged then the contract sets that out (in the standard Law Society conditions). If you mean that you you take longer to exchange and then set a completion date later than you first have in mind then no compensation is due. Sometimes if someone in the chain wants a long time between exchange and completion and that's a deal breaker for someone else people agree to share some costs but that's just a kind offer/pragmatic view to get the deal done rather than anything else.

I'd wait until they start threatening to pull out before you start offering extras, moving is more expensive than you think* and you might need that spare cash!

• It doesn't matter how much you think it will cost, there are always unforseen expenses!

Keep your sellers up to date with the process.

We had issues with our mortgage in principal falling through then a truly useless solicitor.
We were FTB and I found the estate agents lovely and great to communicate with, I'd update them, they'd update seller and when we came close to sacking the solicitor they talked us through the potential issues/delays - they helped us push through where we could and get our sellers solicitor aware of what was happening so they knew we were doing all we could.
Compensation is ok, but not a magic fix or legal, if they pull out later you've given them money for nothing. Stick with clear communication

What we thought was that any compensation would be given on completion and not before.

@AmIAWeed your situation is very similar to ours.

For better or for worse there's no EA involved as it's sold through purple bricks, all communication is done directly with the vendors.

Unless they have made noises about it I wouldn’t offer at this stage-just keep them abreast of developments.

I think you're jumping the gun a bit. The conveyancing seems to be goinga bit slower than normal, but you seem to be indicating that you anticipate the whole process taking about 9 weeks or so. Which is very, very normal.
Don't offer anything. Keep communicating with them about progress so they don't feel in the dark. If they start making noises about compensation, then seek guidance from your solicitor.

If you mean that you you take longer to exchange and then set a completion date later than you first have in mind then no compensation is due.

This. Just start chasing your solicitor and mortgage provider regularly; then provide regular updates.

I can't see them pulling out for a few weeks delay, trying to find another buyer would take much longer.

If everything had been in place we should have completed within 6-8 weeks.

Rarely does it work out like that.

That's very decent of you OP, and could make the difference between them sticking with you and going elsewhere. We were delayed, only by a week though but it was so stressful - we had to cancel removers, had hotels booked that we couldn't get money back, days off work arranged, dc delayed in starting new school - and no guarantee that our dream house would still be available for us when our buyer finally got her act in gear. No communication or apology from her didn't help. If I had to unexpectedly pay a mortgage x 2 months I wouldn't want to sell to you out of principle!
So I think your offer is a good thing though obviously I'm coming from a particular perspective.

Our seller was very bitter towards us, tried to sneak in charges as soon as we'd exchanged including almost £500 for oil in the tank, we refused and she called round neighbors begging them to drain the tank so we'd have no heating or hot water on day 1.
Thankfully none of our new neighbors did.

You can mean well, be as honest and open as you can but house selling can bring out the crazy in people. I wouldn't plan any nice gesture until you were in and confident no last minute issues were there, place clean and tidy, no shrimp paste behind radiators and whatever other ridiculous revenge ideas people post.
Maybe flowers and wine a week or so later to thank them if things remain civil

Thing is when we got our sealed bids we chose the offer based not just on price but on the date the suggest for completion - so I wouldn't view it as a minor inconvenience if this changed subsequently. If no solid date was given that is different.

We originally expected to complete within 12 weeks . They expected within 8. Now because of the delays our end (and the Christmas period) it looks like it will take 16.

I don't know your set up but I spent a lot of time on the phone to our mortgage broker, and he would contact the mortgage company whenever I called him - I think staying on their backs can help.

We're not even at that stage unfortunately. The mortgage broker never gave us a recalculation based on the new purchase price. That would have given us some idea of where we stood.

Can you get a new mortgage broker? They work on commission, this should be the easiest job for them, house already picked out, asking price agreed - they just need to tap in a few figures and get you the best deal.
Ours came out within the same day to see us, again recommended by the estate agents which most people warn against but he was independent and fab

I think we could/should but at 37 weeks I just feel beyond lost :(

I would get a new mortgage broker and maybe solicitor to be honest. How much have the solicitors done so far? Have they done searches at all? Our mortgage broker was great, will PM the address though not sure if they work nationally. Our mortgage took about 20 calendar days to be sorted including having a valuation (we had a separate survey). There is still time to get this through before Christmas with the right people on the team and motivated buyer and vendors, wish our vendors were more motivated, it is as if they don't want to move.

Thank you Brockmans. The solicitors have done f'all.

So I'm still exactly in the same place as when our offer was accepted.

Our solicitors are not great but problems are further up the chain so I guess they can't do much. We are all set and ready to go. Honestly if you are this early in the process I would find someone else or start setting deadlines. How much have you paid out so far?