14 day isolation - two days from completion!

[stickygotstuck]

We are supposed to be enchanging and completing on Friday.

This morning my solicitor forwards an email from the vendor's solicitor to say that they've just got back from holiday and need to isolate for 14 days .

They want to know are we happy to postpone two weeks? What do they think?

Our issues:
Furious with vendor. WTF were they thinking of going on holiday now? (And yes, there is the slimmest of slim chances that wherever they went has been put on the list after they left. Not sure there is anywhere currently not in 'that' list though).

Furious with both solicitors. It seems from the email that they both know they were on holiday.

We have booked removals van and tradespeople, so have our buyers have as well. All is in place, we are in a chain, vendor is not. One of us has taken time off that cannot be rebooked, the other has rejected self-employed contracts to be able to concentrate on decorating, moving stuff, etc. as of Friday.

We wrote to our solicitor to say it was not acceptable for all above reaons. We also asked why can't we proceed as we understand the house we are buying is now empty and no contact in person is necessary.

(Surely the vendor hasn't gone back to the house from holiday two days before having to vacate it, have they??)

Helpfully, radio silence from our useless solicitor since this morning.

What can we do? Has anybody moved recently and done all the legal stuff remotely? Did you have to physically see anyone on the day?

@MahMahMahMahCorona, unfortunately nothing suitable at all - we've been looking since yesterday, even slightly further in places we had decided were just too far for us. Otherwise we'd have told the vendor to get lost already. I think tonight I'll dream of something remotely suitable having come up chain-free when I wake up tomorrow!

Right, so I've just managed to speak to our solicitor (note I had to be the one calling) and to the EA.

They both, plus the vendor's solicitor, say the vendor is not answering them. They've probably just emailed (both solicitors highly unprofessional) but the EA has rang them. No answer to any of them.

I explained that seing their ludicrous behaviour we can't trust that they'll be ready for us on the 22nd. We've been lucky with the tenants as they have a bit of flexibility but not beyond then. Our solicitor is going to try and get them to exchange at least.

Now, the vendor is at home isolating with nowhere to go. However, he's not replied to emails or calls since 10.30 am. And he's supposed to be exchanging & completing tomorrow.

Either he's dead or there is something really fishy going on. Is it just me? And what can it actually be?

Try to chill. It's only a house. Your tenants will have to wait. In future, by all means line new tenants up, but best not to sign a tenancy agreement until the property is vacant, that way you lose half the stress.

Thanks Line, not signed yet. We may lose the tenants and they may be left in limbo (but we'll still have to pay the EA).

It's quite hard to chill. Moving house is not something I've done in the last 15 years and I didn't want to do it again. Let alone renting out my house to unsuspecting nice couples! For us it's more than just a house, more of a now or never decision . We've been saving for this move for years. Been feeling sick for the last two days.

I still can't see what the vendor is playing at.

So weird. Something very odd going on. I hope you get to the bottom of it 🤨 I don’t think telling the OP to chill is particularly helpful. It’s not just a house. It’s a house they presumably love, are planning to make a home & have spent a LOT money on. Including removals etc for tomorrow. The tenant bit is the least of the problems (but not insignificant obviously either). Hand hold OP.

Sounds as if he has screwed up tbh. Went on holiday, wasn't going to bother quarantining and has been called on it, so now is having to. If your solicitor can get them to exchange in the next few days with a date in 11 days time for completion, that may be the best and safest option for everyone.
There is usually time between exchange and completion because it is more difficult to align dates, where theres a chain, if it's all on the same day.

Could the vendors relationship broken down and his partner has chucked him out?

Im sorry you are in this situation though it must be so stressful.

There is still time for this to sort but it’s very very odd that the vendor is not taking any calls. Hopefully this can move forward tomorrow with exchange and completion a few days later.
God moving house is stressful at the best of times without this added level of stupidity.

I'd want to go to the house and knock on the door and ask face to face what he's playing at. We ended up homeless with our furniture going into store when a few days before we were going to exchange and complete (same day) we found out that the tenants were refusing to go. We ended up buying a new build in 13 days! We love it luckily.

Thanks for the handhold, HolA13, it is a major thing for us. It would be a blow to lose the money we've paid out so far. Obviously not a matter of life and death, but still.

Thanks Lineofconception, that's what I'm hoping, that we can still proceed. Altough there is now an unpleasant taste in our mouths. We don't play games, I can't see why we should play other people's, IFSWIM.

I'm thinking that's probably why the solicitor said it should be OK to both exchange and complete at the same time. The vendor had somewhere else to go and we had a few days' buffer. Still, he should have warned us of the possible pitfalls.

Thanks MusicWithRocks, I briefly considered that, easy to fall out especially on holiday! But if that's the case I'd have thought he'd say, really sorry, not selling now I'm staying put.

Thanks friendlycat, it is! I have been refusing to believe anybody can be so stupid so I am assuming malice - which is not like me at all and I don't like it.

We still don't know why the silence. As far as we know, he came back yesterday, emailed his solicitor to say he was isolating, asked can we wait 14 days, we said not really, and then he disappeared.

perfumeistooexpensive, glad it worked out for you, but the stress must have been awful!

@stickygotstuck have a wine! This is why moving home is one of the most stressful things as you can end up dealing with dicks! We had buyers pull out on us and like you I couldn't understand how people don't stick to their word. The professionals involved are used to house purchases falling through and as it's not the roof over their head can be pretty blase. It sucks but it will all work out in the end

Thanks for the flowers GrumblyMumbly. That's exactly it, why don't people stick to their word? And then, why don't they have at least the bare minimum courtesy of telling you straight?

Life would be so much easier with good communication and honesty!

My thought is he has split with his girlfriend and is now silently considering his options using self isolation as an excuse. I hope i am wrong and it all works out well for you.

Just read TFT and really hoping everything works out for you. What a god awful situation.

I hope you get this sorted and as others have said, your vendors are really stupid.

Exchanging and completing seems to be a bad idea, at least when you complete a couple of weeks before everyone's locked in then, so you have certainty to book movers/time off etc. I'm not sure if there is a positive argument for doing both on the same day.

Thank you for your good wishes, Authenticcelestialmusic, latheritup and mountains76.

Yes, we have considered the splitting up issue. Who knows?

I don't think we'll be completing and exchanging simultaneously if we ever do this again .
I also don't think I'll bother with a solicitor, for what this one is being worth! I am perfectly able of washing my hands off things and cocking them up myself, thank you very much .

Simultaneous is not necessarily a problem or bad advice. In fact it does away with some COVID risks... namely that someone gets stuck self isolating inbetwe en exchange and completion. Exchange is binding and completion can only be changed if everyone agrees. When I moved earlier in COVID times, my sol was clear that simultaneous was the preferred option .

And back to OP... My god, what bastards. That is horrible, the thing your vendors have done. I would be incandescent with rage!

Thank you Saggyoldsofa.

That's the thing, we wanted to avoid any further delays, including covid-related ones. Fat lot of good that's done us! The vendor was not in a chain and we had a buffer of a few days before tenants moved into ours.

Still no news, of course. If the vendor does not respond today and agrees to exchanging today or Monday, I'm not sure we'll go ahead with this.

I am still raging! . And more than a bit .

The trouble is, until you exchange nothing is certain and no-one is actually committed to it moving forward. That is the reality.

So until exchange, they can accept another offer, delay as long as they like or pull out. Just because this was your exchange doesn't date and you were meant to complete too, doesn't mean exchange will happen. Exchange gets delayed or cancelled altogether many many times every single week. It feels worse when you are due to complete on the same day too, which is why people recommend you only do this if no move that day is planned....so okay for investors but not those moving from one house to another.

Sorry OP, but there was always a possibility of this happening in some form. In your mind the date was a date to move, but in the vendors mind it was the potential date for exchange (and completion) which could be a moveable feast until it actually happened. Yes, doing this doesn't say much for their moral fibre but it's not illegal or even surprising to be honest.

In this situation, I wouldn't get furious with them...it won't achieve anything. Assuming you really want this house, try to work with them to see if exchange can happen today with a date set to move in 2 weeks. Once you've exchanged you're safe but not until then.

You'll have to get over the cash lost and removals booked etc. Move on from today being move today in your mind quickly.....focus on finding solutions to exchange ASAP (Monday if not today?) and not letting it all fall through. Yes, decide to walk away if there is attempted gazumping if you want to..it is a possibility. Nothing is certain until you exchange.

Good luck and hope you see some movement forward today even if you aren't able to move.

I wouldn’t assume there was something fishy going on. Depending on where in the UK you are, the fines for failing to quarantine are high. And it would be easy for the authorities to prove that they’d broken rules with all the paperwork/land registry stuff etc involved in moving house. I may be wrong, but I’d suggest taking this explanation at face value. And leaving a nice bottle of champagne behind for your tenants!

Thank you Wombat.

Thing is, it's a visceral reaction that it's saving me from insanity or becoming physically violent with my own funiture, so I'll have to let the rage surface for a bit, it's good for my mental health and my pocket.

And yes, I know it happens, but it's a fundamental moral and life outlook difference. Bastards exist, yes, but I still wish they didn't. Or at least that I didn't have to encounter them that often. As it is I have one bastard and one lazy incompetent to contend with at the same time. Raging is the least I can do .

In fact, this is making me not be that keen on the house now. Do we love it? No, I don't believe in falling in love with a house. It's the better fit of what was/is available to us and the time has come for us to move. This is what I meant about leaving a bad taste. Dependind on how much more stressfull this gets, I am pretty sure I'll end up hating the place. Which I'd like to avoid.

However, we are trying to move forward. Like I said, exchange now or Monday and then complete after the isolation period is up. But we cannot do that if the vendor is not getting back to us, his solicitor, our solicitor or the estate agent.

Reddog, the reason that I do think somethign fishy is going on is that we suggested an exchange date two weeks ago, which he rejected and postponed two weeks. Before that he had been the one in a rush to proceed. That and the fact that he's gone awol - figuratively, since he is suspposed to be isolating inside the house. So we cannot take anything he says at face value because he's not saying anything at all!

The tenants were getting wine and chocs. Definitely getting upgraded to champagne if this works out!

Are people missing the point here that the vendor has literally gone missing for 24 hours when he’s supposedly isolating in the house?! Why would he not be engaging in a conversation about how next to proceed given his holiday & isolation?!

I think it’s easy to say it can always fall through but I think anyone has the right to be angry when a date has been fixed & removals booked etc. Particularly going on holiday knowing full well you’ll be isolating upon return & won’t be able to meet that date. At least have the decency to tell your agent/solicitor so things can be rearranged!

HolA13, thank you!

I can feel your annoyance coming out of the screen. A rage shared is a rage doubled!

Oh my God, I am so annoyed at your vendor for you. TBH if you don’t love the house I’d be so cross I’d be pulling out. And hoping it causes maximum disruption for him. Arsehole.

@stickygotstuck, how on earth are you doing today? Really hope that at least your vendor might have spoken to a solicitor about what the hell his position is ON THE DAY OF EXCHANGE?

You actually sound much more sanguine than I'd be in your shoes. TBH I think I'd have been strongly tempted to go round there and ask what the hell in person...

Wish you and your chain all the cool, calm and collected vibes