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?

Thank you Colon. We don't love it, but we have been looking for a long time and we have come to accept that we cannot afford anything we actually 'love' .

Thanks for thinking of me WollyMammoth! Believe me, sanguine is not how I've been feeling. But I have been rushed off my feet with work and that, together with this thread, have more or less let me kept my sanity for the last 48 hours. Who'd have thought that the stress of tight Fiday deadlines would be a good thing?!

I have a positive update, although of course nothing's set in stone .

The EA managed to get hold of the vendor this morning ( hallelujha! still no idea where he's been), he advised to exhange today and complete in two weeks, as many of you said and we suggested to him. The vendor agreed. His eyes open! (Sorry geeky reference for any ST fans out there )

I told our solicitor, who said they expected to from hear vendor's solicitor shortly then. Lunchtime came and went and no news. I called the solicitor this afternoon to clarify because at that stage we weren't sure anymore whether our solicitor had been informed 'officially' that vendor was happy to exchange today or not. Our solicitor knew, and we were told that completion was expected today. Hurray! ish...

We were told to hold on until we got a call to confirm so we could transfer the deposit. No call after 2 hours, so I called just before 5pm and the verdict is: our solicitor could not get hold of vendor's solicitor despite being on hold for ages. That it's one of those wholesale conveyancing firms that is dealing with loads of cases each day (plus covid backlog blah blah) and nobody relevant our case was contactable. That it'll have to be on Monday now - although he assured me he'll keep trying , okaaaay.

To top it off, the EA rang just after 5pm to say he vendor was happy to exhange today but his solicitor could not get hold of ours. We told him we are also happy to exchange today but our solicitor could not get hold of his! So we assumed it'll be on Monday now. He concurred.

At this stage I gave up. I was going to call our solicitor to tell him about the EA call, but either one of the solicitors is calling the wrong number or their switchboards are so ridiculous that they keep missing each other. I decided I was going to stop acting as unpaid PA to our solicitor and decided to come and update this thread and 'forget' about it (as if! ) until Monday.

I've run out of stregth and having miraculosly met my work deadline, I think I'll go and lie down in a darkened room now.

I've been holding my breath all day - any further news @stickygotstuck?

OP what a shambles and sorry mess of incompetent fools you are dealing with with. I hate moving house too, it's such a terrible industry which needs totally changing! I hope you have got somewhere with it all.

Thank you Moira.

Thank you, Butterer. That was the vendor's solicitor. We chose a small localish firm to avoid all this but it's been a nightmare.
Good on you for leaving! I can report that 'fee earner' is not a description I've ver come across, ugh! Feels like being referred to as 'Resource' (which I have been to, to my face, by email, with a cheery "Hello, Resource" )

@MahMahMahMahCorona, all is sorted, thanks for asking.

We are supposed to have exhanged today, at 4pm. I say 'supposed' because all that's happened is our account is now emptly after transferring the deposit over to our solicitor's account. A bit of an anticlimax! I guess I should be relieved, I think I am still all wound up from the intense annoyance I've been feeling the whole day. Three times I had to chase our solicitor!

I don't know if this lack of response is normal. But it should not be. Iv'e been trying to explain what's happening to friends living abroad and I'm sure they thought I was making it up! The system is not fit for purpose.

Aaaaaagh, spoke to soon!

Just got a call from solicitory. They haven't actually exchanged yet!! . Apparently, they can't get hold of the vendor (yep, the one that is isolating in the house I have just paid a deposit of thousands for).

I have asked elsewhere here and I'm told it does happen for exchange to be delayed for no apparent reason at the last minute.

I really am having trouble believing this is going on... or that it goes on on a regular basis! How is that a functioning system? WTF??

It is a crazy system. I have been in the position previously of my own buyer pulling out on the agreed date of exchange at 12 noon.

Last move exchange day kept being delayed over a period of 2 weeks due to paperwork and problems being unresolved. One thing I do know is that every new day of exchange each person's solicitor has to contact their own client and ask if they are happy to exchange that day. I also had my vendor using one of those useless wholesale call centre conveyancing outfits and the delays to the system were quite ridiculous. The solicitors have to speak to each other to simultaneously exchange and if one is not there it can't happen.

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1045/pdfs/uksi_20201045_en.pdf I’m annoyed on your behalf for this vendor dicking about and breaking the law about self-isolation.

The vendor is being ridiculous! Either sell or don't, or if there is an issue be honest!!!

friendlycat, pulling out on the day of the exchange?! What on earth? Are there no penalties to the vendor? That's where the systems is going wrong, isn't it? You pull out at the last minute without a good reason (so nothing short of death or force majeure) and you have to pay 10% of the selling price to the buyer. Sounds reasonable to me!

Thanks LadyWithLapdog. Thing is, we have no reason to think he is not in. Just not answering calls. I would have thought he'd be attached to his phone waiting for his solicitor to call. I mean, he is supposed to be selling his house today!

Bearing in mind there are no paperwork issues, etc. something seems off. I do hope I'm wrong (and also keep thinking of the poor tenants).

Thanks jeff1965, that's exactly it.
And he should have said on Wednesday when he came back from holiday!

I'm so sorry @stickygotstuck - as you say it's a total shambles and the system is not fit for purpose.

I cannot believe the isolating vendor remains so elusive 🤦🏼‍♂️

What a strange bloke. I suppose there's bound to be vendors who are pains in the arse and irrational, because people are.

Thanks MahMahMahMah and pickle.

It is odd, I wish I could be sure he was just being irrational. I keep thinking he's going to turn around and say he's changed his mind. I so hope I'm wrong.

Oh my god! How has this not progressed yet?! What is that man doing!?
Massive hugs to you OP

Something by now just isn’t really right. It’s almost avoidance rather than fronting up what the issue is. If there was a proper explanation for the delay a date would have been set for the future and you say he delayed before. Just avoiding speaking to anyone just doesn’t stack up. This is so unfair for you and the whole system allows it.

If the vendor has changed their mind they just need to come clean and stop wasting other people’s time and money.

Oh god @stickygotstuck - are you still not exchanged?! I’ve been meaning to check back in today.. 😫

Thank you Music and HolA. Still hanging on.

It is highly suspicious, friendlycat, isn't it?

To all intents and purposes it's now in the hands of the solicitors. But if vendor is not picking up the bloody phone nothing is going to happen.

I am bewildered by the whole thing, and I'll probably wake up tomorrow like I did today, thinking the bloody house can now go to hell for all I care! Am so pissed off. An attitude that we can't afford but it's most heartfelt!

Would it be unreasonable to post a note through the door?

Thank you FloorLamp.

I don't know if we should. Especially because I'd be tempted to knock and give him several pieces of my mind. Which I guess wouldn't be constructive.

Is it normal to have to chase your own solicitor so they get a move on? Because I left them alone until lunchtime both Friday and yesterday, and they only got moving after I called.

Oh, spoke too son - again! They just called to check we are happy to go ahead and will try now. We shall see...

Good luck. Hoping that you get to exchange today. Keep us posted.

I am keeping absolutely everything crossed for you- even things that don't normally cross!

Still crossing everything. Very hard to drive, and type.

Thank you friendlycat, MahMahMahMah and pickle!

I feel exactly like that pretzel!