Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Exchange but delay completion? Is that ok?

46 replies

MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 10:59

Hi!

Sorry manic few days and I've ended up creating another thread in my frenzy but hoping some of you can help.

Vendor needs to find onward property as initial one fell through. We are the buyers - and our buyers need to move in within 3 months due to their own buyers!

We have secured a mortgage offer just before interest rates went up and we won't be able to afford the house we want with higher rates!

So my question is, can we request that the vendors exchange contracts so at least we know the house will be ours but set a completion date for when our mortgage expires ? (Around 5 months left!) Vendors have already said they won't vacate and rent so we were thinking of renting ourselves so as not to lose our buyers but would like some guarantee! It's such a tricky situation! Blush Oh and we have a newborn..

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
TimeforZeroes · 25/09/2022 11:03

I wouldn’t under estimate how long and hard it is sorting a temporary rental contract at the moment. We’ve just had our chain collapse because no one would rent, mortgage offers expired and the top of chain solicitors were Premier Property who are the worst of the worst. Once you’ve exchanged, you’ve drawn down the mortgage funds so wouldn’t you be paying both rent and mortgage?

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 25/09/2022 11:03

I have done pretty much this, although some years ago. We exchanged with a completion date which had to be before eg March 22 2020, but which could then be agreed between the vendor and ourselves. We really wanted to buy their house and this gave them time to find a house with the certainty that they had the finance. We were cash buyers, though.

It worked fine , I think we moved in about a month before the expiry date as the vendors had found a house.

Scottie7 · 25/09/2022 11:06

We're in the position that our buyers want to move in before our new build is ready despite initially agreeing to wait. They've repeatedly threatened to pull out if we don't leave asap even though we only accepted the offer in late July. Frankly rather than everything fall through as we are about to exchange, we've just agreed to rent a short term let. They're cash in the bank buyers who paid over the asking price and there is no way I'm starting all this again. Good luck whatever you decide.

Jarstastic · 25/09/2022 11:15

TimeforZeroes · 25/09/2022 11:03

I wouldn’t under estimate how long and hard it is sorting a temporary rental contract at the moment. We’ve just had our chain collapse because no one would rent, mortgage offers expired and the top of chain solicitors were Premier Property who are the worst of the worst. Once you’ve exchanged, you’ve drawn down the mortgage funds so wouldn’t you be paying both rent and mortgage?

Mortgage funds aren’t drawn down until completion?

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:16

@TimeforZeroes I didn't think so as I thought at exchange you only transfer the deposit ? Because I think delayed completion is a normal thing with new builds? You're right about rental market though! We are considering air bnb style houses which are going to cost us a bomb but still willing to do this for our dream house

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen ah amazing! This is what I needed to hear! Were they happy to exchange and didn't feel pressured? I'm worried they'll say no but then I guess they were never serious! You didn't end up paying the mortgage from when you exchanged right ?

@Scottie7 I can totally understand!! I cannot do the whole viewings and everything else in my current state of mind ...well done to you guys. Hope everything goes ok! Good luck!

OP posts:
Jarstastic · 25/09/2022 11:16

Yes, you can definitely request this. However, if the vendors are adamant they won’t go into rental they may not agree.

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:17

@Jarstastic thank you! That's what I thought! Pheww

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:18

@Jarstastic do you think it's unreasonable for us to expect them to find a home and complete on that purchase by end of March? Surely that's enough time right...they may not need to rent?

I guess it's a "how long is a piece of string" question...

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:19

@TimeforZeroes also very sorry to hear your chain has collapsed. The stress and anxiety of buying properties as part of a chain is just too much!! Hopefully you find something else soon!

OP posts:
Jarstastic · 25/09/2022 11:20

I don’t think it’s unreasonable of you at all. however, they may not want to take the risk. At least they are being honest. Better than the vendors who say they will and then at the last minute won’t.

Twiglets1 · 25/09/2022 11:22

It would be risky (even if possible I don't know) to exchange now with a completion date of "before the end of March 2023".

That is 6 months away and you are legally liable to buy the house after Exchange no matter what happens. What if they neglect the house for the next 6 months? What if the roof falls in? This is the reason people normally only have 1 month or less between Exchange and Completion.

If they won't move into rental then it looks to me like you will need to if you want to protect the chain. Re what is being proposed, you need to discuss the risks with your solicitor.

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:27

@Jarstastic you're right of course

@Twiglets1 ah thank you, hadn't thought of it that way!! Though our solicitors are saying that the whole process from contract to completion takes around 5 months anyway! Really unsure what to do because I'm worried that once we move into rental, if the vendor then takes the property off the market - we will be stuck renting forever! As I've found out that our mortgage rate and offer only applies to this specific property. The way the market is right now with the interest rates, the thought of not owning a property at all is terrifying especially when we "could" just carry on living where we are...

OP posts:
FemaleEngineer · 25/09/2022 11:29

I'd suggest talking to your solicitor. We had 6 weeks between exchange and completion (because the seller was being a pain.)

This was over 10 years ago and we were told that you don't have the same protections over a certain time, so the seller could in theory add a charge to your property that you would be liable for. In our case, we ended up with a professor of law approving a special clause as it was deemed so unusual!

Good luck!

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:35

@FemaleEngineer thank you! Oh goodness! Ok definitely need to figure out what to do with the solicitors I think.

I think we will end up losing this house Sad Guess it wasn't meant to be in that case

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 25/09/2022 11:38

MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:27

@Jarstastic you're right of course

@Twiglets1 ah thank you, hadn't thought of it that way!! Though our solicitors are saying that the whole process from contract to completion takes around 5 months anyway! Really unsure what to do because I'm worried that once we move into rental, if the vendor then takes the property off the market - we will be stuck renting forever! As I've found out that our mortgage rate and offer only applies to this specific property. The way the market is right now with the interest rates, the thought of not owning a property at all is terrifying especially when we "could" just carry on living where we are...

I don't think your solicitors will be saying the process from Exchange of Contracts to Completion will be taking around 5 months though - that would really be highly unusual!

They will be talking about when they start with the preliminary contracts I expect. Talk to them tomorrow but I think you have your wires crossed somewhere. When you get to the point of Exchange of contracts, the date of Completion is agreed by all parties in the chain and it is normally 1-4 weeks away.

MrsHemsworth · 25/09/2022 11:43

We took a massive gamble against all advice and moved into Airbnb before exchanging on our onward purchase so that we could break our chain and accommodate our buyers. Solicitors advised against it but we'd already lost one sale and didn't want to take any chances with our new buyers. It was impossible to get a short term rental and the onward purchase took longer to complete than thought. It cost us an additional £3,000 but thankfully it all worked out well for us and our vendor was willing to exchange about 3 weeks before we completed so we felt like we had some security.

Good luck, OP. It's so stressful.

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:43

@Twiglets1 hmm yes true - all wires crossed anyway with sleep deprivation ha! Crazy to do this with a baby.

I think I thought it would be 5 months from the contract by the vendors as they still haven't even instructed their solicitors ...either way our contracts were issued start of this month so that takes us to...February anyway till completion?

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:45

@MrsHemsworth this sounds like exactly our situation too!! I'm so glad it worked out for you. Was there a long chain with your vendors/ onward purchase ? Did they already have a buyer before you considered Airbnb? It's all so risky and stressful and don't think I'm thinking straight! Thank you though!

OP posts:
Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 25/09/2022 11:49

If they hadn’t wanted to do it, they presumably wouldn’t have? We suggested it, it suited them. As I said , we were cash buyers, so there were no financial implications.

Twiglets1 · 25/09/2022 11:51

MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:43

@Twiglets1 hmm yes true - all wires crossed anyway with sleep deprivation ha! Crazy to do this with a baby.

I think I thought it would be 5 months from the contract by the vendors as they still haven't even instructed their solicitors ...either way our contracts were issued start of this month so that takes us to...February anyway till completion?

But your vendors have lost the house they were purchasing (unless I have MY wires crossed?) so who knows now how long it will take them to find another property, complete all the paperwork, searches etc and be ready to Exchange Contracts? A minimum of 3 months if they found a new house to buy next week and they move fast. Our many purchases/sales have always taken about 3 months from start to finish, but if people move slowly it can take longer of course.

In your shoes, with a mortgage offer due to expire within a few months I would be hoping they find another house to buy very soon but also looking at other properties in case they don't.

wonkylegs · 25/09/2022 11:51

We literally completed a very simple sale this week (FTB & person gone into care)
We had a week between exchange and completion however we agreed the sale in April and even though everything went smoothly (no issues with survey or mortgage, buyer and seller responding quickly to queries) it still took 5.5months for the paperwork to get to contract stage - I suspect that's what they meant rather than between exchange & completion.

MrsHemsworth · 25/09/2022 11:53

We were in a chain of 4 and luckily our vendor was purchasing a vacant retirement flat so that was relatively straightforward. We were only delayed with the onward purchase because our vendor had to go into hospital for an operation and needed time to recuperate.

All the main issues seemed to be below us (data breaches, incompetent solicitors) and the people at the foot of the chain kept threatening to pull out as they'd already been in the process for about 3 months before we'd even made an offer on the house we purchased.

I don't envy you at all. It was a nightmare and there were many times where I wanted to pull out through stress. We're so happy in our new home though so in hindsight it was all worth it.

Original poster
MrsTwentyNine · 25/09/2022 11:57

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen of course - my mistake!

@Twiglets1 no you're right! But the only issue with us finding another property now is that the interest rates have gone up - we can't afford anything in this price bracket so we may as well stay put..
If they haven't found a property at all...I guess it would be unreasonable to expect them to exchange especially as they're not willing to rent. Ah madness. So close to calling it all off.

@MrsHemsworth absolutely but pleased it all worked out in the end for you!

@wonkylegs yes that's right, I just wanted to propose a delay between exchange and completion but like @Twiglets1 has said , my vendor may not be willing to...congrats on your house purchase though

OP posts:
wonkylegs · 25/09/2022 12:01

@MrsTwentyNine
Thank you but we were the sellers , had Power of Attorney for my mum who has gone into care so this will be paying for her care.
Hope you get sorted, housebuying and selling is my least favourite thing and this time I didn't even get a nice new house.
We thought we'd never find the right place but we've been in ours 9yrs now and I think we'll be here until we retire. I'm sure it'll work out in the end.

TimeforZeroes · 25/09/2022 12:21

If it really was our dream house, we would’ve probably stuck it out but over time we realised that how much we love the house vs the compromises we were making was tipping the balance so it just became a bit hellish. We were given so many dates that we could move only to then realise no one actually could reach the solicitors at the top and it made me ill. But for dream house - probably worth it! Good luck!