Signing contract of sale - advice needed

[Al991]

I apologise for being naive, but I need some advice about signing a contract of sale for a house we are buying.

We are currently in the midst of negotiations regarding a completion/long stop date for our property as the current owner is buying a new build. Essentially, we have told them that there does need to be a deadline for completion or we will have to pull out of the sale. We are still waiting to find out if they are going to agree to the deadline, so we aren't ready to exchange yet.

The solicitor has sent out a standard contract of sale for me to sign and says that I should just sign it, that it is just the standard one and therefore I don't have to wait until we hear back from the seller about the deadline.

It is my understanding that contracts are not binding until exchange, but I still don't know how comfortable I feel signing this contract when things have not been finalised and when I may still be forced to pull out.

I guess my question is

• Is it standard practice to ask us to sign a standard contract (without specific details about our particular sale) before we're ready to exchange?
• Is there any way that this contract could be used to 'force' us to buy the house prior to exchange and before it is amended to include our terms?
• Is it possible exchange could happen without our knowledge/consent?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Quite normal to sign a contract before exchange although I'd say it normally at least has the details of the transaction i.e. your names, the property address etc inputted, I don't remember ever being asked to sign a totally blank template before.

The answer to all your other questions is no, unless something goes very, very badly wrong with your solicitor i.e. to the level of gross misconduct/sackable offence type thing. The normal process of exchange is that both solicitors obtain signed contracts in advance of the 'exchange date', then both seek formal consent from their party to exchange, then email across to one another the signed contracts and that is the 'exchange of contracts', so no it can't be used to 'force' you into anything because the contract doesn't legally exist until sent to the other party, i.e. contracts are 'exchanged' and no this shouldn't ever, ever happen without your consent. So unless you think your solicitor is dangerously negligent or a crook (in which case why on earth are they acting for you, replace them immediately!) you're fine to sign before all details are fully finalised. But I'd say it shouldn't be an issue to at least have a version that has the parts you know aren't going to change i.e. price to sign.

Thank you @maxelly yes I should have clarified it does have the purchase price, names, address etc just not the details of the long stop or completion date. It sounds as though this is quite normal. And I do find my solicitor to be competent and trustworthy.

Yep I've just completed on a house - the contract was signed but dates left blank. Solicitor fills these in when agreed later.

Not the most comfortable part of the experience - months of waiting for bits of paperwork I really don't care about and producing endless proofs for this that and the other, then with this one important document they're like 'oh don't worry, just sign it and ... we'll fill it in without you...'

Seems normal tho!

Exchange cant happen without knowledge. We have just exchanged and solicitor called us to make sure all was good for us.

Exchange is a conversation between the conveyancers, as set down in Law Society rules. We ring clients to get permission first and that permission normally lasts for the day.

Very normal. We are in the process of selling a house. We have just signed the contract and returned to the solicitors. Last time I bought/sold properties, the solicitor contacted us to discuss and agree to a proposed completion date, then I received a phone call on the day to confirm exchange. Once that happened, the solicitor confirmed it was all done. We have always exchanged and completed simultaneously. We are hoping to complete in the next week or so.

The solicitor wants to have the contracts ready for exchange. In my experience the conveyancing process drags on for ages and then exchange happens really fast!

Yes normal

Thank you for your responses! I think it was worth checking!