WWYD - to give the seller an ultimatum or not?

[TakesTheCake12]

I split up with my ex last October and I'm in this awful position where we're still living together whilst we wait for our house to sell. Long story, acrimonious split (he refused to sell for a long time) but we put the house on the market in March and it sold within 2 days. Our Buyer really wants to complete and everything is ready but my related onward purchase is just dragging on forever...

My offer was accepted on 30th March but the sellers, seem in no immediate hurry. I thought I was in a good place with the transaction and hoping to complete at the end of July but I've since learned that there are 5 transactions above mine, all at various stages! (I was originally told 2 !). My seller also changed their solicitors 2 weeks ago which delayed me even further. I am at the point where inquiries have been satisfied by my conveyancer. I've been asking for a completion date for weeks and the sellers are just saying they can't propose one.

Top of chain – Property 1 - This is a vacant property - enquiries raised 16th July.

Property 2 - Searches ordered at the beginning of the month so should be back at the end of the month. The mortgage offer is in.

Property 3 - Searches have been ordered, enquiries raised – I await an update regarding the mortgage offer.

Property 4 - Mortgage offer issued, replies to enquiries sent

Our seller’s at X Street's daughter's related sale - Property 5 - Mortgage offer has been received and the search results are awaited

WWYD? I'm desperate to move and I am prepared to rent for a few weeks if need be so I don't hold my buyer up and lose them, although this would be really difficult as I have 2 small DC and 2 cats so it isn't as simple as if I was a single person. I would expect the sellers should be prepared to do the same!

Do you think it would be worth giving the seller an ultimatum, they agree to complete before mid August and rent until their property is ready or I pull out?

This is all worsened by the fact my fixed rate ended in May and we're paying a mortgage of over 2.5k a month (London).

My ex partners sale will be ready in mid Aug but he's already agreed to rent if need be.

update I've had to agree a completion date with my buyer of end August, or they were going to walk. I've looked into temporary housing on AirBnb and short term lets in London, neither are possibilities. Airbnb monthly cost outweighs my income, and short term rentals in London don't exist, 6 months is the minimum term. So I plan to tell my solicitor to convey the message up the chain that if one of the parties isn't prepared to rent, allowing me to complete on my onward purchase by the start of September I'm planning to pull out. I actually have no choice, I can't put my kids in insecure housing and if I have to sign a 6 month lease I may as well buy a chain Free property that can complete in 3 months or less. The vendor has conveyed they are not in a position to rent, but that was last week when I asked if they were 'in a position to complete independent of the chain' and I hadn't laid it out in black and white at that point. The ball is in their court now.

update I've had to agree a completion date with my buyer of end August, or they were going to walk. I've looked into temporary housing on AirBnb and short term lets in London, neither are possibilities. Airbnb monthly cost outweighs my income, and short term rentals in London don't exist, 6 months is the minimum term. So I plan to tell my solicitor to convey the message up the chain that if one of the parties isn't prepared to rent, allowing me to complete on my onward purchase by the start of September I'm planning to pull out. I actually have no choice, I can't put my kids in insecure housing and if I have to sign a 6 month lease I may as well buy a chain Free property that can complete in 3 months or less. The vendor has conveyed they are not in a position to rent, but that was last week when I asked if they were 'in a position to complete independent of the chain' and I hadn't laid it out in black and white at that point. The ball is in their court now.

Thank you for the update. House buying in this country is a horrible joke, sorry its so stressful. So if they say no to renting you'll pull out, go into a six month rental contract and then start looking again as a chain free buyer?

Have you looked into private holiday rental rather than via Airbnb? Airbnb is more expensive than most other ways of short term renting. We were in your position a few years ago and ended up renting a fantastic holiday cottage which was discounted as we stayed for 3 months. Worth a try?

If your xp will.take the children and pets, you could store your belongings and move into a shared house as a lodger rather than rent. They tend to be more flexible on duration.

Its all very unsatisfactory but your chain is ultimately worth millions and no one is going to see that through until they are ready legally and happy with their purchases. I know property takes a time and is frustrating but it's the most expensive thing we ever buy and most of us are getting into a 25 year commitment. Its not chicken feed.

Are you suggesting I should put myself out, not be able to have my (very young) children overnight for likely up to 3 months or longer of there are further delays or collapse after I do this, not see my pets, put myself in insecure housing, all for the sake of not collapsing the chain above me, of which no one apparently realises their good fortune of having a chain free buyer?

You say you have agreed a completion date - do you mean you have exchanged with this date in the agreement, or that you have "agreed" a date but without legal confirmation at this point?

I'm surprised your solicitor isn't advising you on this, and your estate agent dealing with the negotiations.

You can do what you want. But you cannot control others and what others think. House transactions are a very stressful thing and your long chain and personal circumstances make it more difficult and more frustrating. It will pass, of course.

I've known someone move into air b and bs when a probate buy they were involved in took longer than expected. They had no pets. They ended up in 3 different ones because their first one month stay wasn't long enough. It ended up.costing a fortune and they said they'd have been better getting a 6 month rental and not using it all.

The problem in some areas - like where I am - you just won't get a rental. They so rarely come up.

But you are NOT a chain free buyer. You have a complicated sale involving a divorce that you are demanding everyone else take on huge amounts of risk to enable, while refusing to "put yourself out".

Why should anyone else put themselves in insecure housing, just so you don't have to suffer by not seeing your pets FFS?

Thanks for the suggestion, where do you look for these type of rentals?

Air b and b. Its a holiday rental site. You put in the dates you want to book for and your set up - number of adults, children and you'll need to check out pets and other things you need like parking etc

You can message owners and let them.know what you are looking for and they may do a deal for a longer period.

But they are likely to be expensive and if they have other bookings coming up you will need to move out and on to somewhere else.

The problem is that short term rentals are expensive and difficult to find as you have discovered. Other people within the chain will also find this a problem depending upon their areas and circumstances. Then the chain collapses unfortunately.

You have a long chain and additional complications with a wholly different chain as well. Sadly it’s hard enough working with one chain let alone coordinating two.

Well aren't you charming. My sale wasn't he least bit complicated, and I very much am 'chain-free'. You're mocking my comment about my pets, yet my youngest is under 18 months old! But I don't have to justify myself to you. It's easy to sit back and be a keyboard warrior isn't it, judging others when you have no concept of thier circumstances.

But the thing is you are in a chain. There’s always someone at the bottom and then others above. But a chain nevertheless.

You don’t suddenly become chain free whilst within a chain. You are also in quite a long chain and a chain moves from the bottom upwards. It’s just how it is.
It is understandable that you don’t want to go into rental but also very likely that those in the chain above may also have valid reasons to not do so.

That’s why chains can then collapse and everyone is back to square one. So you may have to start considering your options going forward if the chain collapses.

I'm confused, isn't it really your ex-partner that needs/wants your sale of your house/flat to go through by mid-August?

Can't they help £££ with a 6 month rental?

You aren't chain free.

I can't understand why you think you are?
You will be in mid-August when you do sell your house, but you will be homeless too if you don't work out a way to house yourself.
Can you stay with your ex? If he can take the kids and the cats surely he can squeeze you in too?
It's securing his new house that has caused you to become homeless.

No, I'm not mocking you, I'm pointing out that you are being mind-bogglingly selfish and entitled and that that everything you are bringing up are YOUR problems to solve. No, you don't have to justify yourself to me, but nor do the people you are buying from have to make themselves homeless because you stamp your feet and demand that everyone does what you want.

I mean, definitely not ideal, I appreciate that. But hopefully you are amicable as you have to co-parent for the next couple of decades!

You could search the Google map area you're after, or just search for holiday rental in x area. Or search for Facebook holiday rental groups/individual pages for the area you're after. You could also use a website like Independent Cottages.

There will be plenty of places that handle their own bookings. Airbnb is such a rip off, I'm not sure why it's so popular.

Agree with pp, ex wants a specific completion date so he should contribute to your interim housing needs eg help sourcing somewhere, partly financing, putting you up at his new place. They're his children after all!

I think the completion date for some of your chain is unrealistic, it sounds like some parties have barely got off the ground and so much can go wrong at the early stages.

It's so easy to say go into rented but as it's summer it's not going to be a cheap and available option. There's no reason for your sellers to consider it as presumably they are not as desperate as you at this point. Also it nearly doubles the cost of a removal company as we found out! Luckily we all managed to move on the same day otherwise the cost would have increased by £5000 as you are effectively moving your items twice, once into storage and once out to your new property. I don't think sellers are selfish if they don't want all this added hassle, that's without adding rent on top.

Can you buy your new property without selling your current one? If not you are not chain-free.

I wish you all the luck in the world. We've been in our new home 3 weeks and went through some hellish times 😩

Op, if you look on holidaycottages.co.uk or cottages.com you may find a one bedroom cottage/lodge/mobile home. If you book for say 4 weeks, phone the company and ask if there is any reduction for renting this long and a reduction as you won’t need the weekly clean.

Sorry you're going through all of this OP, it's so stressful. We've moved and rented a couple of times over the years and we're just about to do it again! Last time I negotiated a cheaper rate on a holiday home as it was for around 6/7 weeks. I found it on Booking. Com. You could also ask on local fb groups if anyone knows of anywhere available. People usually want to help if they can

Also worth looking at rental properties and asking the EA to see if the landlord will take a 3 month lease. If it's empty and has been available for a while they may bite. Worth a try.

Not sure of circumstances, but if you're amicable with your ex and if he has room, could you move in with him short term?