Advice please

[Thefaceofboe]

Just wondering what others would do in our situation really. I’ll keep it short and sweet

Weve sold our house and bought one, with our vendors waiting on a new build. From the start we were told start of July but we were aware of potential delays but every update was positive and upto date so we started to look for jobs, childcare etc. all sorted now.

We have to move by the start of September to keep the jobs and their nursery places/funding
We've now been told it’s been pushed back to the end of September.

Our problem is if we don’t move as said above, we’d lose our jobs etc, so we are willing to move into an air b&b for September with the aim of completion at the end, however if it gets pushed back again we can’t afford to stay in an air b&b any longer. We have 2 kids, 2 cats and 1 dog. We can keep the dog with us but the cats would have to be in a cattery the whole time, another huge expense. Not to mention storage units

I don’t know where to go from here. We are relocating across the country so it’s not a simple move for us and we just don’t know how to play it. No one can give us reassurance it’ll be done which I appreciate but it’s hard for us. I feel like my head is going to explode.

I guess we were naive to believe the new build would be complete but with nothing but positive updates to say it was on track we did believe it may happen

What is your vendors situation? I’d be pushing for them to move into temporary accommodation. I’d be worried too as my new build was delayed for 6 months, I don’t know how they expect people in the chain to handle it.

Indeed…it’s the vendors who should be moving into temporary accommodation not you!

Oh interesting. It did cross my mind to suggest it, but then thought I was being rude. The EA knows our situation and just “awwws” at me when I’m explaining and suggested we should have expected this with a new build being at the top of the chain.

What a shitty position that leaves you in OP. I think that the couple who are
not able to complete yet, should be the ones to at least exchange by this coming Friday, with the agreement to complete, and therefore, to vacate their property by the 1st of September. If they won't agree to that @Thefaceofboe, then I think you should, very sadly, retire from this purchase - I don't see what other option you have, except maybe to move into rented accommodation in the area you are moving to, and let out your present home on a very short let, or even ABnB your own house?

It’s all things we’ve thought about but the admin of it all is making me a nervous wreck, I don’t even know where to begin. Realistically I don’t think we would pull out, we love the house and we’ve sacrificed so much for this move and spent so much money. I don’t have a job anymore either which doesn’t help (I didn’t return after Mat leave as there would be no point or so I thought)

I think our next step has to be suggesting they move out - I also think if we are willing to move into an air b&b for a month, it’s only fair they make some sacrifices too 😬

As someone who also relocated across country a couple of times I would honestly look into a 6 month rental for yourselves.

I am going to give you the positives. Local knowledge is huge and knowing an area before buying there can save you a lot of heartache. What if you have already bought a property and realise that your road is the cut through road that a lot of secondary school kids use and parking is a nightmare as this is where all the parents park up too to drop off or collect their children. Luckily not me but did happen to my friend. Don't assume they use an alley or ginnel either, they all walked up an embankment so not obvious.

Being in rented means you are guaranteed to move now. You can then buy at leisure and also decorate, lay new carpets etc in an empty bought house before you move everything over if you overlap the tenancy and owned house by a month.

The cons, two sets of removal costs but again local knowledge and a guarantee you will be in the new area for the jobs outweighs that cost.

In a similar situation where our vendors were waiting on a new build, they broke the chain and moved out and we moved in, but to be honest we wouldn’t have agreed the sale on the basis of waiting for completion of their new build.

This.

Again this is something we discussed last night, but then also what happens if we do complete at the start of September? We are stuck with a 6 month rental and a mortgage it’s the unknown which is killing me, if we were told it wouldn’t complete till December I’d just say okay and crack on with it.

Luckily we know the area as we are moving near our home town.

Did you discuss them moving out at the start? I wish we’d anticipated this but like I said I think we were just naive

Phone your estate agent and ask the question. It’s within their best interest to get this sale pushed through, so see what they suggest as they will know more about your vendors circumstances

Yes, we did. We knew if it was tied to the construction of the new build it could be almost open ended. Completely unfair on you to try to get you to wait for that.

Argh I’m so annoyed we just went with it. This is our first time buying and selling as our current house we were FTB with no chain at either end, so was so straight forward.

"and suggested we should have expected this with a new build being at the top of the chain."

That 'aww' sound is the sound an EA makes when they know their client is taking the piss, because they're not allowed to say 'I know, they're out of order, aren't they?'

Odfo. The SELLERS should have been prepared for this and made suitable arrangements. Don't let the EA give you the misguided impression that it's your fault.

Again this is something we discussed last night, but then also what happens if we do complete at the start of September?

I think it will rapidly become apparent when exchange might happen as soon as you put your foot down. 'Either they move into temporary accommodation or pay for ours' will sharpen their minds to either put pressure on the builders or to stay with friends.

Have you already mentioned the possibility of Airbnb?

I would speak to the EA and tell them you have to move by 1 sept or you will have to pull out to rent something in the area. You would still be interested in the house but will have a 6 month lease so will not be able to complete until February as you cannot pay both mortgage and rent. If this fits with their plan do this. If they want to sell before February they need to do so by 1 Sept and go into temporary accommodation themselves. Their developers may have another property they could use or perhaps they could chivvy the builders up and get it finished.

You have good bargaining power. They will have a deposit on the new build and they will HAVE to complete, you on the other hand can theoretically walk away. They will struggle to find someone else to buy it by end of sept, the market is slow so it’s hard to put a chain together.

Yeah I did get the impression she wanted to say more than she was but it would be nice to get some advice from people who have experience with this kind of this.

So my solicitor emailed me just after the whole thing got pushed back to say they are happy to exchange with completion on notice, which I believe is just them securing the sale with us expected to wait however long for completion, meaning they can keep pushing it back.

As vendors, we broke the chain, which wasn’t really breaking it as the purchasers were in rented. We knew the new house would be ready in Q3, so we rented from March to the end of August.

Take the cost of the 6 month rental off the purchase price.

Yes and the cost of moving twice.

The most sensible suggestion.

This another tool you have. You can renegotiate the terms until you complete.

Call the EA:
option 1 - complete on 1 sept and they go into temporary accommodation themselves.
2 - you’ll exchange with no fixed date today but they have to cover the costs of your temporary accommodation and the second moving costs and any storage fees.

they are happy to exchange with completion on notice, which I believe is just them securing the sale with us expected to wait however long for completion, meaning they can keep pushing it back.

err... I wouldn't go for that.

You're legally liable for the condition of the property from the point of exchange. If a ceiling collapses, a pipe bursts, whatever - that's now your financial responsibility to fix.

They're offering it to you because they think it shows their commitment to selling to you, but in reality, sellers can pull out after exchange and have to be taken to court if there are financial losses on your part, but now you have a liability you don't really want for an undetermined period of time.

It's not a sweetener at all. It's smoke and mirrors.

Ah I didn’t realise we would be liable for the property?! It’s not something I feel comfortable with anyway, but apparently this is something that is very common with new builds being at the top.

I’ve got some good advice on here, I feel more confident speaking to the EA now (while I have this thread open reading the advice) 😂

It’s not so much that you are responsible for the property, it’s more that you are obligated to buy the house even if something happens to it, ie a burst pipe or the roof blowing off. It just means you have to take out building insurance from exchange so you can if needed deal with the repairs after you complete.

Ah of course I see what you mean. I can see why this would work for them but doesn’t benefit me at all