... must I complete on that day, or what happens if I don't?
I'm due to get the papers from our solicitor to sign next week for exchange, and I've agreed with our very grudging buyer than we'll exchange at the start of January (he had expected that, having finally had his survey done a week ago, I'd move my dc (2 and 5) into our new place on about the 20th ). I expect this might be easy for more organised people, though.
The thing is, the place we're moving into has damp, windows that need replacing and, most crucially, has just been found by the decorators to have massive dry rot in the wall plate timbers in my dd's bedroom-to-be. This is now needing repair at a price beyond what I'd budgeted for, so we're having to put off some of the decorating work (e.g. any carpet) and try to get this done, as it's been declared unsafe by three different people (and it really is crumbling... sob )
So, my worry is now that, despite having got my buyer to agree to the 8th, the builder may still not have finished it by then, and I have no more money to try to speed things along. If we get to the 8th and the house is still not fit to move into internally, what happens? Can I be forced out of our current house/made to pay a huge fine? I don't want to lose my buyer, but equally I don't want my dc to be living in a house with mouldy walls and an unsafe bedroom floor.
Please help, someone!
[plaintive]