Sale Agreed - A termination Notice

Jack_92

Hello,

So our offer got accepted and went Sale Agreed a few days ago. We have paid deposit, arranged structural survey and contacted a few solicitors.

We have been renting our apartment for over two years so legally we are obliged to give 56 days notice.

At this point it's very difficult to tell when we would be ready to sign the contracts. We would like to avoid ending up paying for our mortgage and rented accommodation for two or so months.

My question is; what's people's experience with handing in a termination notice after Sale Agreed and at what stage should we inform our landlord?

We could move back home as far as it is a short period of time, which again is hard to tell.

At what point will our solistor advise us on initial contract signing date?

Thanks in advance

punisher5112

Contact your LL and make them aware but be careful as in worst case sale falls through.

It could well take 2-6 months in many cases to finalize it all.

JustMe,K

Wait until you have a completion date agreed in your contracts before giving your notice. An overlap of a week or two isnt so bad because it gives you time to do minor decorating or whatever in the new place as well as ensuring you can leave the rental in good clean condition without being under massive pressure to do it all over a couple of days.

ETA: you will be waiting for the vendors solicitors to issue contracts, so your own solicitor will be unable to give you a date until they have the contracts, and drawdown on your mortgage might be slow depending on the bank. Make sure you have your life cover in place ASAP as that can cause delays. If you need a recommendation for a solicitor, I know 2 people who used the same one recently who was excellent.

Goose76

If (and I caution, IF!!!) your relationship with your landlord is good, you could give them an honest update on your situation and see if they would consider reducing the notice period or letting you continue your tenancy on a month to month arrangement.

This is what we suggested (again, based on our very amicable relationship with our landlord and his estate agent) and they were more than happy to accommodate a month to month arrangement for us.

However, we only did this once we had a proposed closing date agreed with all parties. We were in a similar situation to yourselves in that we had somewhere else to go in the event that the sale got delayed past the date of the end of the tenancy. I wouldn't have chanced my arm with the month to month suggestion otherwise.

In all fairness though, if your apartment is in a desirable location, I can't see why a reasonable landlord would take issue with a month to month arrangement - if in a rent pressure zone, they will be overflowing with applications from potential tenants the second the rental goes back on the market.

Ammonite

Not before the exchange of contracts in my opinion, in case the sale falls through (it probably won't, but it's always a risk).

Even after the exchange of contracts there can be legal loose ends to tie up which can cause delays. Worth asking your solicitor for advice on when to give the notice, when you have exchange done.

I agree it would be annoying to have a short overlap of rent and mortgage, but I'd imagine it would be more annoying to have to rent a hotel room for a month or two if you are stuck between houses.

I was about 6 months between sale agreed and completion due to delays - contracts were signed after 3 and exchanged after 4.