Buying house in a chain

wayne0308

Hi,

I recently went sale agreed on a house. I am a first time buyer so this whole process is new to me and I am looking for some advice.

When going though the viewing stage on this house, I had a discussion with the estate agent regarding the sellers position. He mentioned that while they were looking to buy another house, they were open to moving into a temporary rental situation while they found a new property and wanted a quick closure. Fair enough I thought, this suited me perfectly. I made an offer a few days later which was accepted. The estate agent sent out the sales advice letter after the booking deposit was paid, I noticed that there was no proposed closing date on it. I believe there is supposed to be one, is that correct? I asked the estate agent what date the sellers were thinking of closing on, to which he replied that they want to close as soon as possible and the contract will have the date in it.

Last week I received a copy of the contract. There is no specific closing date mentioned. The contract contains a special condition saying that the completion of my purchase will be done on the same day as the completion of their purchase of another house and if that purchase falls through, then they don't have to sell.

I then asked my solicitor to request a specific closing date with the initial enquiries but the sellers solicitor came back and said that this condition contains the closing date i.e. the day they complete on their property they are buying. I rang the estate agent and discussed this with him and asked him to discuss including a specific closing date in the contract with the sellers, and to find out what stage they are in their purchase currently? I tried to discuss why they had a change of position and he said he was as confused as I was...

The fact that the sellers have changed their position from wanting to sell quickly, to an open non-specific closing date seems strange, unless the estate agent was trying to reel me in... I really don't like the idea of an open indeterminate closing date that could be months and months away. My deposit would be locked away with them and they could move as slowly as they want and cancel the contract at any time without repercussion.

Has anyone else come across this before? What did you do, or what would you do in this situation?
I was under the impression that even in a chain there is always a specific closing date that people work to. Would you sign without one?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice!

Caranica

I'd be less worried about the closing date and more worried about the clause that says if their sale falls through they don't have to sell to you. You need to talk to your solicitor about this, not the estate agent.

Lolle06

That happens quite often - sellers say they would move into a rental and then do not and the buyer is stuck in a chain.

It‘s up to you to decide if you wait and take the risk or look elsewhere.

They probably won’t be able to go sale agreed on a new property without going sale agreed on their property first, so they have to string any buyer along.

Jeju

Either the house is for sale or its not for sale, there should be no maybe its for sale. Like above talk to solicitor about the situation.

wayne0308

Caranica wrote: »

I'd be less worried about the closing date and more worried about the clause that says if their sale falls through they don't have to sell to you. You need to talk to your solicitor about this, not the estate agent.

The solicitor challenged this condition during the initial inquiry and was basically told that the condition stays and wouldn't entertain any change. He said that he couldn't advise me to sign the contract as it's written.

I spoke to the estate agent just due to the difference in what was said before contracts were sent and now to try get a picture of what they are thinking.

I agree that is worrying also. I'll be speaking with solicitor again tomorrow to see where to go from here. I'm just unsure what to expect going forward, seems like they won't budge so I see things not going well.

Necronomicon

I was in this exact scenario a few months back. Our solicitor told us that he could not let us enter into such a contract. Quite apart from anything else, closing two deals simultaneously has major practical challenges. Money changing hands from you to your vendors, and from your vendors to their vendors doesn't happen at the click of your fingers (I'm just assuming they're not cash buyers, and they need your money to go through with their purchase).

In the end, under our solicitor's advice, we said we were going to walk unless the clause was removed (and it was).

brisan

Necronomicon wrote: »

I was in this exact scenario a few months back. Our solicitor told us that he could not let us enter into such a contract. Quite apart from anything else, closing two deals simultaneously has major practical challenges. Money changing hands from you to your vendors, and from your vendors to their vendors doesn't happen at the click of your fingers (I'm just assuming they're not cash buyers, and they need your money to go through with their purchase).

In the end, under our solicitor's advice, we said we were going to walk unless the clause was removed (and it was).

In all purchase negotiations you have to tell the sellers you are prepared to walk and be prepared to do so if the situation required it.
People get too emotionally involved in buying property.
It’s a business contract and should be treated as such.
If the seller will not remove the clause and you are not prepared to wait then ask for your deposit back and cancel the sale

wayne0308

Necronomicon wrote: »

I was in this exact scenario a few months back. Our solicitor told us that he could not let us enter into such a contract. Quite apart from anything else, closing two deals simultaneously has major practical challenges. Money changing hands from you to your vendors, and from your vendors to their vendors doesn't happen at the click of your fingers (I'm just assuming they're not cash buyers, and they need your money to go through with their purchase).

In the end, under our solicitor's advice, we said we were going to walk unless the clause was removed (and it was).

Thanks Necronomicon, it is good to know that someone objected successfully to this kind of clause in the past.

I am just writing an email now to my solicitor for him to communicate to their solicitor saying the same. I am giving a reasonable deadline for a response. I'm not optimistic though based on my solicitors communication with their solicitor so far. We'll see how it goes.

brisan

wayne0308 wrote: »

Thanks Necronomicon, it is good to know that someone objected successfully to this kind of clause in the past.

I am just writing an email now to my solicitor for him to communicate to their solicitor saying the same. I am giving a reasonable deadline for a response. I'm not optimistic though based on my solicitors communication with their solicitor so far. We'll see how it goes.

If you were the only bidder to come close to the sale agreed price then I can see the sellers capitulate

un5byh7sqpd2x0

It has nothing to do with the Estate Agent. Their job is done.

Necronomicon

wayne0308 wrote: »

Thanks Necronomicon, it is good to know that someone objected successfully to this kind of clause in the past.

I am just writing an email now to my solicitor for him to communicate to their solicitor saying the same. I am giving a reasonable deadline for a response. I'm not optimistic though based on my solicitors communication with their solicitor so far. We'll see how it goes.

Best of luck, I hope it works out for you. Whatever happens, don't have any regrets. Even if you lose the house over it, it's still the right thing to do IMO.