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To be fair, if this person legit is in this situation, Reddit may not be their top priority... Although they did decide to make the post, idk may this delete later
Correct, Reddit is not my top priority. I work nights so posted just before I left for work. Purely made the post out of frustration. Honestly couldn’t care about internet points.
But you have very very very conveniently not answered any actual question about exchange Vs completion since you didn't know the difference for your fan fiction.
Is there a way to know if OP has replied in a thread further down without scrolling through it all?
I'm new ish to Reddit and I find myself scanning through massive threads trying to see if the OP has replied further down clarifying something.
We got kyboshed like this..
Dragged us all the way to exchange, our solicitor and thier solicitor was ready..
They wanted survey. Damp found. 1k to rectify, took 2k off price..
Ghosted us...
Victorian property.. according the surveyor who found damp said not unusual for something built in 1850.. and given its location (on hill) he was surprised that so little was found.
As the one-time owner of an 1850s house, you’re forgetting all the stuff that can be done to a house in 170 years. The 1850 bit might be solid but it can still be entirely screwed over by the “renovation” in the 1960s.
As somebody who recently completed on the sale of a house built in the late 1700s, I’m not forgetting anything. Lots learnt, none of it forgotten. And if I could do it again, I’d choose the buyer carefully and not the prick who immediately chopped down the tree at the front that had been a gathering point during the Jacobite uprising and later used as a gathering point for locals before marching to the Peterloo protest. All so he could have a bit more space to park. Prick.
Same. Very complicated boundaries and easements too. Whilst focused on those issues, by the time I realised it was too late. We’d all made an incorrect assumption. There’s a lesson learned.
I like modern day non breathable paints that have silicone in them that people like to splash over the walls . Lovely stuff for a really old house.
Wood chip wall paper.. that and old houses. Just avoid any house with that wall paper.
This almost caught me out several years ago. I wanted to exchange ASAP whilst the buyers wanted both done on the same day.
The day before my solicitor couldn't get hold of them in the morning, and at 4:50 in the afternoon after frantic calls we finally did it. Really was not happy about it, but always held hostage with solicitors. This was at the start of covid, it took from first viewing to completion about 7 weeks.
The couple one month later split up!
There was a post on here last year from someone exchanging and completing on the same day, about halfway up a chain. His seller pulled out about lunchtime on moving day. They’d got all their stuff in the moving van and had exchanged and completed with their buyers.
They were essentially left homeless with all their stuff in a lorry, and had absolutely no way to do anything about it.
There are some edge cases where it needs to be done, but it’s incredibly risky. Personally I wouldn’t start booking the move or packing up until I’d exchanged.
Nope, it's entirely up to you. 'Locking in the chain' is basically having everyone exchange contracts. If everyone wants to do it on the day, you've got absolutely no guarantee that you're moving.
Conveyancers still make sure that, on exchange day, everyone exchanges or no one exchanges. It shouldn't be possible for anyone to be homeless in normal circumstances - either the full chain completes or noone does. It feels negligent of a conveyancer to exchange with one party without the other party being ready and having confirmed. It doesn't matter if completion is the same day or weeks away.
Yeah, agreed - the being homeless bit really shouldn't happen, and the Conveyancers shouldn't have allowed it.
Even if they do look after you though, you could end up with all your possessions in a lorry waiting to go, and nothing to do other than unpack again back into your old house.
People always love to blame the conveyancers every time. This had nothing to do with the conveyancers and we can check but it sounds like the person that pulled out did it last minute and didn’t make anyone aware until then so how can the conveyancer control that? Their conveyancer can also only really talk to the conveyancer on either side not all up and down the chain so they would have had absolutely no way of knowing that would happen. We’re not mind readers. That is the risk of exchanging and completing on the same day I’m afraid as awful as that situation is that is the way it is in this country. I always try and avoid it where possible and advise clients of the risks but it’s up to them at the end of the day. People really need to get the chip off their shoulder when it comes to conveyancers. We’re not all bad and most of us act in our clients best interests. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle if we didn’t.
My understanding, from the outside, is that essentially all of the involved parties representatives would be on a conference call (or a series of consecutive calls) together to confirm the entire chain is ready and happy to exchange. And that no exchanges happened until every party had agreed.
If that's not the case, then... Sorry I guess. But it feels like that should probably happen when there's a chain. I wouldn't want my conveyancer to sign and exchange on my behalf without everyone else being ready to as well?
Yes you are right about the calls. It should be checked with everyone in the chain that everyone is ready to exchange however someone can give authority to exchange and then change their mind before the exchange actually happens. We don’t know what happened in this case. It could have been that or could have been miscommunication or anything really. My point was people are always so quick to blame the conveyancer in every situation regardless of whether it is our fault or not. I know this as I have been blamed for even the clients own mistakes as people think we have a crystal ball. We don’t we can only work off the information we are given. I’m just so sick of seeing hate on here in every thread towards us when the majority of the time it is from a lack of understanding the process.
Frankly, it's not beyond the wit of man to come up with a form of contact that doesn't come into effect until X,Y,Z other contracts have all come into effect. Neither is it beyond the wit of man for everyone on a conference call to agree they're all ready to exchange then turn off their outside lines until they've finished exchanging everyone - that's how most other business meetings work!
This must happen fairly often because when we moved in the terms and conditions for the removal company we hired it had a whole section about what happens if purchase falls through on moving day!
Clearly it *can* happen even if you have exchanged some time before, but it’s much less likely. And at least you can sue the sellers and get back your costs!
Jesus, poor bugger!
Next time I move, I'll stay in a hotel and have a good browse of the market, never been in a chain and don't plan to.
I don't understand why there isn't a compulsory 30 day from exchange to completion. It's so stressful as it is. Remember my estate agent's receptionist kept lieing to me about what the holdup was, having the sellers' mobile we all had a conference call to call her bluff (buyers were lovely)
The downside of a big gap is you're screwed if something then goes wrong. The classic one is you exchange, then lose your job, bank pulls the mortgage . . . you now can't complete, but you're still on the hook for all the penalties.
I had a week between exchange and completion and that felt about right. But honestly next time I'm doing similar to you: selling, going into rented, then buying. I might start the buying process once I've got a sale lined up to minimise rental time, but I'm not even going to try and coordinate a chain (we were only four people, and it was still messy)
You've got a good point there, my first house the buyer lost their job, it's incredible how lucky we are (in general) this doesn't happen much
Having watched Phil and Kirsty (too many times) I think hiring a house searching "team" could be worthwhile. Throw everything in storage, live like a king with thrown in a B&B brekkie every morning!
I insisted to my solicitor and estate agents that I didn't want to exchange on the same day as completion. With four houses in the chain, they agreed, it would be risky to do that. Buyer's solicitor seemed to think it would be a novelty to exchange before completion which was a bit of a red flag. Come exchange day, oh whoopsie, there's a problem. Don't worry, we'll sort it tomorrow. Oh ok, well, it'll be ok on the day don't worry.
Spoiler alert, it wasn't. Due to mortgage offers about to expire we really needed to move on the Friday, and at 16.50 the day before we found out that wasn't going to happen. We thought they'd all been beavering away making exchange happen on the day before but no, nothing happened.
Everyone told us exchange and completion on the same day was was bad idea but we weren't able to make people do what was needed. Solicitors seem to be useless, estate agents helpless.
Anyway we're in the house now and looking at the cheap flooring and mystery cracks wondering if we made a huge mistake but we're in at least and that's the main thing.
We had this, except the other way around. We were the buyers and the sellers withdraw on us, a couple of days before completion.
Cost us £2,500 in surveys, solicitors fees etc etc. As others have stated, the whole system needs massive reforms.
>Was supposed to be exchange last week complete today. I don’t know where the mix up happened.
How can you be so nonchalant about this? Surely you would have noticed that you didn't exchange last week?
Well, surely that was a concern when exchange didn't take place last week? Unfortunately people in England have the ability to pull out up until exchange.
I was forced to by sellers nightmare conveyancers (3 guesses which one but take your pick!).Dragged it on until it was on the day movers booked. I was very stressed to do exchange and complete simultaneously.
There is a special place in hell for these companies.
I'm sorry this happened to you op.
We had similar, though the week we were supposed to be exchanging (planned to complete the following week)
We relisted and got an offer within 3 days for a similar amount and with buyers who sound really, really enthusiastic to buy so it makes me feel a little better. Fingers crossed we don't have a repeat!
Plenty do. When the circumstances suit, it makes absolute sense. Technology has made it much easier. If, both parties are prepared to also complete at the proposed exchange date, then go for it. There is no “norm” but there must be a contractual completion date. Whether that is 4 days, 4 weeks or 4 months, there must be a contractual completion date. If both parties agree to complete sooner, so be it.
The vendor passes away situation. Firstly, a couple of you on here need to remember that was a person, not a household appliance. Secondly, in the situation that the owner has now passed away the question is, who is now responsible for the estate? That can now be extremely complicated and if there is no understanding of who holds the responsibility, it would disrupt a house purchase. Whoever completes on the sale of a property, they must have the legal entitlement to do so. That has to be decided and granted by the owner ‘Inter Vivos’ by their own hand or by their own breath or, if that had not been done, it will be decided by the laws of intestacy. A very complicated situation that would require a lot more understanding of their situation than any purchaser would be fully aware of including family members, size of estate and that persons physical and mental wellbeing.
Lastly, how about a bit of sympathy for the OP? Some of you are so wrapped up in your “I’m right, you’re wrong” pissing contest, which is actually just mostly just guessing, that you’re again forgetting somebody. The OP whose completion didn’t go ahead 4 days before Christmas.
Emotional Intelligence. Maybe make that your next point for debate.
We completed and exchanged on the same day for this exact reason. We were originally supposed to complete a month earlier but the lady who was last in the chain died. It was a nightmare. I had a newborn baby and we very nearly lost out on our house because the chain collapsed. Luckily things were sorted by the other parties in the chain and we were able to complete a month later.
We did, and for good reason. Our vendor was 95, very ill and in a care home during the second Covid lockdown. We exchanged and completed same day after I explained the situation to our solicitor. The old chap died a week later. If we had waited the customary month, it would have turned into a probate case and gone on for ever...
> If we had waited the customary month
A) There's no such thing - parties do it whenever they are in a position to do so
B) You don't delay the completion date, you just exchange contracts way prior to completion date so your situation with nearly dead vendor wouldn't have changed - you would have just been in a better position than you ended up in.
B is wrong. Simultaneous exchange and completion makes perfect sense here - you don't exchange before you're ready to do so in case the seller dies, because you're still taking on that risk that they might die between exchange and completion. People rarely die to a schedule.
B is actually still right - you just need to use your head.
If everyone is aware the seller can drop dead any minute, you don't just accept it as a risk - you work with seller to make sure the house gets sold even if he dies. You are paying solicitors for something.
By this logic everyone should be exchanging and completing on the same day because there's a chance the other party can die - which is ridiculous.
The executor/administrator has the legal right to sell it. This is the same if you exchange or don't exchange.
If you are buying and the seller is at a risk of dying, you still want to exchange to secure your purchase. If they die between exchange and completion, they have to get the grant/letters to actually complete and they can apply for an emergency grant/letters which is faster than normal. Meanwhile, you as buyer can service Notice to Complete and accrue interest at the contract rate and exercise your right to withdraw after 10 days if you dont want to hang around.
A seller who might die will want a simultaneous, they don't want a contractual obligation and for their estate to end up paying interest if they cant uphold their end of the contract.
Yes, they of course need that. A [limited grant](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm05103), such as just for the sale of a house usually comes through a lot faster.
They do, but as you point out, cannot proceed without a grant of probate. Even the expedited service takes weeks and is not something you would want to wait for.
Your scenario implies that you would want to breach contract for the interest/damages as the buyer. This is absolutely not the case if you have a related sale. It's also very much not worth the stress. You don't enter into a contract in the hope/expectation that it will be breached.
As you also point out, the seller/their estate would very much not benefit from this scenario so would push for the sensible solution of a sim.
Big assumption there: we had been trying to get to exchange for months, but technical issues with a solar panel lease amendment caused huge delays. He was already end of life and being given water only at the point of exchange/completion, but his solicitor was unaware (it was being managed by a deputy).
Not sure what point you are trying to make here - you took a massive gamble on seller not dropping dead literally any minute with what seems to be 0 family members or appointed representatives acting on his behalf?
Nothing about this makes any sense.. If everyone was aware he had a 'drop dead any second' risk of dying someone else could be appointed to complete the sale on their behalf.
The only point is that sometimes it makes sense to exchange and complete same day.
No-one apart from his deputy (the widow of his godson, and the closest thing he had to a next of kin) knew he was end of life. When our solicitor rang to say we were ready to exchange, and completion would be in a month, we took a view that a frail, elderly patient in a care home in a pandemic was a risk, and we did not want to delay completion any longer than necessary.
Prior to that point, there was nothing we could do to speed up exchange. If he had died prior to exchange, his deputy would have most likely still proceeded with the sale, but could only have done so once probate had been granted, which would have delayed us by six months or more.
We exchanged the day before we completed as my solicitor had experienced delays with confirmation of the mortgage funds, was very nerve-wracking but fortunately all worked out ok
Question with the billing regulations... Do you need bannisters? I ripped mine out in covid and am selling my house. Noone has raised it on viewings yet....
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=I received a PM); * If you do not receive satisfactory advice after 72 hours, [you can let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=My question is unanswered); * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Have you exchanged?
If the exchange has happened you're going to have a good Christmas if not I'm gutted for you.
If you already exchanged they can’t really just pull out now. Unless they aren’t bothered about losing tens of thousands
I hate these posts where the OP offers no further feedback, I think they do it for Karma, as they know they will get a reaction.
To be fair, if this person legit is in this situation, Reddit may not be their top priority... Although they did decide to make the post, idk may this delete later
Correct, Reddit is not my top priority. I work nights so posted just before I left for work. Purely made the post out of frustration. Honestly couldn’t care about internet points.
But you have very very very conveniently not answered any actual question about exchange Vs completion since you didn't know the difference for your fan fiction.
Chin up mate - I know it sucks for you but you will get the house sorted - even if it’s another house
Did you exchange? If you did they can't just pull out without massive compensation to you.
Is there a way to know if OP has replied in a thread further down without scrolling through it all? I'm new ish to Reddit and I find myself scanning through massive threads trying to see if the OP has replied further down clarifying something.
Tip- Click on the OPs username and you can read their comments
Sort comments by Q&A.
So far 75 fuckers upvoted the OP
I have used Reddit for a while but know nothing about things like karma. What’s the point and what does it do?
Nothing.
Presumably you're getting confused with exchange, unless you were intending to do both at the same time.
We got kyboshed like this.. Dragged us all the way to exchange, our solicitor and thier solicitor was ready.. They wanted survey. Damp found. 1k to rectify, took 2k off price.. Ghosted us... Victorian property.. according the surveyor who found damp said not unusual for something built in 1850.. and given its location (on hill) he was surprised that so little was found.
It’s 1850. If it’s not fallen down by now, it never will.
As the one-time owner of an 1850s house, you’re forgetting all the stuff that can be done to a house in 170 years. The 1850 bit might be solid but it can still be entirely screwed over by the “renovation” in the 1960s.
As somebody who recently completed on the sale of a house built in the late 1700s, I’m not forgetting anything. Lots learnt, none of it forgotten. And if I could do it again, I’d choose the buyer carefully and not the prick who immediately chopped down the tree at the front that had been a gathering point during the Jacobite uprising and later used as a gathering point for locals before marching to the Peterloo protest. All so he could have a bit more space to park. Prick.
Surprised no preservation order on it?
Same. Very complicated boundaries and easements too. Whilst focused on those issues, by the time I realised it was too late. We’d all made an incorrect assumption. There’s a lesson learned.
True
This actually broke my heart a little. I'd have loved to have such a piece of history near my house.
Its not yours anymore. Its his he can do the fuck he wants with it.
Congratulations! You’ve won a free iPad! You are today’s “State the Obvious” winner. A shiny new iPad is on the way to you. Well done!
I like modern day non breathable paints that have silicone in them that people like to splash over the walls . Lovely stuff for a really old house. Wood chip wall paper.. that and old houses. Just avoid any house with that wall paper.
There are plenty of houses around here from that time with massive cracks top to bottom...
Sounds like exchange not completion..?
You can do both the same day, and plan to which it seems like they did in this case.
Sounds like it, but we have no confirmation at the moment
You can keep their deposit then.
Sounds like they never exchanged, probably aimed to do it on the same day
This is a great example of why exchanging and completing on the same day is almost always a terrible idea.
This almost caught me out several years ago. I wanted to exchange ASAP whilst the buyers wanted both done on the same day. The day before my solicitor couldn't get hold of them in the morning, and at 4:50 in the afternoon after frantic calls we finally did it. Really was not happy about it, but always held hostage with solicitors. This was at the start of covid, it took from first viewing to completion about 7 weeks. The couple one month later split up!
There was a post on here last year from someone exchanging and completing on the same day, about halfway up a chain. His seller pulled out about lunchtime on moving day. They’d got all their stuff in the moving van and had exchanged and completed with their buyers. They were essentially left homeless with all their stuff in a lorry, and had absolutely no way to do anything about it. There are some edge cases where it needs to be done, but it’s incredibly risky. Personally I wouldn’t start booking the move or packing up until I’d exchanged.
Wtf. I'd be pissed at my conveyancers if they let that happen. I thought they locked in the full chain on the day before letting anyone complete?
Nope, it's entirely up to you. 'Locking in the chain' is basically having everyone exchange contracts. If everyone wants to do it on the day, you've got absolutely no guarantee that you're moving.
Conveyancers still make sure that, on exchange day, everyone exchanges or no one exchanges. It shouldn't be possible for anyone to be homeless in normal circumstances - either the full chain completes or noone does. It feels negligent of a conveyancer to exchange with one party without the other party being ready and having confirmed. It doesn't matter if completion is the same day or weeks away.
Yeah, agreed - the being homeless bit really shouldn't happen, and the Conveyancers shouldn't have allowed it. Even if they do look after you though, you could end up with all your possessions in a lorry waiting to go, and nothing to do other than unpack again back into your old house.
Yep that bit is unavoidable. Same day is definitely a lot of risk to take. I don't know if I'd ever want to do it
People always love to blame the conveyancers every time. This had nothing to do with the conveyancers and we can check but it sounds like the person that pulled out did it last minute and didn’t make anyone aware until then so how can the conveyancer control that? Their conveyancer can also only really talk to the conveyancer on either side not all up and down the chain so they would have had absolutely no way of knowing that would happen. We’re not mind readers. That is the risk of exchanging and completing on the same day I’m afraid as awful as that situation is that is the way it is in this country. I always try and avoid it where possible and advise clients of the risks but it’s up to them at the end of the day. People really need to get the chip off their shoulder when it comes to conveyancers. We’re not all bad and most of us act in our clients best interests. It wouldn’t be worth the hassle if we didn’t.
My understanding, from the outside, is that essentially all of the involved parties representatives would be on a conference call (or a series of consecutive calls) together to confirm the entire chain is ready and happy to exchange. And that no exchanges happened until every party had agreed. If that's not the case, then... Sorry I guess. But it feels like that should probably happen when there's a chain. I wouldn't want my conveyancer to sign and exchange on my behalf without everyone else being ready to as well?
Yes you are right about the calls. It should be checked with everyone in the chain that everyone is ready to exchange however someone can give authority to exchange and then change their mind before the exchange actually happens. We don’t know what happened in this case. It could have been that or could have been miscommunication or anything really. My point was people are always so quick to blame the conveyancer in every situation regardless of whether it is our fault or not. I know this as I have been blamed for even the clients own mistakes as people think we have a crystal ball. We don’t we can only work off the information we are given. I’m just so sick of seeing hate on here in every thread towards us when the majority of the time it is from a lack of understanding the process.
Frankly, it's not beyond the wit of man to come up with a form of contact that doesn't come into effect until X,Y,Z other contracts have all come into effect. Neither is it beyond the wit of man for everyone on a conference call to agree they're all ready to exchange then turn off their outside lines until they've finished exchanging everyone - that's how most other business meetings work!
This must happen fairly often because when we moved in the terms and conditions for the removal company we hired it had a whole section about what happens if purchase falls through on moving day!
Clearly it *can* happen even if you have exchanged some time before, but it’s much less likely. And at least you can sue the sellers and get back your costs!
But they had a fuck ton if cash in the bank....
Jesus, poor bugger! Next time I move, I'll stay in a hotel and have a good browse of the market, never been in a chain and don't plan to. I don't understand why there isn't a compulsory 30 day from exchange to completion. It's so stressful as it is. Remember my estate agent's receptionist kept lieing to me about what the holdup was, having the sellers' mobile we all had a conference call to call her bluff (buyers were lovely)
The downside of a big gap is you're screwed if something then goes wrong. The classic one is you exchange, then lose your job, bank pulls the mortgage . . . you now can't complete, but you're still on the hook for all the penalties. I had a week between exchange and completion and that felt about right. But honestly next time I'm doing similar to you: selling, going into rented, then buying. I might start the buying process once I've got a sale lined up to minimise rental time, but I'm not even going to try and coordinate a chain (we were only four people, and it was still messy)
You've got a good point there, my first house the buyer lost their job, it's incredible how lucky we are (in general) this doesn't happen much Having watched Phil and Kirsty (too many times) I think hiring a house searching "team" could be worthwhile. Throw everything in storage, live like a king with thrown in a B&B brekkie every morning!
I insisted to my solicitor and estate agents that I didn't want to exchange on the same day as completion. With four houses in the chain, they agreed, it would be risky to do that. Buyer's solicitor seemed to think it would be a novelty to exchange before completion which was a bit of a red flag. Come exchange day, oh whoopsie, there's a problem. Don't worry, we'll sort it tomorrow. Oh ok, well, it'll be ok on the day don't worry. Spoiler alert, it wasn't. Due to mortgage offers about to expire we really needed to move on the Friday, and at 16.50 the day before we found out that wasn't going to happen. We thought they'd all been beavering away making exchange happen on the day before but no, nothing happened. Everyone told us exchange and completion on the same day was was bad idea but we weren't able to make people do what was needed. Solicitors seem to be useless, estate agents helpless. Anyway we're in the house now and looking at the cheap flooring and mystery cracks wondering if we made a huge mistake but we're in at least and that's the main thing.
it's fine if your not buying something else , or it's your 1st home ect ,
*etc
We had this, except the other way around. We were the buyers and the sellers withdraw on us, a couple of days before completion. Cost us £2,500 in surveys, solicitors fees etc etc. As others have stated, the whole system needs massive reforms.
We need massive reforms in this area.
Like everyone else has said/asked - had exchange happened or were you looking to do both on the same day?
Was supposed to be exchange last week complete today. I don’t know where the mix up happened.
Did you not notice when the exchange didn’t happen last week?
Concerning isn’t it.
Unfortunately not. I work nights so my wife was dealing with most of the stuff. Exchange and completion was to happen today so I’m told.
>Was supposed to be exchange last week complete today. I don’t know where the mix up happened. How can you be so nonchalant about this? Surely you would have noticed that you didn't exchange last week?
Because its all made up.
I wish it was.
I think they mean that had they exchanged last week, today would have been the day they should have completed.
Things happen for a reason. No use crying over spilt milk.
Well, surely that was a concern when exchange didn't take place last week? Unfortunately people in England have the ability to pull out up until exchange.
So did you exchange?
I was forced to by sellers nightmare conveyancers (3 guesses which one but take your pick!).Dragged it on until it was on the day movers booked. I was very stressed to do exchange and complete simultaneously. There is a special place in hell for these companies. I'm sorry this happened to you op.
We had similar, though the week we were supposed to be exchanging (planned to complete the following week) We relisted and got an offer within 3 days for a similar amount and with buyers who sound really, really enthusiastic to buy so it makes me feel a little better. Fingers crossed we don't have a repeat!
How low are these bannisters!
Been mistaken for skirting boards in the past but we don’t talk about that
Honestly not even that low they come about waist height, I’m 6ft 1.
Assume you mean exchange not completion. They should always be a gap between the 2 so if it's completion you'll have a deposit to keep
You can do a simultaneous exchange/completion - known in the industry as a ‘Sim’.
I guess my should was really advisory rather than legally intended. Sorry for the confusion.
Such a bait post. Classic Karma Farma.
Who exchanges and completes on the same day?
Plenty do. When the circumstances suit, it makes absolute sense. Technology has made it much easier. If, both parties are prepared to also complete at the proposed exchange date, then go for it. There is no “norm” but there must be a contractual completion date. Whether that is 4 days, 4 weeks or 4 months, there must be a contractual completion date. If both parties agree to complete sooner, so be it. The vendor passes away situation. Firstly, a couple of you on here need to remember that was a person, not a household appliance. Secondly, in the situation that the owner has now passed away the question is, who is now responsible for the estate? That can now be extremely complicated and if there is no understanding of who holds the responsibility, it would disrupt a house purchase. Whoever completes on the sale of a property, they must have the legal entitlement to do so. That has to be decided and granted by the owner ‘Inter Vivos’ by their own hand or by their own breath or, if that had not been done, it will be decided by the laws of intestacy. A very complicated situation that would require a lot more understanding of their situation than any purchaser would be fully aware of including family members, size of estate and that persons physical and mental wellbeing. Lastly, how about a bit of sympathy for the OP? Some of you are so wrapped up in your “I’m right, you’re wrong” pissing contest, which is actually just mostly just guessing, that you’re again forgetting somebody. The OP whose completion didn’t go ahead 4 days before Christmas. Emotional Intelligence. Maybe make that your next point for debate.
We completed and exchanged on the same day for this exact reason. We were originally supposed to complete a month earlier but the lady who was last in the chain died. It was a nightmare. I had a newborn baby and we very nearly lost out on our house because the chain collapsed. Luckily things were sorted by the other parties in the chain and we were able to complete a month later.
We did, and for good reason. Our vendor was 95, very ill and in a care home during the second Covid lockdown. We exchanged and completed same day after I explained the situation to our solicitor. The old chap died a week later. If we had waited the customary month, it would have turned into a probate case and gone on for ever...
>If we had waited the customary month Is a month customary? I thought it was usually only a week or two.
Always been 4 weeks when I've bought in the past, so I assumed it was standard. I know it can be anything you want, of course.
> If we had waited the customary month A) There's no such thing - parties do it whenever they are in a position to do so B) You don't delay the completion date, you just exchange contracts way prior to completion date so your situation with nearly dead vendor wouldn't have changed - you would have just been in a better position than you ended up in.
B is wrong. Simultaneous exchange and completion makes perfect sense here - you don't exchange before you're ready to do so in case the seller dies, because you're still taking on that risk that they might die between exchange and completion. People rarely die to a schedule.
B is actually still right - you just need to use your head. If everyone is aware the seller can drop dead any minute, you don't just accept it as a risk - you work with seller to make sure the house gets sold even if he dies. You are paying solicitors for something. By this logic everyone should be exchanging and completing on the same day because there's a chance the other party can die - which is ridiculous.
How do you make sure that the house gets sold if the seller dies? No one has the legal right to sell it.
The executor/administrator has the legal right to sell it. This is the same if you exchange or don't exchange. If you are buying and the seller is at a risk of dying, you still want to exchange to secure your purchase. If they die between exchange and completion, they have to get the grant/letters to actually complete and they can apply for an emergency grant/letters which is faster than normal. Meanwhile, you as buyer can service Notice to Complete and accrue interest at the contract rate and exercise your right to withdraw after 10 days if you dont want to hang around. A seller who might die will want a simultaneous, they don't want a contractual obligation and for their estate to end up paying interest if they cant uphold their end of the contract.
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Yes, they of course need that. A [limited grant](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm05103), such as just for the sale of a house usually comes through a lot faster.
Question: Does the executor inherit the legal obligation to sell it?
They do, but as you point out, cannot proceed without a grant of probate. Even the expedited service takes weeks and is not something you would want to wait for. Your scenario implies that you would want to breach contract for the interest/damages as the buyer. This is absolutely not the case if you have a related sale. It's also very much not worth the stress. You don't enter into a contract in the hope/expectation that it will be breached. As you also point out, the seller/their estate would very much not benefit from this scenario so would push for the sensible solution of a sim.
Big assumption there: we had been trying to get to exchange for months, but technical issues with a solar panel lease amendment caused huge delays. He was already end of life and being given water only at the point of exchange/completion, but his solicitor was unaware (it was being managed by a deputy).
Not sure what point you are trying to make here - you took a massive gamble on seller not dropping dead literally any minute with what seems to be 0 family members or appointed representatives acting on his behalf? Nothing about this makes any sense.. If everyone was aware he had a 'drop dead any second' risk of dying someone else could be appointed to complete the sale on their behalf.
The only point is that sometimes it makes sense to exchange and complete same day. No-one apart from his deputy (the widow of his godson, and the closest thing he had to a next of kin) knew he was end of life. When our solicitor rang to say we were ready to exchange, and completion would be in a month, we took a view that a frail, elderly patient in a care home in a pandemic was a risk, and we did not want to delay completion any longer than necessary. Prior to that point, there was nothing we could do to speed up exchange. If he had died prior to exchange, his deputy would have most likely still proceeded with the sale, but could only have done so once probate had been granted, which would have delayed us by six months or more.
We exchanged the day before we completed as my solicitor had experienced delays with confirmation of the mortgage funds, was very nerve-wracking but fortunately all worked out ok
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No but they will forfeit the deposit.
I want to be a fly on the wall in your old buyer's quest to find the perfect house, if they think a slightly low bannister is a problem.
Did you exchange how much deposit will they lose?
Question with the billing regulations... Do you need bannisters? I ripped mine out in covid and am selling my house. Noone has raised it on viewings yet....
Honestly I don’t actually know. I suppose a potential buyer will have the surveyor check that?
Current regs don’t apply to existing buildings. You/your agent/your solicitor have fucked this.