Seller changed moving date day before completion

leelee77

We are at the bottom of a chain and are due to complete tomorrow. Our seller has been in direct contact with my husband and told him yesterday (at 2pm) that their seller wants to change the completion date to Friday week instead of tomorrow. Our solicitor hasn't formally told us anything yet.

All our boxes are packed and if we need to stay in our rental another week we need to pay an extra €300. Where do we stand in this. Frustrated beyond belief.

godtabh

Whats agreed in the contract?

leelee77

godtabh wrote: »

Whats agreed in the contract?

Tomorrow's date is agreed in our contract but it looks like our sellers seller only signed his contract this week and put in next week's date. Our sellers are extremely frustrated too, they are ready to go as well.

Hannibelle Smeeeth

They shouldnt have changed the completion date without coming back to you first. But if he only signed Contracts this week that would have been a red flag to your solicitor that they werent going to be ready to close on Fri. I'd be fuming that they changed the date without discussing it. I would go back to them and say theyve unilaterally changed a fundamental part of the contract and you therefore dont accept that they are binding and you want the old date reinstated.

Realistically if youre not going to back out. Youre in the bottom of a chain where youre dependant on a lot of pieces falling into place. All that will happen is there will be a few indignant exchanges of emails, but the new date will stay.

I'd be making sure the new date is definite though. Maybe have a word with the estate agent see if they have any further information.


Edit...sorry just saw your second post Nothing much you can do. You could serve a completion notice...but that gives them 28 days to sit on their laurels! Id go with contacting the estate agent.

leelee77

Hannibelle Smeeeth wrote: »

They shouldnt have changed the completion date without coming back to you first. But if he only signed Contracts this week that would have been a red flag to your solicitor that they werent going to be ready to close on Fri. I'd be fuming that they changed the date without discussing it. I would go back to them and say theyve unilaterally changed a fundamental part of the contract and you therefore dont accept that they are binding and you want the old date reinstated.

Realistically if youre not going to back out. Youre in the bottom of a chain where youre dependant on a lot of pieces falling into place. All that will happen is there will be a few indignant exchanges of emails, but the new date will stay.

I'd be making sure the new date is definite though. Maybe have a word with the estate agent see if they have any further information.

Our estate agent hasn't even formally told us anything yet so as far as we are concerned we are still moving (except we know we aren't). We certainly weren't told that the other contract hadn't been signed.

So we are at the loss of €300 now and all this hassle and rearrangement because somebody up the chain can't make the date?

I'm so angry

elastico

Maybe tell them its €300 rent paid in advance or you will be there at any point from 00.01am on the completion date with a locksmith no further communication necessary.

April 73

It's the unfortunate & frustrating part of being in a chain. I don't think there is much you can do.
We had trouble agreeing a completion date last year & it was stressful.
We ended up moving the day before my daughter's confirmation, our sellers came back from holidays the day before the moving date & I think the date only really suited the person at the top of the chain.
I sympathise.

April 73

elastico wrote: »

Maybe tell them its €300 rent paid in advance or you will be there at any point from 00.01am on the completion date with a locksmith no further communication necessary.

That's not going to work.

MarkAnthony

OP it's your solicitor you need to be speaking to.

While it's unlikely you're going to pull out, it's equally as unlikely they're going to pull out. You've hired a solicitor for a reason, let them do what they do and manage the situation. If you went for the cheapest of the cheap conveyancing solicitor who palms it all off on to a paralegal you've simply got a swings and roundabouts situation.

April 73

The problem lies more with the fact that your seller cannot complete on their new house. Technically they could complete their sale tomorrow to you & you could move in.
They'll be reluctant to do that as they have nowhere to go.
No point talking to the estate agent. They can do nothing. Talk to your solicitor but your sellers solicitor won't be likely to complete until your sellers have somewhere to go.

Butters1979

I had the exact same issue OP, but my date slip twice. Top of a chain of 3 houses, 4 parties, 4 solicitors and 2 estate agents across 2 countries. It's a pain as everyone else gets to stay in their home while you continue to pay rent.

This happens a lot with chains and there's little you can except threaten to pull out, essentially if someone's house is not ready the problem get's passed down to the end. Explain you frustration, get bitchy and put pressure on all involved. Estate agents can and do help in these situations. Our estate agent knew the other estate agent who new the solicitor at the end of the chain, they can give you more honest info than any solicitor will pass on.

Get ready to only be in the house late on the day also. You can't move in until they move in to their buy, but they can't move into their buy until the money goes through, and that can't happen until after you buy their house. Essentially you are the first to pay, and the last to gain access.

elastico wrote: »

Maybe tell them its €300 rent paid in advance or you will be there at any point from 00.01am on the completion date with a locksmith no further communication necessary.

Bizarre advice. I assume this was just jest. Have you ever been through a house purchase? You cannot turn up at a house you don't own with a locksmith and turf someone out.
Neither solicitor, nor the vendor, or even the locksmith would entertain this.

Dr_Kolossus

We were in a similar situation about 10 years ago. I can't remember all the details. They gave us 2 days notice that they wanted another week. Spouted some cr*p about how it was standard practice to give a weeks leeway.

I asked our solicitor about this, she told us that the house was insured under our name from the original closing date, and if they stayed on and damaged the house we would basically be un insured. I called over to the sellers and told them we would be moving in. They gave a sob story about having to stay in a hotel for the week, they wanted me and the missus to do this instead of them. I told them to leave and they did.

Looking back, I was probably a bit over the top in the way I spoke to them, but at the same time they were being cheeky feckers.

TeaBagMania

Had a similar situation when I purchased my home. The house I purchased was part of a divorce proceeding and the judge handling the case had to sign off on the sale. Went two weeks past agreed sale date and there was nothing a solicitor could do.

Sometimes that’s just how the dice roll, you’ll be in your new house soon and this will all be history. hang in there

Best of luck with the house

meme74

I had same situation. We were due to get the keys on a Monday morning and got a call at 10pm fri eve form the estate agent to say it wasnt happening! The house that our sellers were buying was not ready to move into and so everytihng got pushed out by a week. Like that, we had to pay extra rent for the week we got delayed. It is the most frustrating thing to happen as it should be such an exciting time but unfortnately a week is nothing unusual and something you are best to just accept!
You could argue back and forth and try and claim this and that like others have said but at the end of the day you are wasting your time and energy as the estate agents and solitiors have seen it all before and will not make much of a fuss about a week. Our solitior tried his best and did make a fuss but it was like water off a ducks back to the sellers solitior. They have seen delays of months and months so a week, while alot to you, is nothing to them.
Acceptt he fact that these things (as frsutrating and upsetting as it is) happen and look forward to getting your keys in a week, it will all be worth it!

leelee77

Thanks for all the advice. I've gotten over it now. It's looking like next Friday is a realistic date now so am hoping it will not be pushed back again.

TheDriver

It is always recommended not to be exact with moving dates or you could be homeless. Plus what if its bad weather or road closures on your planned day or you are dying sick.