Stewart Milne goes into Administration

[Transform_IT]

Hi guys,

We were in the process of selling our house and purchasing a property from the developer, Stewart Milne. We learnt late last week that they had called in the administrators and as a result, the sale has been halted. We were two weeks off exchange and completion.

We are currently living out of boxers as is our buyer, and their buyer too.

As part of the chain, our buyers don't want to lose their sale and have asked if we can move into rented whilst we find somewhere. The issue we have is we were porting our existing mortgage rate, thus meaning we could afford what was a beautiful property.

With our onward purchase ceasing and it likely to fall through, does anyone have experience of this situation?

We have seen a property we like but it isn't ready until July. If we were to set things up with the bank, could we complete on our sale, move into rented and port our mortgage and rate over when the new property is ready? Or, is it a case of, once we've sold our house, we'd have to have another mortgage product immediately in order to keep the rate?

I will speak with my FA tomorrow, but thought I'd ask the question here. Unless somebody else has another solution or scenario we could explore.

Thanks,

T_IT

 

[Transform_IT]

As I understand it, your lender may let you temporarily break the mortgage and resume it on the new property, but this may be a time limited thing.

If the onward purchase gets delayed, you could wind up facing ERC fees and lose out.

Best to speak with your broker or lender and find out what options you have.

Cheers bud.

 

[Transform_IT]

What happens at the unfinished sites?​

Trade roles working on the housebuilder's sites will also go as a result of the firm's collapse. The administrators said sub-contractors should not undertake any more work for the business, and site access - for example to collect equipment - should not be attempted unless approved by the administrators.
Teneo said the company was "exploring its options" but was looking to work with other developers on the completion of unfinished sites.
Buyers who have purchased or reserved homes from Stewart Milne Group and have not yet moved in will be contacted by the administrators directly.
Current residents with outstanding works are asked to contact the [email protected] for further information.

More than 200 jobs lost as housebuilder Stewart Milne goes bust

The north-east Scotland based Stewart Milne Group failed to attract any viable offers after being put up for sale.

www.bbc.co.uk

Is this any use to you?

We've made contact with them but it's like drawing blood from a stone. The houses either side of the one we were purchasing aren't finished and are still building sites. There is no guarantee when they will be completed and even if they are, no further information regarding snags. The houses are part finished internally and we have been told that that's how they will come. No further discounts applied, despite issues and snags already visible.

At this point, we have no confidence in the builder or administrators are don't feel confident or comfortable proceeding.

 

[Transform_IT]

Sounds like the sale could still go ahead, but make sure the house is complete and who handles any issues with snagging etc.

This is the issue, we've had a look at it today and the snags I can see are as long as my arm. Not to mention no further information or insight as to who will rectify them (if anyone at all).

 

[Transform_IT]

My mind is made up about the development. We are cutting our losses and won't be proceeding. We have seen another property at a different developer (Storey Homes), but it isn't ready until June. Our buyers are pushing for us to move into rented. If we were to do so, could we pause our mortgage so we are able to take our existing rate to the new place when it's ready in June?