The nervous wait to exchange....

[mid_gen]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52390860

That's all well and good, but the market is at a complete standstill.

I hope when the next lockdown evaluation comes round they look at enacting some common-sense relaxing of the rules to get the market moving again. Have estate agents provide masks, and ensure no-one touches anything and there's no reason why viewings can't be happening if people are sensible.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Wouldn’t most of the mortgage market be people remortgaging their existing property rather than moving?

 

[bainbridge]

We've received our statement from the solicitors and we're ready to agree a simultaneous exchange and completion once the vendor confirms the property is empty and we've checked.

We're first time buyers and feel that the vendor tried pulling a fast one on us:

Their estate agent said they're ready to exchange but wanted to sell all their furniture (we only agreed to buy some white goods), their tenants didn't want it and we were told last week that if we agree for the furniture to be stored in the garage we can exchange and complete and move in straight away, the vendor will then arrange for it to be taken away once the lockdown is lifted and they can then arrange a van to collect it. We grudgingly agreed on condition that it's taken away asap.

Estate agent came back to us on Friday saying there was a "misunderstanding" and what the vendor meant was if we want to move in before lockdown is over we need to take the property as it is and arrange to sell/dispose of the furniture, otherwise we'll need to wait until after lockdown.

We told them to jog on and let us know when the property is empty so we can inspect it, we'll then agree to exchange and complete. So due to the greediness of the vendor they now have an empty property earning no rental income. I imagine they'll magically summon up a man with a van or something to empty the house now.

 

[Skillmister]

Amazing how greedy some sellers can be. The property I tried to buy first finally sold just before lockdown. I originally offered on it in July 2017, agreed 107.5k on an asking price of 112k. Lowered to 105k after my survey which they agreed, then a couple of days later they changed their mind and put it back on the market for 120k. Its been empty the entire time!

Looking forward to seeing what it actually sold for but I'd be amazed if its more than 110k as nothing else on the estate has sold for more pre-renovation.

 

[mid_gen]

We've received our statement from the solicitors and we're ready to agree a simultaneous exchange and completion once the vendor confirms the property is empty and we've checked.

We're first time buyers and feel that the vendor tried pulling a fast one on us:

Their estate agent said they're ready to exchange but wanted to sell all their furniture (we only agreed to buy some white goods), their tenants didn't want it and we were told last week that if we agree for the furniture to be stored in the garage we can exchange and complete and move in straight away, the vendor will then arrange for it to be taken away once the lockdown is lifted and they can then arrange a van to collect it. We grudgingly agreed on condition that it's taken away asap.

Estate agent came back to us on Friday saying there was a "misunderstanding" and what the vendor meant was if we want to move in before lockdown is over we need to take the property as it is and arrange to sell/dispose of the furniture, otherwise we'll need to wait until after lockdown.

We told them to jog on and let us know when the property is empty so we can inspect it, we'll then agree to exchange and complete. So due to the greediness of the vendor they now have an empty property earning no rental income. I imagine they'll magically summon up a man with a van or something to empty the house now.

How are they supposed to dispose of the furniture? We're in a lockdown. If the property is vacant and you are one of the lucky few that can actually go ahead with a transaction at this time, it seems like a fair price to pay to put up with a garage of furniture for a few weeks until you can get it disposed of.

 

[mid_gen]

Still expecting my sale to go through (at least I haven't heard any different since the lockdown started and we agreed with the seller that we'll wait). Have still been keeping an eye on the market, went and had a look at the outside of a promising property at the weekend (3hr walk from home, before you ask). Looks out over a nice canal and lock, nice house, but butts onto a busy road, awful! Never going to shift it at that price.

There's a new build just come on the market close to the one we're waiting to exchange on...a little bigger, with parking. Going to have a snoop around on my bike ride later. More than we planned to spend but I think it would be worth a cheeky offer given the circumstances.

 

[Peerzy]

How are they supposed to dispose of the furniture? We're in a lockdown. If the property is vacant and you are one of the lucky few that can actually go ahead with a transaction at this time, it seems like a fair price to pay to put up with a garage of furniture for a few weeks until you can get it disposed of.

You didn't read the whole post did you?

 

[Junglist]

Well good news is my friend who lives on the same estate has told me that the builders are back on site and building. Hopefully means it'll be sooner than the Sep/Oct we've been telling ourselves. Was supposed to be end of this month

 

[mid_gen]

You didn't read the whole post did you?

I did. It seems like there was a misunderstanding and the agent has clarified the situation, I don't see what the problem is. If you don't like the clarification, say you won't exchange, or ask for a discount to cover the disposal cost...no seller in their right mind is going to throw out a sale in this environment for a few quid van hire to take some stuff to the tip, even if it is in a few weeks/months.

 

[Nyvo]

I'm currently going through the process of buying a home. It's currently held up with Help to Buy, the house had previously sold so that buyer had submitted an application with Help to Buy, however they were in an apparently never-ending chain so the developer withdrew and made the house available again. Help to Buy still has the original buyer in their systems (however they work) so the application hasn't been able to progress from my side.

My mortgage application has been approved, searches are complete, my solicitor has contract pack from the Developer. The house has been sat empty since building was completed last year and I'm currently in a shared flat with 4 other people, which is driving me a bit mad given the current lockdown, so I'm hoping can be sorted with Help to Buy soon.

 

[bainbridge]

I did. It seems like there was a misunderstanding and the agent has clarified the situation, I don't see what the problem is. If you don't like the clarification, say you won't exchange, or ask for a discount to cover the disposal cost...no seller in their right mind is going to throw out a sale in this environment for a few quid van hire to take some stuff to the tip, even if it is in a few weeks/months.

Holding off exchange is exactly what we've done until the property is empty. The "misunderstanding" was clearly a ploy to pass disposal costs onto us:

1. Investor rents out fully furnished property to tenants.

2. House is put up for sale and our offer accepted.

3. We're advised all the furniture is also for sale and if we see anything we like on second viewing to bid for it.

4. We're renting unfurnished so have our own stuff but agree to buy the white goods (we'll replace them one by one).

5. Notice is served to tenants who are also invited to bid on the furniture, they buy one of the double beds and a TV before they go, leaving a vacant property nearly fully furnished.

So the vendor clearly doesn't want any of and should have stuck with their original offer to remove it all after lockdown instead of trying to hold us to ransom. Investors and estate agents know lots of tricks to extract every last penny out of a sale and lumbering us with a house full of unwanted furniture is clearly one of them.

 

[mid_gen]

I really don't see the fuss, this is why you have contracts that cover this kind of stuff. If you don't want the furniture, don't sign a contract that includes it.

It doesn't sound like you're being particularly sympathetic though. No-one has dealt with a lockdown before. This is new territory for everyone.

Don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence and all that.

 

[mid_gen]

Had a snoop round another house that came on the market near the one I'm buying today, new build, nice enough...but literally no garden, 2 foot from back of the property and the boundary. Ridiculous, I know it's a desirable village but that seems like such a waste.

Just shy of 30k cycle ride though! Should pay more attention to the terrain, last climb nearly killed me

 

[bainbridge]

I really don't see the fuss, this is why you have contracts that cover this kind of stuff. If you don't want the furniture, don't sign a contract that includes it.

It doesn't sound like you're being particularly sympathetic though. No-one has dealt with a lockdown before. This is new territory for everyone.

Don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence and all that.

I get what you're saying but regardless of the circumstances there's a distinct difference between being able to do something and being willing to do something.

Initially the vendor was willing to get her furniture removed after lockdown because she wasn't able to do so now, but then she became unwilling to do this, even though she'll be able to do this after lockdown and we'd agreed to store it.

We stuck to our end of the deal, we haven't reduced our offer even though prices are likely to drop in the short term. The contract is based on vacant possession so she needs to empty the house.

 

[fastwunz]

I get what you're saying but regardless of the circumstances there's a distinct difference between being able to do something and being willing to do something.

Initially the vendor was willing to get her furniture removed after lockdown because she wasn't able to do so now, but then she became unwilling to do this, even though she'll be able to do this after lockdown and we'd agreed to store it.

We stuck to our end of the deal, we haven't reduced our offer even though prices are likely to drop in the short term. The contract is based on vacant possession so she needs to empty the house.

you did the classic ‘all estate agents are thieves’ thing.

how on gods green earth the situation you have described benefits the agent regardless of the outcome is beyond me. they have told you something based on the vendors instructions. They have then been told to correct them - either way, they are just passing on the news.

for the record, there are bad agents and there are good - I’ve met many in my line of work and there are some very very very hard working and decent human beings in the position. It’s lazy to brand them all negatively.

hope you get it sorted - I wouldn’t want a load of someone else’s stuff left in my house - they should hire a van and get rid - it’s not your problem.

 

[bainbridge]

you did the classic ‘all estate agents are thieves’ thing.

how on gods green earth the situation you have described benefits the agent regardless of the outcome is beyond me. they have told you something based on the vendors instructions. They have then been told to correct them - either way, they are just passing on the news.

for the record, there are bad agents and there are good - I’ve met many in my line of work and there are some very very very hard working and decent human beings in the position. It’s lazy to brand them all negatively.

hope you get it sorted - I wouldn’t want a load of someone else’s stuff left in my house - they should hire a van and get rid - it’s not your problem.

Point taken about estate agents being both good and bad. We're ftb and never had any dealings with estate agents before, and I must admit that I did go along with the general opinion I read about them all being liars if they're acting on behalf of the seller and they're only telling the truth if their lips aren't moving.

 

[fastwunz]

Point taken about estate agents being both good and bad. We're ftb and never had any dealings with estate agents before, and I must admit that I did go along with the general opinion I read about them all being liars if they're acting on behalf of the seller and they're only telling the truth if their lips aren't moving.

its cool and totally understandable at times. I’m a building surveyor and have to deal with several daily and honestly there are some superb people in the industry who are very often the life and death of a sale or purchase.

There are of course many who are awful. Haha!

 

[Junglist]

I'm currently going through the process of buying a home. It's currently held up with Help to Buy, the house had previously sold so that buyer had submitted an application with Help to Buy, however they were in an apparently never-ending chain so the developer withdrew and made the house available again. Help to Buy still has the original buyer in their systems (however they work) so the application hasn't been able to progress from my side.

My mortgage application has been approved, searches are complete, my solicitor has contract pack from the Developer. The house has been sat empty since building was completed last year and I'm currently in a shared flat with 4 other people, which is driving me a bit mad given the current lockdown, so I'm hoping can be sorted with Help to Buy soon.

Good luck! The HTB process is pretty painless for the most part (we had to send back our application once as we forgot to sign one of the pages) but it feels like it can take ages. Doesn't help they halved their numbers of staff working on applications before the current situation so it's probably even slower now.

The delay didn't bother us too much as we still got it all done and the house isn't even built but I can imagine being way more impatient if the house was already there waiting for us!

 

[ChrisD.]

Thanks to those who have posted about Linden homes in here. I'm in a 5 year old TW house I've had since new and I've had very few problems with them or the house; they even paid for my shower to be repaired outside of the two year warranty period! There's a new Linden Homes development nearby and one of the houses for sale ticks all the right boxes for me (general size upgrade, double garage, south facing garden, ability to get FTTP etc) but after reading about them on Trust Pilot I was a bit unsure. There's also some poor stories about them on there! Think I will go back to the original plan of not buying another new build.

 

[fastwunz]

Thanks to those who have posted about Linden homes in here. I'm in a 5 year old TW house I've had since new and I've had very few problems with them or the house; they even paid for my shower to be repaired outside of the two year warranty period! There's a new Linden Homes development nearby and one of the houses for sale ticks all the right boxes for me (general size upgrade, double garage, south facing garden, ability to get FTTP etc) but after reading about them on Trust Pilot I was a bit unsure. There's also some poor stories about them on there! Think I will go back to the original plan of not buying another new build.

I bought a linden home - it was an old Victorian hospital redeveloped into flats with houses too. I was VERY impressed with Linden. Friendly, helpful, accurate with timings, a good range of options, good design and actually pretty good build quality. The fittings were smart and they didn’t hesitate to help or fix issues when they arose.

The landscaping and design of the development was also very good.

I guess it’s pot luck - some sites will be shoddy and some others not. My experience was nothing but positive and I would certainly consider another