(no subject)

[annwfyn]

As some of you may be aware, pierot and I are currently buying a flat together. It's a nice flat. It's in London, on Lower Road in Rotherhithe, not so very far from where we're staying now. It's got two bedrooms, and a garden.

Here are some pictures of it...









We put an offer in on this flat with the understanding that we could not complete until mid August at the very earliest. They accepted our offer. We've got the mortgage. We've got the deposit. We've finally got all the paperwork sorted. We were just waiting (as far as I was aware) for the tenants who are currently resident in the property to move out. We said (about a month ago) that August 30th was our preferred completion date as it saved us from paying both rent and mortgage, and they didn't object, so we just pootled along happily.

And then today, at 5.30 pm, I got a phone call from my solicitor. He'd just had a phone call from the sellers solicitors, demanding that he either confirm tomorrow by 12 noon that we'd be able to exchange contracts immediately and complete by August 11th, or they were pulling out of the sale.

Their sodding tenants aren't even moving until August 9th. God knows when they are planning on tidying the place up, or moving the furniture out. And I'm pretty damn fed up with the threats to re-market the property every sodding time they talk to us. They've been doing this since May when we started this process, and it's never 'the sellers have this concern'. It's ALWAYS 'the sellers want you to do this, or they are pulling out', and half the time it's been them nagging me about something which is entirely beyond my control.

Honestly, if it wouldn't cost us more in terms of lawyers fees, and a lot more in terms of time and hassle to find somewhere new in time, I'd be telling them where they could stick their house sale right now, and leaving them to try and find anyone who's going to be able to give them £200,000 in less than a month's time.

Bloody stupid sellers.

Grrrr...

Comments

[headinclouds.livejournal.com]

Grrr. It's stuff like this (and worse) that makes me dread the thought of buying a place, but I'm going to have to do it at some point. And recently I've even had a cunning plan suggested to me which I think is very workable, but still.... *fear*

Hope it all gets worked out with the minimum of fuss and hassle.

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

That's just down the road from my sister...

As in quite literally. I've parked outside those houses.

[omentide.livejournal.com]

Good luck with it. Quite honestly there's a good chance it's mainly bluff as you can't complete till the tenants are out and the place is clear.

One of my colleagues just had the completely opposite experience. Her buyer kept bringing round builders (because she wanted to make cosmetic alterations, despite the place being proven to be structurally sound) and trying to get the price round because it would cost her money to knock through walls that didn't need to be knocked through. Turned out this buyer had already been blacklisted by half the estate agents in West London and is now blacklisted by more...

It's a horribly stressful exercise. We had a terrible time with this place. Seller nearly pulled out at the last moment (and this was after we wasted months of time and quite a bit of money trying to buy a place the vendor had no real intention of selling) because the place she was going to live fell through. I felt pretty bad forcing her out, but our landlord was hassling us for a leaving date and all that other stuff.

I think it's just inherently stressful.

[castorlion.livejournal.com]

*peers at streetmap interestedly*

Whereabouts? Lower Road is LOOOONG!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Here (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=535951&y=178629&z=1&sv=535951,178629&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf), I think, but I'm not entirely sure looking at a map. Tis opposite McDonalds and is about a ten minute walk from the Canada Water tube station.

[anonymous-james.livejournal.com]

"try and find anyone who's going to be able to give them £200,000 in less than a month's time."

Tell them that you had agreed the 30th and you won't accept any other date. Be firm, be a rock, watch them crumble and accept the 30th.

If your solicitor is ready for you to exchange, do so, but only with the proviso that the 30th is the completion date.

They have as much to lose as you do, you don't have to let them bully you around.

[windzswept.livejournal.com]

I is beginning to hate house buying, *nods*

[castorpollux23.livejournal.com]

It looks like a nice place!

[satyrica.livejournal.com]

you (will) have garden! that's cool :-)

[melsner.livejournal.com]

Is it in Crouch End?

And is the nearest pub called the Slaughtered Lamb?

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Nah...it's in Rotherhithe, where we've been living for AGES.

There is no Slaughtered Lamb outside of Lambourn. :p

[melsner.livejournal.com]

I still believe that any part of the UK is about three seconds away from becoming a horror story. Lovecraftian nightmares, ancient gods, fae, ghosts and rent boys.

Get a package yet?

[castorlion.livejournal.com]

Rent boys? Where, exactly?
clearly I haven't been looking hard enough..