The home front property column

The Home Front property column by Dawn Sandoval

Q. Help, I’m in absolute turmoil. I should have exchanged and completed on my house last week but unfortunately I am still here, as it has been delayed because my buyer’s deposit has been held up with the lender. They have a mortgage offer but it’s their deposit that is the issue. I am buying a new house directly from a developer with a deadline imposed for completion and he is now threatening to pull out.

A. The final hour of any transaction is always fraught, to say the least. I take it the deposit is being released from a re-mortgage on your buyer’s current property, so I am sure it really is just a case of the lender dragging their heels. With regards to the developer pulling out, yes, developers tend to be more ruthless in this scenario simply because they can as there is no emotional attachment to the transaction. However, I would say that it seems you are only a day or two away from the exchange being executed so although he is threatening to do so I would think that as long as you can come through with the goods within the next week its unlikely that he will be willing to rescind the contract and start the whole process all over again.