#298083
Postby pochisoldi » April 5th, 2020, 7:00 pm
Reading between the lines of Avantegarde's post, I would suggest that you somehow formalise the arrangement, which may be ongoing for 3 months or more.
Remember that one of the beauties of a well drafted contract, is that you know exactly where you stand.
Get something agreed in writing now, establish the fundamentals in writing:
1) You want to buy
2) The vendor wants to sell
Then clear up the other issues, and if required document them:
Who is responsible for insuring the property? - If both of you have insured the property and something happens, you could end up in a situation where neither policy pays up. - Don't say it doesn't happen - houses have burnt down between exchange and completion before, and both of you could end up exposed for an uncomfortably long period.
It might even be prudent for you (the purchaser) to cancel a policy already taken out to ensure there is no double insurance, but you need to get agreement about who's going to maintain buildings cover first.
(There have been stories about two insurance policies both saying "We won't pay out anything that's already covered elsewhere, then you end up with neither insurer paying out. This isn't "double insurance", where one person has two policies insuring against something, this is two persons insuring the same thing against the same risk.)
Assuming no monies have been passed from you to the vendor...
What's happening with your mortgage? - is the provider happy to hold off on completion? Your conveyancer will be obliged to return the advance if completion does not occur within a certain period of time.
If monies have been passed...
The vendors are living in your house under licence - has this been documented so everyone knows where they stand?
Start planning for when the restrictions are relaxed and you can move.
If you aren't careful, there are going to be people exchanging contracts within hours of the restrictions being moved, and trying to complete a week later. Both parties need to be prepared to move quickly to beat that (potential) rush to move.
Make sure your vendor has a removals company lined up and champing at the bit, and also ensure that your removals company is ready to pull your stuff out of storage and deliver.
Things I would want to clarify with my