Q. My solicitor is just firming up completion dates with me as we are ready to exchange. The trouble is I want to complete after Christmas now as we are only have a week but my buyer wants to move in for Christmas, I’m tearing my hair out as we have now reached a stalemate?
A. Agreement between the buyer and the seller on completion dates can be dramatic at the best of times but throw the longest public holiday in the country into the equation and then we have drama on a whole new level. Typically both sides want their own way and generally don’t want to give in to the other and become very stubborn. This can also be very time consuming for the solicitors with all the back and forth between clients and each other trying to agree a suitable date, so on most occasions you will find that your agent will step in – being in a unique position he is the only person that is able to speak to all 4 parties namely the vendor and their solicitor and the buyer and their solicitor. The agent will normally have a chat with both sides to see if they are able to work out a compromise that everybody is happy with. Its all about Compromise, it really is the only way forward in a situation like this otherwise you could even potentially as a seller put the whole sale in jeopardy as the buyer if he feels strongly enough could quite easily withdraw from the purchase, likewise the seller also could exploit his position and equally withdraw the property from the market. Although being extreme you would be surprised how many stubborn people fall out at this stage and take such drastic action!