Hello
I am selling a flat that I have been renting out. My tenants have been given notice and are due to vacate in 4 weeks. My tenants tell me that the buyer is now speaking to them about signing a tenancy agreement with her. At the same time, the buyer is telling my solicitors that she will not exchange until the property is vacant.
My question is: "Can I insist on exchange before or at the same time the tenants sign the new tenancy agreement with the buyer?" This may sound judgemental, but I have a hunch that she may 'gazunder' - suddenly offer less last minute. In my view, she has already been unreasonable in threatening to walk away unless I meet her demands late in the process, when these could have easily been requests negotiated right at the beginning.
If helpful, the detail to the situation is:
1. The buyer originally said she wanted vacant possession, so I gave the tenants notice.
2. After they were given notice, she contacted them directly and is trying to convince them to sign a tenancy agreement with her. (She has also a few times demanded, directly from the tenants, access to the property with no notice at all!)
3. When I asked her about an exchange date, the reply was that the tenants needed to vacate first.
I am confused as to what she might be up to. My worst-case scenario is that: My tenants sign her tenancy agreement, she gazunders, I can't afford to take less money, she walks away. I'm then left with a) tenants with no tenancy agreement and / or having to start eviction process; b) Having to sign a new 6-month tenancy agreement meaning that the property I'm trying to buy (dependent on the sale of the tenanted one) will itself fall through; c) sitting with a mortgage and no tenants and so the expense (I can barely afford) of having an empty flat as I try to sell it again.
I therefore hope that it might be possible to insist on exchange before the tenants are lulled into a false sense of security by signing an agreement with a buyer, who I have experienced as erratic and unreliable.
Are there any other options I could explore to prevent my worst-case scenario from happening?
Thanks for your help.
Sherylin
I am selling a flat that I have been renting out. My tenants have been given notice and are due to vacate in 4 weeks. My tenants tell me that the buyer is now speaking to them about signing a tenancy agreement with her. At the same time, the buyer is telling my solicitors that she will not exchange until the property is vacant.
My question is: "Can I insist on exchange before or at the same time the tenants sign the new tenancy agreement with the buyer?" This may sound judgemental, but I have a hunch that she may 'gazunder' - suddenly offer less last minute. In my view, she has already been unreasonable in threatening to walk away unless I meet her demands late in the process, when these could have easily been requests negotiated right at the beginning.
If helpful, the detail to the situation is:
1. The buyer originally said she wanted vacant possession, so I gave the tenants notice.
2. After they were given notice, she contacted them directly and is trying to convince them to sign a tenancy agreement with her. (She has also a few times demanded, directly from the tenants, access to the property with no notice at all!)
3. When I asked her about an exchange date, the reply was that the tenants needed to vacate first.
I am confused as to what she might be up to. My worst-case scenario is that: My tenants sign her tenancy agreement, she gazunders, I can't afford to take less money, she walks away. I'm then left with a) tenants with no tenancy agreement and / or having to start eviction process; b) Having to sign a new 6-month tenancy agreement meaning that the property I'm trying to buy (dependent on the sale of the tenanted one) will itself fall through; c) sitting with a mortgage and no tenants and so the expense (I can barely afford) of having an empty flat as I try to sell it again.
I therefore hope that it might be possible to insist on exchange before the tenants are lulled into a false sense of security by signing an agreement with a buyer, who I have experienced as erratic and unreliable.
Are there any other options I could explore to prevent my worst-case scenario from happening?
Thanks for your help.
Sherylin