The impact of coronavirus continues to affect us all in ways which we could never have imagined. The house moving process is very much a case in point. In my 35 years of practice we have seen many challenges, but nothing quite like this.
My message to you is that we are here to help and advise you at this difficult time.
For anyone in the process of moving house the government issued further guidelines on 26 March.
If you have already exchanged contracts and your completion date is looming, the advice is to do your upmost, with our assistance, to reach agreement with all parties in the chain to defer the completion date until such time as restrictions have been lifted. Remember, it is vital that we all play our part to bring this virus under control and to approach matters in a spirit of goodwill, compromise and flexibility.
If, for whatever reason, an agreement can’t be reached, then a move can still go ahead provided it can be done safely and following all the guidelines relating to distancing, isolation and shielding. Please follow the link below to see the guidelines in full.
If your move is not yet at the point of exchange our advice is to continue up to the point of exchange and we can then discuss with you whether the better option is then to put matters on hold or to proceed to an exchange of contracts with comprehensive contractual provisions included in the contract to protect ALL PARTIES in the event that completion cannot go ahead because of Coronavirus. Again we are here to help you to consider the options.
It is pleasing to be able to report that our experience so far is that all solicitors and conveyancers are approaching matters in a pragmatic and helpful way and by helping one another we are all the better able to meet the challenges ahead.
Remember, STAY HOME, PROTECT OUR NHS, SAVE LIVES.