A couple who were poised to move to their dream countryside home have been left paying two mortgages after their house sale collapsed amid the coronavirus crisis.
Kath and John Fallon live in a three-bedroom semi-detached end of terrace in Lincolnshire, which they were planning to sell to a young couple for £167,000 today.
They bought a two-bedroom house in a more rural area around eight miles away for £183,000 in September and have already paid £30,000 towards a complete overhaul of the property.
But after the Government urged buyers to halt all sales while the UK is on lockdown, the Fallons have been left in limbo – paying the mortgage on their new property – as well as their current one.
Quarry worker Kath, 45, told MailOnline: ‘We’ve got two mortgages and no money to pay for them. Everything is tied up in the new house.
‘It’s my husband’s last day at work today, as he’s in construction. We’re going to have to juggle our finances. If it goes on longer than a few months I don’t know what we’ll do.’
Kath and John Fallon (pictured) from Lincolnshire have been left paying two mortgages after they bought a new house last year but the sale of their current home fell through
Sale collapsed: Thecouple live in this three-bedroom semi-detached end of terrace in Lincolnshire, which they were planning to sell to a young couple for £167,000 today
Bought: They bought this two-bedroom house in a more rural area around eight miles away for £183,000 in September and have already paid £30,000 towards a complete overhaul of the property
The mother-of-one and her husband, 49, wanted to move from their current home to be in a more rural area for them and their three dogs.
They planned to exchange contracts on their existing property today, but they were told they would have a completion date of August 18 if they signed on the dotted line.
Mrs Fallon said: ‘They suggested exchanging contracts today with a completion date of five months’ time.
‘It’s unprecedented, so our solicitors told us not to go ahead, so we just said no.
‘We’re just in limbo now. We haven’t heard anything from anyone. It’s crazy.’
While the Fallons have already coughed up £30,000 for renovations, the work has ground to a halt amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The 45-year-old added: ‘The only thing in the whole house is a bath. It’s been painted and plastered but that’s it. I could have a bath in it and go and sleep on a mattress on the floor.’
The family hoping to buy their current property still want to go ahead, but in such uncertain times, Mrs Fallon is unsure what to do.
She said: ‘I’ve lived on an estate all my life and I just wanted to look out the window and have a nice view and somewhere for the dogs to play.
‘We already had a house sale fall through last year and now coronavirus!’
Prospective buyers have been left furious after Halifax stopped giving out mortgages to new customers unless they have a 40 per cent deposit
Frustrated buyers nationwide have been left in limbo fearing the UK lockdown will still be in place by the time their mortgage offers expire.
But those looking to cash in on the COVID-19 economic crash have been left disappointed after the UK’s biggest mortgage lender Halifax announced its intermediary brands, Scottish Widows and BM Solutions will no longer accept customers only willing to provide a deposit of less than 40 per cent.
Buyers who have already had an offer accepted have three months to honour it.
It is believed to the result of Halifax being flooded with requests for mortgage payment holidays after travel restrictions affected thousands.
While other lenders are yet to announce similar moves, they could soon be on the cards.
HSBC and Nationwide say they have ‘no current plans’ to change their lending operations.
In a statement, a Halifax spokesman said: ‘We have temporarily withdrawn new mortgage and remortgage products with a loan to value ratio of over 60% across our intermediary brands – Halifax Intermediaries, Scottish Widows Bank and BM Solutions.
‘Customers with existing mortgage offers have been granted an additional three months to complete their home purchase/remo at the agreed mortgage rate.’
The spokesman added they made the decision so they can ‘focus on existing customers’.
Banks had lobbied ministers for a full freeze on the property market amid concerns over valuations and loans during the economic crisis.
NHS worker Izabella Woszek completed the purchase of a new £321,000 house in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on Thursday.
But she and her partner cannot move in because she cannot get any furniture delivered, although they are now paying the mortgage.
Miss Woszek, 30, said: ‘We don’t have any furniture or anything as it is our first home together. We are lucky that we can live with my partner’s family, but it is disappointing that we can’t be in our new home.’
Lewis Jones, an electrical engineer from Newport, was told by the developers of his new-build home that they would not delay his completion date.
But the coronavirus crisis has left him unable to move. He now has to pay bills at his rented property and his new home.
He said: ‘I’m frustrated with the Government as they should put a stop to this.’ Rachel and Russell Pearson exchanged contracts on a £300,000 home in Hollywood, Worcestershire, last week.
But on Tuesday they were told they could not collect the keys as the estate agent was closed. The vendor’s daughter eventually dropped them off.
Mrs Pearson, 48, said the family feared losing their £45,000 deposit. ‘It was a really scary week,’ she said.
The shutdown came as the Chancellor unveiled another astonishing bailout package, this time for self-employed workers.
The shutdown came as the Chancellor unveiled another astonishing bailout package, this time for self-employed workers. Rishi Sunak said they could apply for a grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits to help them stay afloat
Rishi Sunak said they could apply for a grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits to help them stay afloat.
But he hinted that taxes would have to rise to pay for the unprecedented bailouts for businesses and workers.
As the nation burst into applause in tribute to NHS workers fighting the virus:
- The number of UK victims jumped by more than 100 in a day for the first time;
- Police began using roadblocks and drones and were handed sweeping powers to punish breaches of the virus lockdown;
- The Director of Public Prosecutions threatened anyone coughing deliberately at a key worker could face a sentence of as long as two years in prison;
- The deputy chief medical officer suggested some social distancing measures could be needed for six months;
- Boris Johnson’s pledge to buy thousands of ventilators descended into farce as No10 was forced to admit it had not joined an EU scheme because the Government had allegedly not received an email;
- Next closed its online operation amid a row over staff being made to work;
- Health officials launched an urgent review into reports of doctors and nurses putting themselves at risk through a lack of protective clothing;
- Volunteers for a new scheme to help the NHS surged toward 700,000;
- Banks were forced into a humiliating retreat after ministers warned them not to exploit an emergency loan scheme set up to support struggling firms;
- It emerged it would be weeks before rapid virus tests are available to identify whether someone can return to work;
- Britain became the biggest contributor to the world’s mission to find a coronavirus vaccine and save millions of lives;
- The probation service abandoned faceto-face meetings with all but the most serious offenders;
- Routine cancer screening and cervical smear tests could be halted;
- Global cases surged past half a million, with the US increasingly badly affected;
- Petrol prices dropped below £1 a litre for the first time in recent memory.
A government spokesman said: ‘Home buyers and renters should, as far as possible, delay moving home while emergency measures are in place to fight coronavirus.
‘If moving is unavoidable for contractual reasons, people must follow advice on social distancing to minimise the spread of the virus. In line with the Government’s advice, anyone with symptoms, self-isolating or shielding from the virus, should follow medical advice which will mean not moving house for the time being, if at all possible.
‘All parties should prioritise agreeing amicable arrangements to change move dates for individuals in this group, or where someone in a chain is in this group.’
The Government said there was no need to pull out of transactions.
In earlier talks between lenders and ministers, banks said it had become impossible to survey properties and their call centres had been flooded by anxious homeowners asking for mortgage holidays.
Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said the Government shutdown of the property market was unheard of.
He added: ‘It’s going to put a lot of people’s lives on hold. From our perspective, we just hope everyone presses the pause button rather than the stop button.’
The UK’s largest lenders had earlier slashed access to mortgages in the biggest cull since the financial crisis.
There are warnings of a price crash and a plunge in sales of up to 60 per cent over the next three months.
Has your house sale fallen through because of the coronavirus crisis? Email [email protected]
