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Solicitor nightmare

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itsfabhere
itsfabhere Posts: 6 Forumite
edited 2 October 2017 at 2:07PM in House buying, renting & selling
On the 25th August I was emptying the final things from the house that I was selling, awaiting that telephone call from my conveyancer that completion had taken place and sales money transferred to my bank account. My buyers were awaiting the removal van coming so that they could move into my house.
Instead of the call to confirm completion, we got a call to say there was no money for the sale to complete. Turns out my buyers buyer, Mr R, a cash buyer, had not sent any funds to his solicitors at all. None!
My complaint is... why was it allowed to get this far down the line? Why did Mr R's solicitor not ask for funds at least the day before exchange/completion (exchange and completion due to take place on the same day due to the very quick process only taking 5 weeks)? Why was proof of funds not asked for by his solicitors earlier in the process?
I had originally only accepted my buyers offer on the proviso that their buyer, Mr R, provided proof of cash funds. I was told that he did, to my buyers estate agent, and on this advice, I accepted their offer, knowing that there were no guarantees, but accepting that it was probably a good indication that the sale would go through.
I have contacted the Ombudsman, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and my Conveyancer's for advice, but I have no legal rights. I am left with a bill for conveyancing for a house sale that did not complete. Any help please? NB I have no complaints with my solicitor, they told me all was ready for completion as far as they were concerned.
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  • D_M_E
    D_M_E Posts: 3,008 Forumite
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    It sounds like everyone in the chain had exchanged contracts and had a completion date agreed.

    If this is the case, then you need to get your solicitor to serve notice on your buyer, and they should serve notice on their buyer and so on down the chain that any deposit will be retained and any and all costs associated with the failed purchase will be passed down the chain to Mr R or whoever it was that failed to come up with the cash.

    If you did not use a solicitor for your sale then you need to see one as soon as possible.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,442 Forumite
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    D_M_E wrote: »
    It sounds like everyone in the chain had exchanged contracts and had a completion date agreed.

    Not according to the OP...
    itsfabhere wrote: »
    ...(exchange and completion due to take place on the same day due to the very quick process only taking 5 weeks)? ...

    Unfortunately, what you describe is one of the risks you have to take, if you are aiming to exchange and complete on the same day.

    That's why the vast majority of people don't do it. Unfortunately, based on what you say, you have no recourse.
  • nomoneytoday
    nomoneytoday Posts: 4,866 Forumite
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    If you hadn't exchanged, there was no contract to break.
  • Jenniefour
    Jenniefour Posts: 1,393 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
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    Exchanging and completing on the same day is a risk you chose to take, and you didn't have to agree to that.

    So if all you're left with is a solicitors bill for the conveyancing then I doubt there's anything to complain about, although I agree that whatever went on with the other buyers funds could have possibly come to light earlier. However, nothing is certain until exchange has taken place.
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
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    Firstly, why is it the solicitor's fault their client didn't pay? Even your proposed solution would have only given you an evening's notice that the deal wasn't happening.

    Secondly, the problems mainly lie on the fact you arranged to exchange and complete on the same day. Something which you agreed to. Again, this is not a fault which lies with the solicitor.

    House buying and selling is a risky process, and you've been unlucky that the risks materialised in your case. This is not the fault of the solicitor - it's mainly the fault of the buyer, and to a lesser extent, you, for failing to adequately mitigate against the risk - for example by having a gap between exchange and completion. Furthermore, as no contracts have been exchanged, you have no come-back.

    Sorry that this won't be what you want to read.
  • Scotbot
    Scotbot Posts: 1,448 Forumite
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    Never agree to exchange and complete on the same day especially with a cash buyer. I am one, the money is not sitting in my current account. It will take several business days to get it to the solicitor.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    edited 2 October 2017 at 1:38PM
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    This is the risk with simultaneous Exchange/Completion.

    There is no contract, so no blame can be levied at anyone.

    The solicitors for the 'defaulting' party ('inverted comas' beccause they did not legaly default!) probably did seek funds, but they did not arrive.

    Booking a removals van was premature, as contracts had not been exchanged. That is exactly why there is usually a gap. Simultaneous Exchange/Completion works where there's no chain, empty property, investor buying (so no plan to move in) etc

    ps - your thread title is misleadiing. This is not a 'solicitor nightmare'. It's a chain breakdown nightmare.
  • Surrey_EA
    Surrey_EA Posts: 2,042 Forumite
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    Scotbot wrote: »
    Never agree to exchange and complete on the same day especially with a cash buyer. I am one, the money is not sitting in my current account. It will take several business days to get it to the solicitor.

    It takes several business days for mortgage funds to get to the solicitor too.

    Therefore, the advice really is: never agree to exchange and complete on the same day.
  • itsfabhere
    itsfabhere Posts: 6 Forumite
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    One of those situations where I didn't have a choice, had to exchange and complete on the same day at the advice of my solicitor, don't solicitors know best? My question was 'why did the solicitor leave it until the day of completion to realise there were no funds from the cash buyer? Does the solicitor not usually request that the funds be transferred at least a day before so that all is ready to complete?
  • itsfabhere
    itsfabhere Posts: 6 Forumite
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    My buyers mortgage funds had been with their solicitor for a few days and they were ready to complete. It was their cash buyer who didn't transfer his funds to his solicitor.
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