Should I allow an extension of the notice to complete?

Wan_Hu

Hello, folks.

I've been browsing the forum in the hope that I might find out some information about my predicament and noticed that sensible replies are posted surprisingly quickly. As I don't have much time in which to make a decision and my solicitor isn't being much help, I'd be grateful for any advice going and I promise a follow up.

Timeline is this:

April. Sale agreed at £190,000, contracts exchanged with two months till completion to suit buyer. Buyer is a property agent with decent reputation and, incidentally, a very rich father. He required the long lead time for another property deal to complete. An additional sum is payable on completion to compensate me for the extra mortgage payment I'd have to make.

June. Extension agreed for 1 month as the other deal hadn't happened. This took the form of a supplementary agreement to original contract. This, however was not ratified by either myself or the buyer. I turned up at my solicitor's office on a friday 3pm, waited 20 mins & had to leave to collect kids from school, probably should have gone in the next week (not sure what the ramifications, if any will be). A second compensatory mortgage payment was part of the deal.

July 7th Revised completion date.
Didn't complete. (obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this)
Buyer requests a further extension to 15 August and offers a further mortgage payment. I politely tell him to "bog off".
I was about now that I was introduced to the concept of "notice to complete". Up till now I thought that if you don't complete, you lose your deposit, but it's not as simple as that. You get served a notice to complete and have 10 working days to comply. Being a property agent, the buyer probably knew that.

July 11th. Notice to complete served. Why this wasn't done immediately, I don't know. My solicitor asked me if I thought he'd come up with the money and I said I thought he probably would. He has, in extremis, access to daddy's large pile of cash and I judged him unlikely to lose his deposit, though I suggested he'd be rather cute about the whole deal.

July 25th I'm informed that notice to complete had been rejected as it wasn't a "formal" notice to complete. My solicitor blamed this on the conversation in which I suggested that, on balance, the buyer would be more likely to complete than not. A "formal" notice is duly issued.

August 7th. With final, final deadline looming, buyer requests a week's extension and a third mortgage payment as offered on Jul 7th

August 8 (today)
Long conversation with my (junior) solicitor have left me unclear about a couple of points.

1. Does punitive interest run from completion date Jul 7th or from the date formal notice to complete served Jul 25th. My solicitor didn't know. She checked, and said the latter, but I'm not convinced she understands it well enough to explain it to me.

2. Can I agree to an extension to the notice to complete, rather than a supplementary agreement to the contract, which would presumably negate my entitlement to any interest so far accrued and allow a further 10 working day period before the buyer's deposit is again in jeapordy? My solicitor says the latter (I think! She was getting very difficult to understand by this point)

3. Can I sue for futher losses If I have to sell for less than the original selling price less the deposit & expenses? eg Original sale price £200K, deposit £20K, Best offer from another buyer £170K can I sue for £10K plus reselling expenses? (I've read conflicting info on this).

Sorry if this is all a bit dense. I'd be grateful for any illumination at all (other than "get a new lawyer", I've worked that one out for my self).

Many thanks

chickmug

Hi

I have seen 1,000's of property sales through and never had a 'fail to complete' so can't answer you. Have you used a cheap solicitor or conveyancer?

Hope others can give more help!

Wan_Hu

Not especially cheap; I've been using a solicitor some distance away and wanted somebody more local for this transaction, so this was the best of a handful of quotes. It's a small conveyancing specialist, the woman who runs it has a history in one of the big local firms, and the junior solicitor refers to her when I ask questions. The trouble lies in the fact that I don't think she always understands them herself.

chickmug

I think you will need to talk with a solicitor with who you have confidence and who has experience about this one. Not sure any on this board?

bubblesmoney

buyer is a property agent in the area. do u think ur solicitor has any conflict of interest with the property agent who is the buyer???? can possibly be one of the reasons for duff advice or solicitor dragging feet in advice etc. get advice from an independent solicitor. does ur contract have clauses for loss of deposit + any compensation for remarketting property or fall in sale prices in event of remarketting etc. worth checking out ur contract and see if there are any get away clauses for the buyer

emma70_2

Your Solicitor should have served Notice to Complete straight away no messing. Intrest is payable every day they don't complete they are in Contract and yes you could sue but it a long winded thing. Your Solicitor sounds hmmm not very good.

Wan_Hu

buyer is a property agent in the area. do u think ur solicitor has any conflict of interest with the property agent who is the buyer????

No, this is a medium sized city. I'd be flabbergasted if any conflict of interest going on.

Thanks chickmug. I've got the weekend to mull it over, but it's a bit late in the day to change lawyer.

Emma- that's one of the points I need to clarify: whether interest runs from completion date or from notice to complete.

Thanks

emma70_2

You need to look at Clause 6 of your Contract think thats the one. Has Contracts been signed by both parties? The Contract state the Buyer shall buy and the Seller shall sell which says it all really. Cant remember off hand but think it's day after Contract runs out but dont quote me on that. You should really go back to your Solicitor to sort it.