Buying a repossession

stuart0161

Hi, I wonder if anyone could give some advice? I put in an offer for a repossession three weeks ago and got the offer accepted. I got this letter through the post from Spicer Haart, the company acting on behalf of the bank that is selling the house.. (the letter came couple of days after the offer was accepted)...

Further to your recent offer of ****** made subject to contract for the purchase of the above property, we are pleased to confirm that this offer has been accepted by our client, subject to a public notice and the terms set out in this letter.
IMPORTANT: Your solicitor will be issued with draft contracts within the next 72 hours. Acceptance of this offer is also subject to a 28 day exchange. Therefore, survey should be carried out within 10 working days and searches must be applied for upon receipt of contracts.
Please note that our client is required to obtain the best price possible for the property, it must remain fully available to exchange of contracts. Any expenditure incurred, ie: survey fees, legal costs etc will be your own responsibility whether or not you are the successful purchaser.
We trust the above clarifies the position of the proposed sale, but should you have any queries in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact our agent.

The thing is, I have a mortgage in place, have had the survey done, the house has been in the newspaper... but despite the 72 hour draft contract promise, it has yet to appear! This is the only thing that is holding the process up, and my solicitor and estate agent has been/is chasing them up everyday for the past week. I'm so worried that somebody will come along with a better offer... Why do you think the vendors solicitors are taking so long to send out the draft contract?!! :j

Riq

They want a better price?

stuart0161

That's what I'm thinking... but maybe they are overworked!!!?

m_13

They sound so incompetent and I feel for you!

Have you thought about ringing Spicer Haart yourself?

We finally managed to exchange on our repossession purchase last Monday and are completing next Tuesday, for some reason 15 days in between not the 14 we asked for :rolleyes:

I think you can only keep chasing as hard as you can and make sure you attend and sign the contracts as soon as they arrive. Does your solicitor already have the deposit funds in their account as cleared funds so they can exchange as soon as the contracts arrive?

stuart0161

I was told that ringing Spicerhaart wasnt a good idea... but not sure if thats true. My solicitor told me that I shouldnt take take out the deposit funds yet as they are in ISA's... I'm just really restless, as I want the house so much! On a positive note, noone has put in a higher offer yet...

m_13

If your ISA money is in an Abbey account and you don't have an Abbey current account or your ISA money is in the Nationwide then be warned you may not be able to get hold of it as soon as you want.

My partner had to take out an Abbey current account to get to her Abbey ISA money on short notice and we had a complete fiasco with the Nationwide who insisted that they did not hold such large sums of money as £5,000! Eventually after much pleading they found a branch in a nearby town who did have that much money (oooh!) and could let us have it to withdraw.

I understand why your solicitor is saying this as any money taken out of an ISA cannot be replaced but we are just over a month from the end of the tax year!

When our exchange went pear-shaped one of the things that stood us in good stead was the fact that we could show that the solicitor had our deposit funds in time (and in fact we had signed the contract) so it was not our delay.

I'd ring Spicer Haart. They wrote to you so ring the person on your letter. I spoke to all sorts of people, even the Building Society's solicitors (who were lovely) and the company who moth-balled the property (who demanded to know how I had got their number and seemed astonished when I said it was on their website!).

I don't blame you for being restless but take control of your own destiny (not easy at 22:15 on a Monday night I know!).

stuart0161

Thanks for your advice! Well one week later, and things have moved on! The contract arrived (after much pestering) and we are due to exchange on Friday 13th of all days! We also have a completion date of Friday 20th March. Does anyone know... once contracts are exchanged, if someone puts in a higher offer on the property can the whole deal be called off, or is it too late?!!! I have never wanted Friday 13th to arrive as quick! :j

m_13

Once you've exchanged you should be safe. I doubt the vendor would want to pay the penalties for failing to complete.

I'm a triskaidekaphile - I love the number 13. I was born on the 13th and my partner too. I always try to get things with 13s in them like dates or phone numbers. Usually people don't argue because they want rid :rolleyes:

We wanted to complete on our repossession purchase on the 13th but it's the 10th (tomorrow, gulp).

stuart0161

Thanks for your reassurance! I am feeling very positive about Friday... but there is that slight worry about someone offering more! The solicitor has said not to worry, as the odds are stacked in our favour... but you hear such stories on the forums about others who have been so close... Good luck for your completion tomorrow! :Tps... the Estate Agents told us on Saturday that no one has viewed our future house at all since we placed the offer over three weeks ago!

aKtechno

I am rooting for you!

I am in a very similar position i.e. restless.

I have put offer in for repossession with spicer and haart today. It has been accepted.

I've instructed the solicitors and paid my arrangement fee for mortgage.

Got home from work and have found the house on the estate agent website! I have asked for it to be removed immediately.

I am sooooo worried about someone making a higher offer!

poppysarah

Someone can make a higher offer. That's the point with a repo - they've got to get as much as they can.

Have a speedy solicitor...