Building delays, anyway to get back deposit?

RHaywood

In early spring 2007 I decided I would like to invest in the property market. After looking around I decide to purchase an apartment, which at the time was not complete. I was informed by the company that the property would be completed by November of the same year, which was seven months after I decided to make the purchase.

When making the purchase they imposed a number of restrictions on me, firstly that I must use their approved solicitors for conveyancing and their financial advisor for mortgage. The process was sold as a being “very smooth”, however this turned out to be far from the case. It was agreed that I would use their approved solicitors and financial advisor and after consulting these and finding a suitable mortgage a deposit was paid. At this stage the building was still expected to be completed in November and this now fell within six months of the payment of the deposit and securing the mortgage.

Four months after completing the payment of the deposit I received a letter from the company informing me that the project had been delayed, by a period of four months. I then communicated with the company and eventually received a reply six months later. The reply stated that the revised completion date was no June 2008, seven months after the initial estimated completion date. While waiting for the response the mortgage offer had to be renewed and an extension of six months was offered, which now expired at the end of May. The delay caused by the building issues now proposed to completed the development after the expiration of the mortgage.

After the mortgage offer expired for the second time this caused problems since the value of the property had fallen and it was no longer possible to get a replacement from any provider.

Over the course of the next six months the company's head office would not communicate with me and instead I had to to pursue things at the site. The problem was that the people on the site had their hands tied and everything had to go through head office which were painfully slow. When a mutually convenient solution was worked out with the site, which involved the purchase of a different apartment, the delays caused by the company caused the purchase apartment to already have been sold.

All communication sent through my solicitor was responded to with single line answers which achieved nothing but delaying any action by myself.

Since the purchase of the property appear to be a complete package, including the property, finance and legal services, I felt that the process would be very smooth and since they knew all of the mortgage details they would work to these deadlines, however this proved not to be the case and I am currently trying to get my deposit back as I feel that I have done everything which I have been asked of promptly and they have not delivered on their promises.

Bar starting litigation do I have any other rights/avenues I can pursue for the return of my deposit?

bob79

Does the contract that you signed contain a completion date? If 'yes' and they went over it then you would have a case, if 'no' then you're scr*wed.

Doozergirl

bob79 wrote: »

Does the contract that you signed contain a completion date? If 'yes' and they went over it then you would have a case, if 'no' then you're scr*wed.

That's not strictly true. Whilst they like to have their proverbials covered, they can't unreasonably delay completion.

Will it be finished in June or not? The longer it goes on the better chance you might have. I'd ditch a solicitor that gets paid referral fees by the company that you're buying from though!

Richard_Webster

Did your solicitor clearly explain that there was no legal obligation to complete within the period your mortgage offer was valid? If not, sue him.

maninthestreet

You should have run a mile as soon as the Developer stated you had to use a solicitor of their choice and a Mortgage advisor of their choice.
Were contracts ever exchanged, and how much deposit did you pay?

Gwhiz

RHaywood wrote: »

they imposed a number of restrictions on me, firstly that I must use their approved solicitors for conveyancing and their financial advisor for mortgage.

Oh dear!! This should always start alarm bells ringing.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

Firstly you need to change solicitors immediately as they are not acting in your best interest. Secondly, is this a well known developer?= There could be a support group out there with people in the same boat as you, you'll be able to approach this in a group basis which may give you stronger bargaining powers.

This situation is happening a lot in new developments up and down the country so you're not alone.

Good luck

AMILLIONDOLLARS

Just found this!

See the following: http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sect...3139697&c=1


Taylor Wimpey chief questions house valuations

The head of Britain’s biggest house builder, Taylor Wimpey, says he is 'concerned and frustrated' by the valuation of houses in the UK, warning that it is costing the company sales as cautious lenders put pressure on valuers.

Taylor Wimpey made a pretax loss of £1.9bn last year as the average value of its UK home fell by 11% and sales volumes dried up.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Pete Redfern, the chief executive, said the downward pressure on house prices has been exacerbated amid the financial crisis by valuers not judging properties on their present value, but prejudging future falls.

Daily Telegraph