Currently can't complete due to a notice?

Julie_Cooke

We've exchanged last Friday and are due to complete this Friday (in 3 days time) and move on Saturday. We've just found out there is a notice on the propery we are buying, placed by the owners ex partner. We cannot buy the property until the notice has been removed.

We are in rented accomodation and there is no-one due to move into this house. We've already taken out insurance on the house and life assurance policies, well my partner is having problems getting life assurance due to his medical history...

I've never heard of a notice before (we are FTBs) and can't find much information on google!!!

Anyone know anything about notices?

G_M

Did you use a solicitor or do the conveyancing yourself? If the former, speak to him urgently! He should have known about the Notice and not allowed Exchange to go ahead. If the latter, well - that's the peril of DIY conveyancing (though regular forum participants will know I support DIYing for those with the right skills, knowledge and time).

Having said that, if the vendor, having comitted at Exchange, fails to Complete for whatever reason, he will be in breach of contract. You will be due compensation.

Provide more info on the Notice and we might be able to comment further.

Jowo_2

I assume that the property you are trying to buy is jointly owned and that one of them is contesting the sale. If there are joint owners, my understanding is that if one refuses to sell the property, the other must take them to court and get an order to do this. If you look at the relationship breakdown section in Shelter which gives advice to owners and tenants, it explains the various options available when one owner refuses to allow the property to be sold.

Your solicitor should also be able to explain the legal route that the vendor faces to be able to get the property sold.

Julie_Cooke

Our solicitor is never available to speak to on the phone. She has said it came up in a search that you do after exchange. Although the buyer was putting such pressure on to exchange, I did wonder what the solicitor might miss. She made two mistakes in the document with completion payments (yet to be made).

Our buyer seems to think the notice has been removed, hopefully it won't go to court :eek:

Jowo_2

Perhaps it shows up on Land Registry documents which are often available very cheaply to download online? For a couple of quid, you might be able to check if this is the case or ask the LR how long it typically takes to remove a notice after its been requested?

Richard_Webster

If there is such a notice that wasn't on the documents that your solicitor saw before exchange then you will not be obliged to complete (and your mortgage lender will not want to complete) because the seller will be in default. It will up to the seller to remove the notice (presumably by agreeing to pay off the ex out of the sale proceeds).

G_M

Your solicitor should have made a priority search of the property register. This would have done 2 things:
1) shown any Notice that already existed (if the Notice existed, then your solicitor should not have Exchanged contracts)
2) 'frozen' the register. This ensures that no adverse entries (like the Notice) are made in the register during the priority period granted under the official search certificate.

Clearly your solicitor either failed to spot the existing Notice, OR failed to make a priority search to freeze the Register.

Fire_Fox

Julie_Cooke wrote: »

Our solicitor is never available to speak to on the phone. She has said it came up in a search that you do after exchange. Although the buyer was putting such pressure on to exchange, I did wonder what the solicitor might miss. She made two mistakes in the document with completion payments (yet to be made).

Our buyer seems to think the notice has been removed, hopefully it won't go to court :eek:

You are due to complete in a few days, there may be penalties if you do not. Ring your solicitor every hour on the hour all day, if that doesn't work try every half hour all day tomorrow. I would not accept that someone who works for me was not available given the circumstances.

SouthCoast

A call here may wake your solicitor up:

http://www.legalcomplaints.org.uk/home.page

G_M

SouthCoast wrote: »

A call here may wake your solicitor up:

http://www.legalcomplaints.org.uk/home.page

Have you seen how long complaints take to investigate and what % are upheld?

More likely to put your solicitor to sleep!

Richard_Webster

Your solicitor should have made a priority search of the property register. This would have done 2 things:
1) shown any Notice that already existed (if the Notice existed, then your solicitor should not have Exchanged contracts)
2) 'frozen' the register. This ensures that no adverse entries (like the Notice) are made in the register during the priority period granted under the official search certificate.

Clearly your solicitor either failed to spot the existing Notice, OR failed to make a priority search to freeze the Register.

Sometimes we will do a priority search before exchange but we don't have to - it is up to the seller to sort out anything that shows up that wasn't on the documents produced and the buyer doesn't have to complete until the seller removes them.

You are due to complete in a few days, there may be penalties if you do not.

Not unless the notice showed on the documents the buyer's solicitor had seen earlier. It will be the seller paying the penalties.