Day before completion & vendor has not signed contract - Help

kazam401

Hello all - I'm still having problems on this property ladder malarky. here's the latest stumbling block & this one has REALLY got my back up :-( :mad: :mad:

Long story short - house I am buying on market for some 18 months under 2 different agents - empty house full of junk (can't get in the garage grrr) the vendor (this was either her deceased father or brothers house) lives some 250 miles away in darkest Scotland. Make an offer - regected - up the offer - accepted - happy days 25K below asking price - get the ball rolling. Things are sweet :-):beer:

Survey comes back - work needed - 5k retention threatened with mortgage provider :-( Get a couple of other opinions & get the retention removed - things not half as bad as first thought - Back on course - yippee :-) :T :T

Tell my solicitor to ask the vendor to empty the house as I guess it would cost me a few hundred quid + plus time & effort - get the reply (after 10 days) the house is sold as seen - vendor refusing to empty all the crap out - grrrrrr - not particulally happy but bite the bullet & proceed with the sale.

Tomorrow is completion day 24th June :-) yippee getting all excited - handed my notice in on the rented property (out by the 1st August) things are GOOD :-) :rotfl: :rotfl:

This morning I gets a call off my solicitor -

The vendor has not returned the signed contract nor will she reply to any attempts to contact her by her solicitor be it multi phone calls or recorder letters - the completion will not happen until this is sorted - OH S**TE !!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek:

What can I do????

I will be homeless in less than 2 weeks - if this is not completed by the 1st - I would need to find another rental property & thus deposit & probably 6 month rental agreement (not what I want nor can afford)

I am approximately 2k out of pocket as things stand & if this does all fall through I will not be able to afford to start the ball rolling on another purchase.............I am seriously fed up

If the worst does happen would it be advisable to take this vendor to small claims to try & recover some of the money I have shelled out - I have done everything correct on my part.

I don't know the protocol & I don't know where to turn now

Anybody help ??????

jc808

Why did you give notice on your rental or set a completion date without exchange?

Your own fault im afraid

G_M

Did you Exchange contracts? If both sides are using solicitors this is done on the phone between themselves. But to do it, each solicitor must have in their possession the contract signed by their client.

They then each say: "yes, I have my client's signed contract and I agree to Exchange today". If they both do this, they then post the signed contract to the other solicitor.

If this happened, then there is a binding contract and you will Complete on the date within that contract (tomorrow?).

Now, if this did NOT happen, then there is no contract, and there is no agreed Completion date - in which case why do you say: "Tomorrow is completion day 24th June..." since clearly it is not.

kazam401

I told my solicitor several weeks ago when the deal had to be done by & it was she who said it would be done by the 24th June.

I received my side of the paperwork several weeks ago - read them & signed - my side was completed with the deposit & all fees paid.

I gave my 1 months notice 3 weeks ago on notice of date given by solicitor.
Which to me seems like the obvious thing to do - who wants to be paying rent & mortgage on two properties when 1 of them is empty???

jc808 - So that was hardly a useful comment now was it?

The vendor is using a solicitor in the same town as the house - some 250 miles away from where she lives.

Just something the estate agents said to me when viewing the property makes me think that this may not be the first time something like this has happened regarding this house & that makes me even more worried

Pupnik

If there is a delay it might be worth you checking out temporary housing such as a holiday home or static caravan park while things get sorted. Hopefully things will work out but to be honest I don't see it happening tomorrow.

Annisele

Ring your solicitor first thing tomorrow morning and find out whether or not you've exchanged. If you've exchanged, then a completion date will have been set and your vendor will be in breach of contract if she doesn't hand the place over - and in theory you'll be able to claim costs of hotels etc from the vendor (but take your solicitor's advice - you don't get to stay in the Ritz).

If you haven't exchanged, you may well be somewhat stuffed. Has your landlord got a new tenant for your current place? If not, some begging might be in order.

I know it's too late now, but jc808 is right - you shouldn't give notice on your rental property until you've actually exchanged contracts. Up until exchange, either party can pull out - for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason at all.

(I've assumed you're in England or Wales; if you're not please ignore my post - I've no idea how things work in Scotland/NI).

firesidemaid

i know this might not help you right now, but it can be amazing how much someone else's junk can be worth (as we found out):)

PasturesNew

It'll be all right on the night .... however, even though you've given notice where you are, you can simply stay on. Keep the landlord in the loop, that you're staying on - and they've probably not done anything about getting it let yet anyway.

kazam401

What worries me most is the fact that the vendor has ignored any contact with her own solicitors for over a week now.

All she had to do (so long as it was correct)was sign it & place it in the addressed envelope - surely.

I have accepted the fact that it's just not going to happen tomorrow & will probably be going cap in hand to the agency to try & get another month on the property I am renting (bang goes another £700 )

This still leave the worry of the financial losses which I will incurr if it all goes belly up.

No body got any advice regarding this?

G_M

kazam401 wrote: »

I told my solicitor several weeks ago when the deal had to be done by & it was she who said it would be done by the 24th June.

I received my side of the paperwork several weeks ago - read them & signed - my side was completed with the deposit & all fees paid.

I gave my 1 months notice 3 weeks ago on notice of date given by solicitor.
Which to me seems like the obvious thing to do - who wants to be paying rent & mortgage on two properties when 1 of them is empty???

jc808 - So that was hardly a useful comment now was it?

The vendor is using a solicitor in the same town as the house - some 250 miles away from where she lives.

Just something the estate agents said to me when viewing the property makes me think that this may not be the first time something like this has happened regarding this house & that makes me even more worried

This does not answer the fundamental question: HAVE CONTRACTS BEEN EXCHANGED?

If not (and it sounds like not) then there was no deal agreed, no date agreed, and giving notice on your current property was premature.

Annisele

kazam401 wrote: »

This still leave the worry of the financial losses which I will incurr if it all goes belly up.

No body got any advice regarding this?

If you haven't exchanged, then the financial losses you will incur if it all goes belly up are your problem - the vendor has no liability to you.

If you have exchanged, it's likely that the vendor will have to cover your additional costs if she doesn't shift herself.

So - nobody can help until you tell us whether or not you've exchanged.