Delay in completion. Whose fault?

AlwaysSomething

Hi, we are selling my parents' house. Completion was due to be last Friday, but the searches threw up a small query which has caused a delay. Is that our fault, or the purchasers? I gather the penalties can be sizeable for delaying completion, although, in this case, there is no chain.
Thanx

Thrugelmir

Then setting a completion date was premature. Who set it?

DVardysShadow

Have contracts been exchanged? It is very unusual for a query to prevent completion, since exchange normally only take place after all queries are resolved. Who delayed completion?

G_M

the searches threw up a small query which has caused a delay. Is that our fault,

Oh come on - we're not psychic!
Who raised the query? You or the buyers?
Who decided to delay Completion?
Or was one side unable to Complete? If so, who?
What was the query - does it throw doubt on your ownership/right/ability to sell?

Are you doing the conveyancing yourself? If so, are you sure you know what you are doing?
If not, what does your conveyancer say....?

DVardysShadow

G_M wrote: »

Oh come on - we're not psychic!

I knew you were going to say that.

AlwaysSomething

The completion date was mutually agreed. I guess the buyers didn't start the searches until close to or after exchange. I'm just checking that nothing thrown up by a search could be construed as something we, as sellers, should have foreseen. Apparently, there is some minor query relating to a mortgage payment in the 1960's.

AlwaysSomething

G_M wrote: »

Who raised the query? You or the buyers?
Who decided to delay Completion?
Or was one side unable to Complete? If so, who?
What was the query - does it throw doubt on your ownership/right/ability to sell?

Are you doing the conveyancing yourself? If so, are you sure you know what you are doing?
If not, what does your conveyancer say....?

The query was thrown up by the searches. The bank didn't release funds for the buyers. We didn't get our money. They didn't get the house.
Conveyancer says the anomaly is so long ago it will probably just be wiped out by the land registry. Don't know what the more complicated alternative is yet.

DVardysShadow

OK, buyer's solicitor asleep on the job. Found something, reported it to lender, let exchange go ahead. Lender objected.

And Seller's solicitor asleep on job - either did not find out about this problem until it came home to roost or ignored it.

This is not how it should be done.

G_M

If the failure to complete was due to the buyers not having the funds, then clearly they are at fault so you can claim damages.

If the buyers failed to raise all the queries they wished to raise prior to Exchanging, then clearly they are at fault so you can claim damages. Raising additional queries post Exchange is NOT an excuse to delay Completion - that's the whole point of drawing a line under the 'investigation of Title' process by Exchanging Contracts... thereby commiting both parties.

G_M

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I knew you were going to say that.

Is my sarcasm getting overly predictable? Boring even?......

DVardysShadow

G_M wrote: »

If the failure to complete was due to the buyers not having the funds, then clearly they are at fault so you can claim damages.

If the buyers failed to raise all the queries they wished to raise prior to Exchanging, then clearly they are at fault so you can claim damages. Raising additional queries post Exchange is NOT an excuse to delay Completion - that's the whole point of drawing a line under the 'investigation of Title' process by Exchanging Contracts... thereby commiting both parties.

Reading between the lines, buyer was satisfied, lender was not. Lender was at variance with buyer's solicitor wearing hat of lender's solicitor. Buyer's solicitor would not have allowed exchange if their advice to lender was that the title was bad.

I suspect that the resolution will be quite low key with no damages for OP. If OP presses for damages, this may leave buyer unable to complete, which may increase the damages, but may cause buyer to pull out. If OP wants this sale to go through, there may not be much damages to be had. It won't be clear how this query will be resolved for a couple of weeks now, so it goes back to market about the start of November, which really is dead until spring.