Vendor pulling out, 2 weeks from completion, Any advice?

steve_o_7

Hi all, Firstly please be gental, lol, Im new to posting here but ive been watching the forum for a few months now, Very good advice and I recon ive got the best advice for getting a morgage, making offers, etc, etc.

Anyway our Problem.

Basically My better half and I are currently looking at moving out. First time Buyers!!. We serched for a while, found a house we love, Offered, accepted, Morgage all set up. Surveys carried out, Searchs carried out, Building insurance policy set up, Solicitors just about to sort contracts. But Last night the Vendor Phoned us. Basically she is moving into a retirment type flat thats just 6 months old. She now tells us that shes not moving as apparently her Solicitor has informed her that the previous owner commited suicide in the flat she is buying. So she doesn't want to move in there. My first wonder is do Solicitors really have the right to inform buyers of that particular fact?

But reason im posting is, We are now currently Out of pocket the fees, surveys, solicitors charges, search fees, Cancelation fee for insurace policys. Plus also we have both withdrawn all funds stored in both our ISAs to transfer the deposit. So we can't just put the cash back in as we have both met our Isa Quotas. means were missing out on Interest we could have gained.

Just wandering, Is there any way we can recover these costs? Seeing as its not our fault shes pulling out. Can she be held Liable to pay for what we have paid out for? Like i said before, were FTBs so were not up on how this all works.

Any ideas? or advice? Options we could look into?

Thanks for any help

Steve and Laura

Doozergirl

What a shame for you.

No, people don't have to tell the stories that belong to the property in terms of suicides and such.

There is nothing you can do legally to retrieve the money you have lost. You can try sending a letter to the vendor detailing your costs and asking for a contribution but, if you consider that this person didn't care enough about you to still sell the house, it's highly unlikely that she will contribute anything.

Welcome, by the way!

cattie

No you can't claim anything unfortunately unless contracts have been exchanged.

Sadly this is your welcome to the world of property buying in the uk and your solicitor should be explaining this to you as you're already having to pay his bill.

A solicitor should act in the best interest of his clients, which is what your vendor's solicitor has done, so you can't fault him on that. I'm sure you would want your solicitor to inform you of anything adverse.

I can understand the vendor not wanting to move into a place where someone commited suicide as I wouldn't want to live there myself, but perhaps she may be willing to contribute something towards your out of pocket expenses. It costs nothing to ask & you may just hit lucky.

On the other hand, if she is going to be looking for another flat to purchase, would you be willing to wait for this house till she finds somewhere to suit? At
least this would mean you are not going to be completely out of pocket.

I hope you manage to find a way that doesn't hit you so hard financially as the whole house buying process is very costly & it's not pleasant to basically be wasting your hard earned money on a property that isn't going to be yours.

Hot_Fuzz

Dude i feel for you in a big way, me and my GF are in the same position you were, just waiting for the exchange and this is the most nervous i've ever been, Basically it just doesn't seem fair.

I know its a dream world but i wonder if there could ever be insurance for moving house in case it all goes bent like this.

benood

But she still plans to move doesn't she? Perhaps another flat will come up soon and your deal will be back on. If she has a conscience she might be prepared to make a contribution to your costs, but if you suggest it she might get funny - in any case try and maintain a dialogue with her, and apply gentle moral pressure to encourage her to find an alternative flat.

spunkeyrich

yep nothing you can do. its one of the reasons why the law on buying and selling is being looked into. Maybe keep on good terms with her as she may move in the end.


rich

courtjester

hot fuzz - I believe that there is such insurance against the expenses lost on failed house moves, available from some solicitors as an option.

[Deleted User]

When you say 2 weeks before completion, do you actually mean completion of exchange? If you have already exchanged contracts, you should be able to claim all expenses. Suggst you have a talk with your solicitor - he/she will be able to advise.

mrsc_4

This happened to us when we brought our first flat, we were all ready to go and then our vendor pullled out. We were gutted but then found out from the EA that she still wanted to sell to us, so we waited, and waited (4 months in total) but she did find something else and we did eventually get the flat.

Is this not an option for you and your vendor??? your vendor sounds like she wants to get into a retirement complex and out of her house

heronaddict

As she phoned you herself at least she had the goodwill to do that. Id ring her back and lay it on thick- you love the house, so disappointed.. etc, tell her you will wait for her to find somewhere else and give her and yourselves about 2-4 week time limit- she might change her mind or find somewhere quickly. Good luck- my two moves both took about 5 months, it really can drag on.

steve_o_7

Hi all, Right well, Seeings as it was back to business being monday today, I did all the phoneing round. Estate Agent phoned and now she has told them that she is pulling the house off the market completly. The EA have been on the phone to her 3 times this afternoon trying to talk her back into it, Seeings as they are set to lose on this deal as well. But to no avail. Apparently our Morgage agreement is safe for 6 months, So as long as we find a new place within 6 months and the survey goes ok, We get our current fixed rate garuanteed. The Morgage Broker also offerd a Valuation Pledge which seeing as she was the one who pulled out means we are entitled to a free Survey on our next house! So thats a bonus. Solicitor have said we have lost the search fees, But Her time she said would not cost anything as long as our next house is delt with through her. So thats another weight off our mind! So its turning out a little better.

I drove past the house on the way home from work today, And the woman has already riped down the Sold sign!!!

@ lindabea - Exchange of contracts was due to be sometime this week or early next, Date for Completion was the week begining 5th Feb

We have told the solicitor to hold for now but still keep the file open just incase she puts it back on the market. In the meantime the Mrs seems to have wasted no time in getting new viewings booked in. Bless her.

I think that may be a good idea to see about writing a politly worded letter. explaining our incured costs etc, Like has been said we may get lucky. If not, then worst she can do is say no, won't cost anything but a stamp, Which i'll try and claim off her too, lol. Anyone know if theres there any legal Implications involved it doing this?