Mis sold house

spikeman

We recently started a purchase on a property which was built on to an existing detached house,the agents described it as a freehold property with no chain etc,We aranged loans, paid for valuations on a property we are remortgaging ,paid solicitors fees,and mortgage advice fees,,all told the bill was about £1300.We were on the cusp of completing the purchase when the estate agents told us that the house sale cannot go through for another 10 weeks and we were going to be liable for more fees as the loans will have to be reaplied for and valuations will have to be redone,..The reason for this?.. THE HOUSE IS ACTUALY AN EXTENSION AND UNTIL THE LOCAL COUNCIL AGREE THAT IT CAN BE SEPERATED FROM THE ORIGINAL BUILDING THEN THATS ALL IT IS ..Does anybody think we've got a case against the agents or that at least they should stand the extra costs that are going to be incurred.?..It was sold to us as a freehold house not an extension,we wouldn't have touched it had we known the facts.The agents claim they didn't know the facts either,but I feel we were mis- sold the property,would appreciate any help....

googler

Why do you think your case is against the agent and not the seller, when you seem to suggest the agents were misled by the seller?

spikeman

The agents advertised the house in the local paper and their shop window,surely they should be responsible for the property details,especialy a huge great howling mistake like this, as a retailer myself I am always liable to reimburse my customers if they feel they have been mis- sold

Poppy9

I doubt the agents knew as had they known then they would not wasted money on marketing a house that they knew could not be legally sold.

Your solicitor should advise you how and who to claim your costs incurred from.

ognum

spikeman wrote: »

The agents advertised the house in the local paper and their shop window,surely they should be responsible for the property details,especialy a huge great howling mistake like this, as a retailer myself I am always liable to reimburse my customers if they feel they have been mis- sold

but if the item you were selling did not do as described by the manufacturer (the seller) you would revert to the seller wouldn't you.

The EA prepares particulars that are agreed by the seller, he can only advertise what he is told.

Tixy

In your situation I'd be more annoyed with my solicitor for failing to spot the problem.

as a retailer myself I am always liable to reimburse my customers if they feel they have been mis- sold

Unlike yourself in your business the agents are not retailers - they are agents and you are not their customer.

Annisele

When you say you were "on the cusp of completing" - have you actually exchanged?

If you haven't exchanged, then I don't think it can possibly have been "mis-sold" - it hasn't been sold at all. It may well have been misrepresented, but I don't see how you could hold the agents liable for that.

Did this issue not come up on your searches?

spikeman

Yes I guess the solicitor has got a lot to answer for,slippery chaps though,solicitors.

Poppy9

Tixy wrote: »

In your situation I'd be more annoyed with my solicitor for failing to spot the problem.

.

I would have thought it would show up in searches that the solicitor would have carried out before completion

G_M

Poppy9 wrote: »

I would have thought it would show up in searches that the solicitor would have carried out before completion

The OP claimed this arose when he was "on the cusp of completing ". If so, and he's Exchanged, then a) he'salready committed to the purchase and b) his solicitor is seriously at fault.

However I suspect the reality is that OP was close to Exchange, in which case a lot depends on how close. The solicitor should have spotted this at some point - precisely when depends how far the conveyancing process had got.

Since the solicitor would not have seen the property, he would be dependant on the documentation to spot this possibility (unless you asked).

spikeman

I will concede the house was misrepresented rather than mis-sold,When I say on the cusp of signing I mean within 24 hours, Who is to blame ? I don't know,Fact is though its probably going to cost me a lot of hard earned cash and it leaves me wondering why we pay solicitors etc if they're not going to do the job properly.