Failed house completion

monkeymania_2

Hi,

Hoping for some advice from the experienced and learned out there...

We were due to complete on a house purchase today, but it has panned out horribly.

Here's the diary for the day:

1. Our solicitors asked for the mortgage funds to be released first thing this morning
2. The bank didn't send the CHAPS transfer to our solicitors until 2.30pm. This was past our contract deadline for completion of 2pm.
3. Sometime during the course of the afternoon (presumably after the 2pm deadline) the vendors' solicitors issued a Notice to Complete.
4. The money arrived in our solicitors' client account at 3.25pm and was sent out immediately by CHAPS transfer to the vendors' solicitors.
5. Not sure exactly what time it arrived there, but I had confirmation by 4.30pm that it had.

Our solicitor then phoned me to advise that the vendor would not release the keys today, and was claiming £1000 in costs. On asking what the costs were for, I was told that, due to the late arrival of the funds, they were unable to complete on their onward purchase. Their stuff is packed up in a removals van which has had to go back to the depot as it couldn't unload at their new property, so there are additional storage/removals costs plus a hotel, plus the Notice to Complete.

The vendors' solicitors have advised that they will not complete until the costs have been paid by us. Our solicitors have replied stating that the costs are unreasonable and in any case cannot be paid until we receive receipts.

Now, I don't have any real problem with the fact that the vendors have incurred costs and are claiming them. I have a few questions though:

1) How should I proceed in the morning? My solicitor has said they are going to issue a countering Notice to Complete first thing in the morning. I am unsure quite what that will achieve - does it then become a stalemate?

2) We had no idea (nor did our solicitors or the estage agents) that there was a chain and that our funds were required for an onward purchase. Should this have not been declared by the vendors/vendors' solicitors?

3) Even if the vendor did not have time to complete on their onward purchase this afternoon, should they not still have vacated our property once they received the funds?

4) Is it reasonable for them to refuse to complete tomorrow morning until we have paid their claim for £1000 costs? Given the funds are already sitting in their entirety at the vendors' solicitors, how can they not complete?!

5) Who is to blame for the late arrival of the funds? As much as I am loathe to play the blame game (and certainly don't want to even think about it until all this stress is out of the way), all I know is that I have had no direct part in missing the deadline. All the paperwork has been in place for weeks. As far as I can tell, the bank took hours to release the funds today. Does the bank have an obligation to release the funds promptly? Should the solicitor have asked for the funds earlier (e.g. yesterday)? Do I have a case to pass the costs on to either of them? It just feels wrong that I am going to have to stump up another £1000 for someone else's sloppy work. :mad:

Good job we had the foresight to (attempt to) complete on a Thursday; at least we can have another crack at it tomorrow or it would have been a grim weekend!

Blood pressure through roof! :wall:
Off to sink a beer....any helpful advice would be most welcome!
Cheers

go_cat

Most solicitors tend to get the CHAPS transfer the day before to avoid this issue is there a reason yours didn't?

What a nightmare for you i hope it works out

giddypenguin

go_cat wrote: »

Most solicitors tend to get the CHAPS transfer the day before to avoid this issue is there a reason yours didn't?

What a nightmare for you i hope it works out

Yes, I agree, I would be right on to your solicitors asking why this wasn't done. I think ours did it on the Wednesday so that it was ready to go on the Friday.

So sorry this has happened though, it's a nightmare not just for you, but for the whole chain.

monkeymania_2

I did read somewhere that some lenders won't release the funds until completion day. Not sure whether that is the case with our bank (Clydesdale BS). Maybe the solicitor asked for early release and was told no. Maybe they just assumed that, given there was no chain (or so we believed) then there would have been ample time to request it on the same day. I'll be asking those questions for sure.

go_cat

On our purchase in March this year our solicitor asked for them to be in the day before - this was YBS and there was no issue with this

caeler

I think in the morning you need to get your solicitor negotiating on your behalf for the least amount of money to get everybody completed. Today was breach of contract so unfortunately you'll be liable for their costs and potentially the rest of the chain. I think you need to establish who is to blame, you pay solicitors for a reason and why should you be out of pocket?

DVardysShadow

monkeymania wrote: »

1) How should I proceed in the morning? My solicitor has said they are going to issue a countering Notice to Complete first thing in the morning. I am unsure quite what that will achieve - does it then become a stalemate?

2) We had no idea (nor did our solicitors or the estage agents) that there was a chain and that our funds were required for an onward purchase. Should this have not been declared by the vendors/vendors' solicitors?

3) Even if the vendor did not have time to complete on their onward purchase this afternoon, should they not still have vacated our property once they received the funds?

4) Is it reasonable for them to refuse to complete tomorrow morning until we have paid their claim for £1000 costs? Given the funds are already sitting in their entirety at the vendors' solicitors, how can they not complete?!

5) Who is to blame for the late arrival of the funds? As much as I am loathe to play the blame game (and certainly don't want to even think about it until all this stress is out of the way), all I know is that I have had no direct part in missing the deadline. All the paperwork has been in place for weeks. As far as I can tell, the bank took hours to release the funds today. Does the bank have an obligation to release the funds promptly? Should the solicitor have asked for the funds earlier (e.g. yesterday)? Do I have a case to pass the costs on to either of them? It just feels wrong that I am going to have to stump up another £1000 for someone else's sloppy work. :mad:

1] It turns it into a storm in a teacup over a night in a hotel and a botched removal. It sets an end stop on the amount of time by which you are in default on the contract. If the other side jib about the £1000 and refuse to complete for a few hours so much the better [I would think]

2] Would have been a good idea.

3] Read the contract

4] No, the arguing could go on for weeks over receipted amounts. Contract specified amounts can probably be determined very quickly

5] As far as the chain is concerned You are to blame. Take it like a man. As far as you are concerned, it is your professionals who have let you down.

Tom725

We went through a late completion last year and my heart goes out to you - it's one of the most stressful and upsetting experiences we have been through. Not at all helped by demanding vendors who try to hold you to ransom as though it was YOUR personal fault!

We had to agree in principle to pay our vendors costs, but our solicitor insisted that they had to provide receipts and they had to be reasonable. Our vendors started out claiming for everything they could possibly think of to load on to us - when the actual receipts came through, they had obviously calmed down (a little!) and it wasn't quite so bad.

Your vendors solicitor was completely entitled to send the Notice to Complete - but I've since read that some do like to issue those at the first possible moment as it obviously increases their revenue! Now that the money has gone through to them your solicitor is absolutely right to issue one back to them, as there is no reason now that you are holding up the progression of the sale. I think your vendors have to be reasonable and agree to complete now, based on the fact that when they produce their (reasonable) receipts, you will pay them as you are bound by your contract to do so.

Ultimately it took us 6 months of investigation and arguing before we managed to get our expenses reimbursed (it turned out to be our solicitors fault in the end).

Good luck! When I'm now in these stressful times, I remember a quote I read in Claire Rayner's autobiography - "This too will pass". It helps keep me strong!

monkeymania_2

Thanks for all the advice, I'm getting on the phone to the solicitors now to find out the damage. Will update later.

sharpee

Has you Solicitor said why the funds were late?

monkeymania_2

Quick update:

Still waiting for vendor to supply details of costs incurred. Their solicitors have stated they are refusing to complete until all the costs are paid. As completion date has rolled over to today, we now have another deadline of 2p.m.

It seems the vendor is buying 3 onward properties and required the money yesterday to complete on them.

Sharpee, I haven't yet broached the subject of why the mortgage funds were transferred late. I'll wait until completion is out of the way before I start grilling the solicitor - I need to keep them focussed on the task at hand, which is completing.