Exchanged. Wake up crying most days. Advice pls.

mustang1

When are you supposed to be completing? If you really feel like you can't move locally and rent for a bit before buying somewhere else (which will be much cheaper than pulling out of your current sale), then make sure your solicitor starts negotiating with the buyer's solicitor now.

They could take you to court and force you to sell (I can't say if they will or won't win on this but it will be very expensive and stressful and you have already said you'd rather avoid this).

In all likelihood, this will all come down to money and whether you have enough to pay them off. If they are willing to accept a settlement sum then it's best to get this agreed and documented by both solicitors sooner rather than later so that you can protect yourself emotionally and move on.

GDB2222

DVardysShadow wrote: »

When it comes to negotiating the termination, I suggest that you do not use your solicitor or any solicitor to negotiate. Solicitors are fine for implementing agreements but poor at negotiating them. I suggest you reassure your agent as to his fee and arrange to meet the buyers at the agents office.

I suggest an opening offer of £5000 plus buyers' costs. £10,000 is too high for an opening offer, but you may need to go that far if you are determined.

One thing that is pretty clear is that the OP does need someone to help her negotiate. She does not sound in a fit state to do it herself.

bitsandpieces

Sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having. If you no longer want to sell, you could get your solicitor to negotiate on your behalf and ask the buyer if they would allow you to back out of the contract - expect to pay their expenses, plus some compensation, plus solicitor and likely estate agent fees. This is very unlikely to be cheap, but you may see it as worthwhile.

Also, though, try not to panic. Even if you do have to sell the house, nothing catastrophic will happen. You'll have to move out and it sounds like you may have to rent for a bit - this might not be what you want, but it's really not *that* bad. I don't see any reason why you can't keep your job, friends etc. - you wouldn't have your house any more, but you could move forward and your life would continue.

krlyr

GDB2222 wrote: »

One thing that is pretty clear is that the OP does need someone to help her negotiate. She does not sound in a fit state to do it herself.

Absolutely no legal knowledge here but remember reading something on here about someone being pressured into signing a contract by their OH and other people recommending they advise their solicitor immediately of this. Could OP have a leg to stand on arguing that she does not have the mental capacity for such a decision at the moment (especially if the depression is something official diagnosed) and added pressure led to the decision not being made in a fit state of mind?

DVardysShadow

krlyr wrote: »

Absolutely no legal knowledge here but remember reading something on here about someone being pressured into signing a contract by their OH and other people recommending they advise their solicitor immediately of this. Could OP have a leg to stand on arguing that she does not have the mental capacity for such a decision at the moment (especially if the depression is something official diagnosed) and added pressure led to the decision not being made in a fit state of mind?

Nearly a certain waste of time. I imagine that one of the strongest opponents to that argument would be her solicitor, because it will reflect terribly on her professionally that she allowed OP to sign the contract in an unfit condition

xylophone

and job

Have you handed in your notice as well as having exchanged contracts?
If you were in your buyers' position, how would you feel?

Colin297

Any developments here?

As said above, 10k is far too high to start with. That said, I'm glad you are realistic about the potential level of compensation required, because that is a prerequisite here.

At the end of the day, as stated already, you could get sued for breach of contract. What are the remedies for such breaches? Well here's the main two the court will consider:

1) Specific performance of the contact (i.e. make you do the exchange!)
2) Compensation.

Given that you will already be offering option 2, it's worth a try to get make a settlement with the other parties.

Do it immediately and offer 2.5k to feel it out. You'll be surprised.

harrup

Silvelady1955 wrote: »

They are first time buyers staying with parents.
I was thinking of offering them 10k and their deposit back if they would sign a non sue letter or some such.
I am now going to re read your lovely responses. THANKYOU.

Ok, so things aren't as bad as they could be...with them being FTB, I mean. Its not as if a whole chain collapses , or people having sold their own house and are now being homeless. That isn't to minimise your responsability towards your buyers, but just to put it into context.

When it comes to face the music....please take a friend for moral support.

I somewhat disagree with posters suggesting to offer a really low compensation such as 2.5K. To me, that is NOT an adequate compensation for losing a house and reneging on a promise. And this is not an appropriate time for haggling and negotiation. IMO, if you do that you are likely to upset, insult and really infuriate the thwarted buyers.

You made a mistake, as all we humans are wanton to do, and now you are aiming to correct it. Be as gracious and generous as you can be and you will maximise the likelihood that your disappointed buyers will respond accordingly.

GDB2222

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Nearly a certain waste of time. I imagine that one of the strongest opponents to that argument would be her solicitor, because it will reflect terribly on her professionally that she allowed OP to sign the contract in an unfit condition

Unless it was obvious that the OP was mentally ill, I cannot see how the OP's solicitor could be held responsible at all. They may well not even have met.

I don't know the law in this area, but Mr Google says:

"Persons certified as insane under the Mental Health act 1983 section 3 can never make a valid contract, however a mentally unbalanced person has full contractual capacity, although such an individual may be entitled to avoid a contract that has been made if they did not know what they were doing and the other party was aware that they did not know what they were doing.
In Imperial Loan co - v – Stone [1892] where a person of unsound mind was sued on a promissory note. He had signed it as a surety. The jury found that he was insane when he signed the note but there was no finding as to the creditor's knowledge of such insanity. "

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Capacity-Mentally-Ill-Conclude-Contracts/134101

So, if that is right, there is no hope of voiding the contract unless a) the OP was mentally unbalanced, and b) it can be shown that the buyers knew this.

Strapped

harrup wrote: »

Ok, so things aren't as bad as they could be...with them being FTB, I mean. Its not as if a whole chain collapses , or people having sold their own house and are now being homeless. That isn't to minimise your responsability towards your buyers, but just to put it into context.

When it comes to face the music....please take a friend for moral support.

I somewhat disagree with posters suggesting to offer a really low compensation such as 2.5K. To me, that is NOT an adequate compensation for losing a house and reneging on a promise. And this is not an appropriate time for haggling and negotiation. IMO, if you do that you are likely to upset, insult and really infuriate the thwarted buyers.

You made a mistake, as all we humans are wanton to do, and now you are aiming to correct it. Be as gracious and generous as you can be and you will maximise the likelihood that your disappointed buyers will respond accordingly.

They may be absolutely desperate to move if they are staying with parents! OR they may snatch the OP's hand off if she offers them £10k plus their fees to date. No way of telling without trying.