Pls HELP! Negligent solicitor caused developer to withdraw from sale!

terrierlady

no developer has their own solicitor, just recommends local ones who usally know the deal ie 28 day exchange,could it be half year end? if so they really wanted/needed you to complete for figures, they would indeed pull the plug.,cant imagine why sols was so slow, ring developers head office and explain you used their recommended sols so now need help.I find it strange at reservation when landscape plans,drainage,site,services etc were explained and shown to you that this didnt arise.

sbmcb

Just wanted to a huge thank you to all who posted.

Developer emailed today offering full refund of deposit no questions asked but refused survey fee/solicitor - fair enough

I think most of us have same suspicion-they don't need to offer me the discount now they've a full tax year to get another buyer to stump up the asking price (if someone hasn't already done so).

Thanks again everyone

sbmcb

Hi terrier lady-didnt see you post-thank you. On this development everyone had to use their solicitor. It was a condition of sale and in the reservation contract. I will def be writing to head office for support.

Amazing how the sales ladies can turn from sickly sweet to bitter in a split second. The lady literally hung up on me-Jan at David Wilson Homes, West Midlands. Really vile woman!!

The solicitor was so unprofessional. So glad I like to do things by email so I have an almost complete record of our interactions with him as proof. Since I emailed him Fri to tell him the developer has pulled out, he never even emailed back to acknowledge it. David Wilson are still recommending/forcing people to use him as well as they've "had no problems with him before".

I think we had a lucky escape myself....

kingstreet

sbmcb wrote: »

Developer emailed today offering full refund of deposit no questions asked

That's because it's not a deposit, it's a reservation fee and it's always refundable.

Thrugelmir

how would we be expected to maintain this piece of land, who owned the bushes and the trees but he never responded to us at all.

Why did a few trees and bushes cause you major issues?

What maintenance would be required?

kingstreet

You may wish to spend some time studying this;-

http://www.consumercodeforhomebuilders.com/homeowners.php

thelem

Being asked to use the vendor's solictor would be a deal breaker for me, whatever the price. Your solicitor is meant to draw your attention to problems with the transaction, but they're hardly going to work hard to do that if they're linked with the developer.

sbmcb

Thanks for the link the code of conduct - I guess it's point 2 - 4th bullet point that was the concern: having reliable information to allow us to make an informed decision. Even after printing off the emails they still only state "we believe them to be joint ownership".

Are the Homebuilders/solicitors still bound by this even though the sale didn't go through? Sorry if the questions I am asking seem obvious-I do appreciate all responses I've had on here though.

Tree itself to some may not sound like a huge deal but when you're about to hand over 140k cash for a deposit, it was enough to make me nervous and think-well if they're throwing in a tree at 10.30 am on the day of completion, what else are we not being told.

sbmcb

Kingstreet-there are a number of points actually I can refer to. I'll edit my complaint letter and upload a copy tomorrow if anyone would mind having a read through if they have a minute.

Thanks once again everyone-hugely appreciated.