HELP Vendor Pulling Out After Exchange of Contract and Our Own solicitor Quit

Angi3_88

loubel wrote: »

Contact your local council or Shelter for help finding emergency accommodation while you look for something more permanent. As you have children you should be treated as a priority case. Where did your father move to after selling his house? Has he got a spare room you could move into temporarily?

My father move to abroad, he was hoping we have our own house so when he is in the UK he have a place to stay, he sold the family house and give us the deposit money for a gift. we do not have extra saving etc all been used for the process of buying the house but we both working.

If your solicitors are closing for good or do not have a litigation department then you may need to find a specialist property litigation solicitor to help you decide how to deal with the seller's breach of contract. Have your conveyancing solicitors served notice to complete on your seller in the meanwhile?

They do not have litigation department and they are closing they do not give us more advise just to suggest us to find other solicitor to take over.
But they manage to sent notice to complete to the vendor for breaching the contract.
the vendor aware of the penalty which is around/above 4% of the deposit from the day of completion that's why they want to negotiate out of court.

loubel

That's positive news that they are willing to start negotiations. If you are happy to accept a sum for damages in compensation then you need to work out a starting figure and take it from there. If you can't come to an agreement (or if you wanted some other outcome eg forced sale of the house) the only way for you to get your remedy would be to sue them though. Unfortunately it's not as easy as when a buyer pulls out and forfeits their deposit.

verulamium

The suggestion to walk away with just expenses repaid is completely irresponsible it makes me suspicious of the person who posted that. These people needs to learn the hard way that contracts are there to be honoured.

To the OP, you have my sympathy particularly this close to Christmas. Get a good contract specialist lawyer. Good luck sorting this.

Angi3_88

Tonight I will be posting the up dates, negotiation and options that we got. Thank you for the suggestion and the support.

egoode

You need to speak to a contract lawyer asap and I hope you have a copy from your current solicitors of all the paperwork to date including the notice to complete.

You can actually force the sale if you still want the place. I vaugely remember at the end of welshwoof's post someone said they had a similar thing happen to them and they were able to force the sale to take place within a few days however I can't seem to find the thread at all now.

If you are happy to lose the place then I would be pushing for at a minimum the 10% deposit plus expenses. In those expenses I would include solicitors costs, accommodation costs and if you have furniture in storage any costs for that as well. But a solicitor will be able to advise better about what you should be able to claim.

At this point I would not talk to the vendors at all. If they do contact you directly just say sorry I can't speak to you about the matter and give them the solicitors contact details or just ignore calls and emails.

It is extremely serious what they have done and the law is on your side, they will be penalised heavily.

jmt

Where are you in the country as you may be able to find a holiday let at a good rate for a few weeks.

egoode

As you have been looking to rent somewhere for 6 months don't tell the agents you are only looking to rent for 6 months tell them you want a 12 month lease but with a 6 month break clause. It's pretty standard for most places.

pinkshoes

I'm a tad confused, but is this right:

- Your dad sold his house, and gave you some money for a deposit. He has now moved abroad.

- You are therefore staying with your sister who has only a 2 bed hours, with the idea that you would be moving now. All 4 of you sharing one room. Your sister has her in-laws staying for Christmas, and is expecting a baby, so the room you are currently staying in is no longer available after this weekend.

- you exchanged contracts on the house you are buying, but the vendor has now failed to complete. The vendor is not keen to pay compensation.

- your solicitor dealing with the sale has sent a notice of completion but is now closing down (for good?) so can no longer deal with the sale.

Your options so far are:

1. Rent a house. You do not have to sign a 12 month contract. Ask for a 6 month one and say you'll sign another one after that. If all else fails, find a holiday let or a hotel. Keep ALL your receipts for expenses incurred.

2. Why is the vendor refusing to sell? Why have they changed their mind? They either need to complete the sale, or forfeit their (10%?) deposit and pay you all expenses. Negotiate VERY hard.

sonastin

You can find a new solicitor by looking on the Law Society's website
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/find-a-solicitor/

You solicitor may have said they didn't want responsibility for picking the wrong solicitor for you but you can certainly take your case elsewhere. You want property litigation specialists.

There is no need for the letting agent to know you are only looking for a short term let. You don't have to volunteer anything. If they ask how long you want to rent simply tell them that you don't know -this whole experience has put you off the house-buying process and right now your priority is getting your family settled. That is not necessarily a lie.

Halle71

agrinnall wrote: »

I'm sorry but you're not homeless, you have a house that hasn't sold, move back in and you won't need to rent. I think an offer to pay expenses incurred to date is reasonable and you should accept it.

This post makes me so angry. If you have no knowledge about a particular topic do not post anything. Let alone utter bullsh*t.
The OP is homeless (together with two young kids) and as pointed out, so close to Christmas it will be difficult to find somewhere. And the vendor is potentially liable for the OP's expenses plus deposit. And what about house price increases as it could have put a move back by six months or more.

And OP - I'm so cross for you. The good thing is, the law is on your side and while it will not help find somewhere for Christmas, you will be compensated in the long run. As others have said, don't tell anyone you only want six months, find a solicitor and don't talk to the vendor.

How much was your deposit by the way?
I hope the vendor can afford to lose this plus expenses :rotfl: