Help what a disaster

moneybags_3

I signed the contract today to sell my house to the purchaser who had already signed to buy it. I then signed the contract to buy the house that I was hoping to move into. My seller is to sign when her solicitor returns to work after Xmas. My solicitor then dropped what to me is a big bombshell. Telling me that the mortgage might not go through for the house as it is an ex housing authority house and I would be liable if the sewers has to be repaired and as a result the house suffered severe damage. The manhole to gain access to the sewers is next to the wall of the house and apparently this would not be allowed nowadays. The solicitor should have told me this before I signed the contract to sell my house. If the chain breaks down because of this problem can I refuse to move out of my house or will I have to go and rent somewhere. I have felt ill all day because of this predicament.

cavework

Sounds like you have a shared sewer pipe , these usually run from other properties then run into the main sewer in the road.
We had no problem when we bought our property . An ex HA.. the main pipe runs from one HA property to next door , which is now privately owned , into our garden , with manhole in our garden and another in our garage then out into the road .. 3 other properties sewage connects and also runs down this main pipe in our drive.
Check with your local water authority because I think there was a change of responsibility for the sewage pipes recently from the home owner to the water suppliers

chris_m

Both you and your purchaser have signed the contracts - but have they actually been exchanged? If not, then you don't have to move out.
If, however, the contracts have been exchanged then you will have to move out on or before the completion day, or risk having to pay shedloads of money to the frustrated buyer and, if they also are selling, to their buyer, etc., etc., plus risk losing your deposit on the house you were planning to buy.

It's critical that you establish whether or not the contracts have actually been exchanged or whether your solicitor discovered this problem before exchange and has put it on hold.

G_M

'Signing' is not the same as 'Exchanging' Contracts.

Your solicitor will hold your signed contract till all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. That includes your mortgage being confirmed.

Only then will he ring and ask you "Do you want to Exchange Contracts?"

If you say 'Yes." then you will be legally committed.

dancingfairy

I can't see how you can exchange without a mortgage? Surely no solicitor would let you exchange without either a mortgage or some means of paying for the house?
Also did searches/surveys not bring up this issue?
df

moneybags_3

I though that if contracts were signed then that meant they were exchanged. There are 4 in the chain. My buyer who does not have a house to sell and has signed to buy my house, myself, my vendor whose house I signed for today before being told about the sewer problem (the fact that I would have to pay for any damage that occurred if work had to be done to the sewers - the Local Authority built the house many years ago too near the manhole which apparently would not be allowed now) The solicitor said that the vendor could take out insurance to protect this problem before selling the house to me. The vendor is supposed to sign after Xmas. I phoned the vendor tonight and they have never had any problems with the sewer before and will have to wait until their solicitor returns to work to be informed about the problem. I would be willing to take out the insurance myself if it was not too expensive to save hassle rather than be left homeless.

dancingfairy

I think there are 3 seperate stages. 1 everybody signs with their solicitor,2 the solicitors agree to formally exchange and then 3 you complete.
df

G_M

dancingfairy wrote: »

I think there are 3 seperate stages. 1 everybody signs with their solicitor,2 the solicitors agree to formally exchange and then 3 you complete.
df

Well, this is right as far as it goes but actually there are just a few other additional steps!

But your point is correct!

I though that if contracts were signed then that meant they were exchanged.

In a word: No.

moneybags_3

I received a mortgage offer for the house which I was to buy. The survey mentioned nothing about the problem of responsibility for sewers. Then the solicitor wanted my Christian name changed on all docs. The Christian name on my birth cert is not the same as the one I have used for over 40 years and which is on all my banking docs etc. When he did his searches the potential problem about the sewers arose and he then said that the mortgage might be withheld.

Richard_Webster

I am assuming here that the manhole in question has drainage going through not just from OP's house and is therefore part of a sewer. Drains which only serve one property are not sewers and the law is different. The point I make later about not having to comply with modern standards in respect of an older house is still applicable.

Telling me that the mortgage might not go through for the house as it is an ex housing authority house and I would be liable if the sewers has to be repaired and as a result the house suffered severe damage.

Pre October 2011 there were literally thousands of houses all over the country that had private sewers where the house owners would be liable if the sewer needed to be repaired. This didn't put most people off buying such houses. It was more or less standard for a houses built on a private estate in say the 1960s.

If the sewer was installed years ago when standards were lower that should have made no difference. Nobody can make you improve that standard.

However can't understand what being ex-local authority has got to do with it. Virtually all private sewers and lateral drains in England & Wales automatically became publicly maintainable on 1st October 2011 and not therefore your responsibility.

As far as I know (someone tell me I'm wrong?!) the ex-local authority nature of the house doesn't make any difference to this general rule. So the fact that the manhole is close to the house is the drainage undertaker's problem. They may not like it but they are stuck with just as they are stuck with thousands of miles of Victorian sewers that may be very substandard now.

When he did his searches the potential problem about the sewers arose and he then said that the mortgage might be withheld.

So how did he deal with the thousands of houses that pre October 2011 were served by private sewers? There would be a lot of post 1939-45 war estate houses that were on private sewers. Was there ever a problem getting mortgages on them?

moneybags_3

I mentioned to this solicitor that I was not exchanging contracts until the problem was sorted as I did not want to end up homeless. He wrote a statement to this effect on the purchaser's and my (seller) contract which I read and then I signed. So does this action prevent final exchange of contracts if the problem is not sorted. Also if I am prevented from buying the house with the 'potential problem' then the vendor of that house will also not be able to purchase his house and that problem will remain with him for future possible sales. The solicitor mentioned that the vendor should take out a one off insurance which will be passed to me and this will enable the sale. I said that I would be willing to take out this insurance, if necessary to get the house.