When should deposit be paid?

wornoutlizzy

After months of problems, we and our buyers have signed contracts, our seller has been asked to sign soon! We are waiting for our cash buyer to pay his deposit either late last week (obviously not happened) or early this week. We have all agreed on 27th for completion, movers provisionally booked, cats booked in Cattery and annual leave requested at work. It's only fair on all the previously mentioned to finalise details regarding our move. How near the end of the week dare I go before chasing solicitor up? Obviously it's bank holiday weekend and our move scheduled for Tuesday if it's not sorted by Friday we are not going anywhere.

AnnieO1234

I think there may be some confusion here over the difference between simply signing a contract and exchanging a contract. Sometimes conveyancers will use the term signing a contract as vernacular for exchanging as that is what a lot of people interpret them to mean.


Deposit will be payable on exchange of contracts which must be done at the same time across the entire chain. It may be that you are going for simultaneous exchange and completion which may be the case if someone in the chain is relying on the equity in their property to pay the deposit.


Who is the 'we have all agreed' in relation to the completion date? If this is just the people in the chain rather than via solicitors then I'm afraid you may very well not be completing on that day.


Speak with your solicitor to find out whether exchange has taken place. In any event the deposit would only be held in the solicitors client account rather than given to the vendor.


xx

wornoutlizzy

'We have all agreed' means all parties involved via the relevant solicitors. Contracts have been signed but I was told exchange would be done when our buyer pays his deposit. Just wish he'd hurry up. I realise the deposit would be held by the solicitor, i didn't expect a wad of cash to be handed to me!

G_M

Booking things that cannot be easily cancelled is premature.

Until Exchange of Contracts, nothing is certain.

Your buyers may fail to get their deposit together.
They may change their minds
your sellers may change their minds
Solicitors may find a last minute problem.

Any of these, and more, might depay Exchange, and hence Completion.

Or even cancel the whole deal.

ps - last time I sold, I didn't use a solicitor but did the conveyancing myself, so yes, a wad of cash was handed to me (well, OK, transfered to my bank.)

wornoutlizzy

I'm well aware that until exchange happens things could still go wrong, that's why I'm anxious for it to take place. As for booking things that can't be cancelled, I've only provisionally booked the movers as they are getting increasingly busy but it's only fair to let them know for definite. The Cattery can easily be cancelled but I got the last kennel so if I pull out they potentially lose custom from letting it to someone else and finally annual leave at work, one of my jobs if you don't book 11 months in advance you don't get. My other job is brilliant in I only need to give them a few days notice, which I have done but i am sure they would like to know ASAP for definite as I'm currently working in the job alone. I like to treat people as I like to be treated myself and to be fair, I don't think I'm being premature I consider it being organised.