Exchange not completed, purchase fell through.

Sunshine101

Was also thinking something else....Check the developers company name online. If they are a Ltd Company, you can find their details on Companies House website. Check the information regarding Directorship, name changes, etc. Then do an internet search on the Directors names and previous company names....You may come across some interesting links/ overlaps.

Two examples:
I did this investigation regarding a company, discovered that that one of the Directors owned a nursing home and their Chartered Accountant was also a Director of the nursing home and the Chartered Accountant firm advertised on their website that one of their clients was the nursing home.

I did another investigation regarding a housing association in our area. The Chairman of the housing association was also a registered director of the subsidiary limited company of the housing association. The subsidiary company was regarding heating services. So for each housing association home having the heating services installed, the Chairman was in effect gaining a percentage of the profits of the subsidiary company, because he was 1 of 3 registered Directors for the subsidiary company.

Don't be put off if the information is not readily available on Companies House website, the Developers are obviously trying not to make things easy for folk to track them. So you can always phone Companies House and ask them to print out the information you requiring and they can email it to you or print it off, they charge £3 (three pounds), for that information....


Good luck

Yorkie1

Sunshine101 wrote: »

You can contact Trading Standards regarding the folk you were going to buy the property from and you can also complain to the Legal Ombudsman regarding your solicitors conduct.

Bit premature, given that the OP doesn't actually know whether either was actually to blame or not.

If, for example, the developers hadn't actually given the solicitor sufficient information to satisfy the OP's lender, then the solicitor would have been professionally negligent to exchange in breach of the instructions of the lender (for whom s/he acts as well as the OP).

G_M

I have to admit I've never bought a new build, and am unsure about the legal status of the 'Reservation Fee', and to what extent, if any, it ties in each party.

But it is a indisputable that if there is no contract (which only happens at Exchange of Contracts - hence the terminology), then either side can withdraw from an agreed sale/purchase.

It is also self-evident that if a seller has found a buyer wiling to pay £150K more, he is not going to return to an earlier purchaser unless that purchaser makes a signifiant increase in purchase price.

Which just leaves the professionalism of the conveyancer.

As Annie suggested, you need to get to the bottom of the claimed outstanding query:

a) what was the unilateral notice?
b) had the seller responded adequately, as they claim, or had they not, as your conveyancer claims?
c) if a mortgage lender was involved, was the unilateral notice something that the lender would have a view about?

Find out, then come back.

silvercar

Could there be an issue if the mortgage offer has an expiry date that is before the property is likely to be ready. If the lender is not prepared to guarantee that the offer could be extended you could be without a mortgage at the time you need to complete.

Bantex_2

Possibly the developer knew their was a higher offer around and failed to keep the solicitor informed on purpose to scupper the sale.

robatwork

I think you need another solicitor, sharpish

Thrugelmir

Bantex wrote: »

Possibly the developer knew their was a higher offer around and failed to keep the solicitor informed on purpose to scupper the sale.

For an additional £150k anything is possible. Calling 10 minutes before 5pm on a Friday would appear to be a high pressure tactic. As gives no time for resolution. In particular the exchange now ultimatium. Then next day the property is sold.

Monday the sale will be back on at a higher price no doubt.

Leo2020

Under the Consumer Code for Home Builders once someone has put down a reservation fee they are not allowed to enter into another sale agreement/let another person reserve the property unless you either pull out or you do not exchange by the end of the reservation period. The house builder can not cancel a reservation.

However, from personal experience I know house builders talk to other customers about plots especially if they can get a higher price (I have emails from the house builder we attempted to buy from showing this).

As to whether the house builder scuppered the deal to get the higher price - that is at least a possible. Once the exchange date has passed they can legitimately re-market the house but not before. Would a house builder deliberately do something so you could not exchange so they could get a higher price - of course they would if they knew they would get away with it.

Our house builder's solicitors say they sent out paper work a month before the completion deadline to notify us of completion - this was never received. They then waited 6 weeks to chase up the fact that we had not exchanged/completed and they then gave us an another two weeks to exchange/complete - this wasn't enough time.

Do I find it odd that the paperwork never arrived? Do I find it odd that they waited until 2 weeks after we were meant to complete to chase it up? - Yes. Especially when I know that they talked to another customer around the same time that they say they sent the paperwork and this customer was prepared to pay more.

I doubt that the house builder will now sell to you as they will use the fact that they have let someone else reserve to say they can't let you purchase it.