Our buyer exchanged without funds

PasturesNew

Jelly_Tots wrote: »

... (I work at a solicitors, if wee don't have deposit and confirmation of mortgage advance,or full purchase monies, we don't exchange contracts.)

I paid cash, I showed my solicitor I had the money at the start, but they never checked I STILL had it 3 months later when we exchanged..... they never asked, they just assumed (I guess) that I hadn't spent it since, or gambled it since... or whatever.

ging84

assuming you sold through an agent first thing to do is get on to your agent and find out what checks they made (or didn't make) on your buyer to ensure had the funds to make the purchase, they normally have a responsibility to do that.

loubel

Your buyer is in breach of contract by failing to complete on the contractual date. Your solicitor will now serve notice to complete on your buyer, via his solicitor. This makes time of the essence for him to complete. He will owe you interest on the purchase price in the meantime and will be responsible for your reasonable financial losses from the delay so you must keep receipts -discuss this with your solicitor.

If he fails to complete within the specified timescale (2 weeks) you can walk away with his deposit. If the deposit fails to cover all of your financial losses from his breach of contract then you can sue him for the additional costs.

Cheeky_Monkey

I don't understand this!

If you weren't due to complete until Thursday, why did all the people in the chain load and dispatch their removal trucks on Wednesday afternoon and where were they 'dispatched' to?

Where did you sleep on Wednesday night? If the answer is 'in a hotel' then surely that's down to you not the purchaser as you should have stayed in your own house.

In fact, IMO, your hotel expenses in general are not the responsibility of the purchaser as you should not have moved out (and did not have to) of your own house before it was 'sold' (i.e. completed and funds received by your solicitor).

Obviously I agree that the purchaser is in breach of your contract and thus liable to lose their deposit but I don't see why they should pay your hotel bill.

Cornucopia

Realistically, people often have to move out of their homes before legal completion. The latest completion time I've experienced is 4pm, and that means it simply wouldn't have been practical to wait until then before packing and moving out.

However, it's equally impractical to move out the day before.

Also, the purchaser's solicitor is in danger of professional disgrace. It's quite common for a purchaser's solicitor to hold deposit funds on account, rather than transferring them up the chain on Exchange. However, this depends on their word being credible and truthful.

I still think there are things the OP is not telling us, though. Various aspects of this don't make sense in the way they have been put.

Confusedandneedhelp

Worried234 wrote: »

We were due to complete on both our house sale and purchase last Thursday, in a chain of four parties. On Wednesday afternoon, after all parties had loaded and dispatched their removal trucks, our purchaser's solicitor informed ours that his client's funds were not in place for completion.

It transpires that they hadn't ever had funds in place even at the point of exchange, and still hadn't secured funding at completion. His solicitor knew this, but failed to reveal it to ours.

Due the good will of those above us in the chain, we have been permitted to store our possessions in our new house, where they are locked up - the key remaining with selling agent. Others in the chain have done likewise.

Our purchaser is financing a renovation company who will spend months upgrading our old house, before reselling it at a substantial profit. As such he appears totally unconcerned at the chaos and stress he has inflicted on the rest of the chain.

We are all effectively homeless with barely a change of clothes. We are having to stay in a hotel, pay for meals out, buy additional clothes, take unpaid leave from work to replace the wasted paid days of leave specifically taken for the move. The toll on our health and well being through stress is appalling.

I know from our solicitor that he is bound under the contract to pay interest on the outstanding balance, but is our purchaser liable for the not inconsiderable costs being incurred by ourselves and others in the chain?

He seems totally oblivious and uncaring to the suffering he is causing all other parties.

Please advise.

Just a second, who's in your house (the one you 'sold')?

ManofLeisure_2

OP, If I were in your shoes I would be seeking an opinion from the 'Law Society' - see what they have to say.

Kirstyb1987

What the HELL was a solicitor doing exchanging without the funds being there?????

pinkteapot

Kirstyb1987 wrote: »

What the HELL was a solicitor doing exchanging without the funds being there?????

My thought exactly. No solicitor I've ever dealt with would have dreamed of letting me exchange.

LisbonLaura

Is your solicitor still in the country?!!