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Our buyer exchanged without funds

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13

Comments

  • Kirstyb1987
    Kirstyb1987 Posts: 282 Forumite
    Its just absolutely appalling....In fact I would go as far to say that the solicitor is liable for this not the buyer.


    Of course the buyer is going to exchange without paying, it benefits them....the solicitor is the one who is being paid a fortune and is supposedly a 'professional'...They should know not to do this!


    I would be making formal complaints against that solicitor!
  • andy.m_2
    andy.m_2 Posts: 1,521 Forumite
    There is more to this than all the facts we are being told.
    The story has more holes than a sieve, no offence OP.
    Sealed pot challange no: 339
  • BucksLady
    BucksLady Posts: 567 Forumite
    ManofLeisure wrote: »
    OP, If I were in your shoes I would be seeking an opinion from the 'Law Society' - see what they have to say.

    I think that's exactly what I would do. Legal advice comes at quite a price :eek:, and the solicitor employed should be expected to do things well. If they don't, the alarm bells should be ringing and advice sought quickly.
  • loubel
    loubel Posts: 1,011 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'm not sure why people think the buyer's solicitor is at fault. Their client is entitled to decide to take a risk of finance not coming through in time. It's not all that unusual, especially for an investor client.
  • mynameisdave
    mynameisdave Posts: 1,284 Forumite
    OP solicitor is presumably aware that OP needs sale funds to complete so would presumably seek assurances that the buyer has funds to pass up the chain?
  • loubel
    loubel Posts: 1,011 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It wouldn't be usual to ask that, no.
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,481 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    loubel wrote: »
    I'm not sure why people think the buyer's solicitor is at fault. Their client is entitled to decide to take a risk of finance not coming through in time. It's not all that unusual, especially for an investor client.

    It depends on exactly what was said regarding the deposit monies. If the buyer's solicitor lead the OP's solicitor to believe that the monies were being held on account when they weren't then that would be an extremely serious matter.
  • loubel
    loubel Posts: 1,011 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It's the completion monies at issue isn't it? The OP makes no mention of having exchanged without a deposit or the deposit monies having gone astray; unless I've missed/mis-read...
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,570 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    Kirstyb1987 wrote: »
    What the HELL was a solicitor doing exchanging without the funds being there?????

    They would make sure the mortgage offer is in, if they are handling that. They wouldn't have the deposit (or equity gap) funds as a lot of buyers would have their own money tied up in notice accounts etc and not want to release them until after exchange has happened.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,481 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Unfortunately, "deposit" means two different things in house purchases.

    In this case, we are talking about the deposit funds required for Exchange of Contracts - typically 10% of the purchase price.

    That's not related to the notional mortgage deposit (ie. the shortfall between the purchase price and the loan amount).
    loubel wrote: »
    It's the completion monies at issue isn't it? The OP makes no mention of having exchanged without a deposit or the deposit monies having gone astray; unless I've missed/mis-read...

    I think it's both. The thread title certainly references "exchange".
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