I don't know if my solicitor will complete in time!!!

LBUK_2

Hello,

Sorry I'm slightly panicking. This is what I get for leaving something important up to my husband!

We bought some land at auction and we have to complete by the 26th June.

We were happy with the purchase and just wanted to sign the dotted line and cough up some cash job done.

My husband went to see the solicitor to give him all the required information and came back with some papers to sign but they were about our contract with the solicitors. A couple of weeks went by when we got an email from the solicitor querying the boundary of the plot saying that the recent boundaries didn't match the original 1940 boundaries, something about them only having the right to sell what was in the original and anything extra didn't count in the same and pointing out they'd excluded some slithers of land too.

We didnt care about the boundaries as the physical boundaries are well defined and it seemed like splitting hairs.

Then he goes on holiday and the Friday he was still away, I start getting bombarded with calls from the vendors solicitor saying they had no contact from our solicitor and they should have some kind of transfer document filled in and signed by us.

This Monday lunch time we go to see him and he's still going on about the bloody boundaries. He insists (I think he'd already written up the papers to include his objections), we sign the papers and he said he'd email the transfer details across asap and it was a done deal.

Well, he hasn't!!! I contacted him today but left a message to forward them and still he hasn't!

I'm freaking out. If we don't complete on time can we sue him for the deposit and solicitors fees (£3000) if we lose the deal?

Thanks

G_M

So your husband delayed 2 weeks before signing/returning the contrsct with the solicitors? Then you can hardly blame the solicitors for late Completion.

I also don't understand how this issue could arise post auction. Surely you got your solicitor to check the legal stuff before you bid?

If the physical boundaries differ from the legal boundaries your soliitor is right to bring this to your attention - that's what you pay him to do.

Having said that, if you instruct him in writing to ignore the boundary ambiguity and Complete, then he should.

As for the holiday. Hmmmm - is he a sole practicioner? Normally a solicitor would hand a case, especially one with a deadline, to a colleague during a holiday.