Help!! House completion not confirmed but solicitor has my mtge money is this right?

Joccal16

Hi there, I'm wondering if anyone can offer any advice on what to do. We are waiting to complete on a house purchase but as yet, have been told it maybe Friday 16th Oct but the other party have yet to confirm this & they still need to exchange. My solicitor requested mortgage funds on 12th Oct, without a confirmed date, so I'm now being charged interest on a mortgage when I havnt had a confirmed completion date! Is this normal practice? If not what can I do? I've emailed my solicitor twice asking about this but he hasn't as yet replied. I'm so stressed out with all this.

Am hopeful for any advice please?? Many thanks

davidmcn

Yes, it's perfectly normal to request funds for a day or two prior to completion - your extra interest is peanuts compared with the stress and penalties of you failing to have the money in time for completion.

Goldiegirl

Are you sure you are being charged interest?

It's normal practice for the solicitor to have the funds in place a few days ahead, ready for completion.

But the mortgage won't complete until the house purchase completes.

Most lenders only charge interest from the date the mortgage completes.

If the completion is delayed for any reason, the solicitor will send the money back to the lender, and ask for the funds in time for the new completion date.

lee111s

I'm pretty sure most lenders charge interest from the moment the funds leave their account.

pinkteapot

Perfectly normal. From the sounds of it, you're going for a very short gap between exchange and completion.

If you had say a week between exchange and completion, your solicitor could request the funds after exchange. Because you're trying to complete faster, they've had to request them before exchange.

Joccal16

We exchanged & sent our deposit money over a week ago however our solicitor & estate agent have told us the other side are hoping to exchange today. They still haven't confirmed a completion date but my mortgage funds have been released & are now with the solicitor. The mortgage company have completed the mortgage so I'm now paying interest on it but no house....my mortgage company have also confirmed that the title deeds have been tfd into my name so the house is mine....how can this be when the other side haven't exchanged yet? What if they pull out? Its all very stressful. Thank you for the advice it's much appreciated

Bossypants

You say you have exchanged but they haven't. Do you mean that your purchase has been exchanged on with the seller, but the seller hasn't exchanged on their own purchase?

lfc321

How come you exchanged with no completion date agreed? Are you sure you've actually exchanged?

TBagpuss

As others have said, it is perfectly normal. If there is a dealy with the sellers then the solicitor would normally send the money back to the lender.

It is unlikely that the deeds have gone into your name yet as it sounds as though you have not yet completed, so I think that either you, or the mortgag eperson you spoke to, misunderstood. Ber in mind that most of the people working in the lender's call centres won't have any legal training, they will simply be looking at a screen telling them whether the money has been sent or not.
If you are not sure, ask the solicitor to confirm whether completion has taken place.

G_M

Joccal16 wrote: »

We exchanged & sent our deposit money over a week ago
What completion date is on the contract?
however our solicitor & estate agent have told us the other side are hoping to exchange today.
You are referring to their other linked sale/purchase? Nothing to do with you!
Or you are referring to your own purchase/sale? In that case you have not Exchanged. One side cannot Exchange unless the other also does. that's why it's called 'exchange'!

I suspect you don't really understand the process.

I also suspect you are trying to Echange & Complete on the same day or with a very short gap (a few days). Always more difficult and stressful than having a week or two in between.

Richard_Webster

If you want to agree a very close completioon date and you still haven't exchanged then your solicitor will have to draw diown the money - this typically takes around 5 working days and he needs to know he has the money on the day before, not someone at lender saying it will come on the day of completion - it may do o - but possibly not before the normal 2pm cut off time for completing - so most solicitors will want it the day before.

So either you take the risk that the transaction might not complete or you wait until you can exchange contracts with a definite, but later, completion date and then they draw down the money.

Your solicitor should have explained to you that going for such a near date for completion withput excahnging carried a risk - if not of interest then of bank transfer fees and the cost of the solicitor's wasted time for returning the money.