Can a sale contract for property be amended?

chappers

To be honest those things are things that the buyer/solicitor should be checking anyway, as a natural progression of their conveyancing and if they hadn't wouldn't be something they could come after you for after exchange.
They aren't things specific to your particular transaction

alchemist.1

I dont believe the conditions you want to add make any difference to the sale of the property (if they were included or not).

eddddy

Realistically, 99% of the conveyancing work will be done by a conveyancing executive, rather than a solicitor. The solicitor probably just checks it at the end.

A conveyancing exec probably isn't qualified/authorised to add clauses to contracts, so it would need to be done by a solicitor, who might charge something like £250 + vat per hour. (But if spending £250 ph protects you from a big damages claim, I guess it's worth it.)

So as G_M says, you would probably need to get a separate quote for that.

G_M

Totally pointless amendments. Sorry. Your conveyancer is right.

Those points are either implictly or explicitly already all included within the terms of the Standard Conditions ed 5.

You're wasting your (and our!) time.

SmlSave

Ms_Sophia wrote: »

Thanks guys for the replies.

What we'd like to include is a few points such as:
[FONT=&quot]1. The Buyer confirms that it has been afforded opportunity to satisfy itself as to any notices served in relation to the property by making appropriate enquiries of all the relevant persons in this regard and the Buyers purchases with full knowledge of all such matters (if any) and shall raise no objection nor demand any contribution from the Seller in relation thereto.
[/FONT]2. With effect from exchange of this contract, the Property is solely at the Buyer's risk and the Seller is under no obligation to the Buyer to insure the Property. No damage to or destruction of the Property nor any deterioration in its condition, however caused, will entitle the Buyer either to any reduction of the Purchase Price or to refuse to complete or to delay completion.
[FONT=&quot]3. The Buyer confirms that the Buyer has had the opportunity to inspect the registered title of the propertyincluding the title plan the registered lease and the restrictive covenants affecting the [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]property [/FONT](if any) and the property itself and the Buyer purchases on the basis that it is deemed to have done so in each case. In the event of any adverse issues any discrepancy between the physical layout or extent of the [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]property [/FONT]and such layout or extent as shown in the registered title and/or the registered lease or any alterations having been undertaken to [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]the property [/FONT]at any time whether with or without the consent of the landlord the Buyer acknowledges that the Buyer is deemed to purchase with full knowledge of all matters (if any) and the Buyer shall raise no enquiry requisition or objection thereon or thereto nor shall demand any contribution from the Seller in relation thereto. [/FONT]
4. The Buyer shall raise no requisition of the Seller due to unavailability or loss of any keys or deeds relating to the Property.

Sorry for the long post, it seemed easier to copy-paste from the contract

Why are you instructing solicitors if you know everything/don't trust them to do their job? :rotfl:

Ms_Sophia

SmlSave wrote: »

Why are you instructing solicitors if you know everything/don't trust them to do their job? :rotfl:

As I mentioned above, these points were included into the special conditions of sale when we were buying this property earlier this year. At that time the seller's solicitors had put together a contract with those special conditions. I assume they did it for a reason?

Our solicitors were ok with these conditions when they were acting on our behalf during the purchase. I don't see why they wouldn't be ok with the same points now when we are selling it.

G_M

Which edition of the S Cof S was used?

For example, liability for insurance shifted from seller to buyer in the move from 4th ed to 5th edition.

Who were the seller's solicitors? Perhaps an old fashioned firm that has always used the SCs even though obselete? Or an ignorant conveyancing warehouse that thought writing duplicate clauses in is a good idea? Or or....

Anyway, your options are to

* follow advice of your current solicitors, plus a few random amateurs on the internet
* switch solicitors
* be forceful, pay extra, and insist on the clauses being included (if they'll agree)
* walk away from the sale

AdrianC

Ms_Sophia wrote: »

I assume they did it for a reason?

And what if they didn't? What if the reason they added them was that they felt like it? Or that they had been added when THEY bought the place, so they assumed they were there for a reason?

TBagpuss

1. The Buyer confirms that it has been afforded opportunity to satisfy itself as to any notices served in relation to the property by making appropriate enquiries of all the relevant persons in this regard and the Buyers purchases with full knowledge of all such matters (if any) and shall raise no objection nor demand any contribution from the Seller in relation thereto.

Well, have there been any noticed served, and if so, have you passed these on?
If not then this is pointless as there are no notices, if there have been then this is pointless as you have a paper trail showing that they were given the notices and therefore re buying with knowledge of them.

2. With effect from exchange of this contract, the Property is solely at the Buyer's risk and the Seller is under no obligation to the Buyer to insure the Property. No damage to or destruction of the Property nor any deterioration in its condition, however caused, will entitle the Buyer either to any reduction of the Purchase Price or to refuse to complete or to delay completion.

It's now standard the the buyer is responsible for insurance. As worded the clause would appear to say that if you do something stupid or intentional to damage the property then you wouldn't be liable and I suspect that would be unenforcible, and other than that, the clause duplicates the standard position so is unnecessary.

3. The Buyer confirms that the Buyer has had the opportunity to inspect the registered title of the propertyincluding the title plan the registered lease and the restrictive covenants affecting the property (if any) and the property itself and the Buyer purchases on the basis that it is deemed to have done so in each case. In the event of any adverse issues any discrepancy between the physical layout or extent of the property and such layout or extent as shown in the registered title and/or the registered lease or any alterations having been undertaken to the property at any time whether with or without the consent of the landlord the Buyer acknowledges that the Buyer is deemed to purchase with full knowledge of all matters (if any) and the Buyer shall raise no enquiry requisition or objection thereon or thereto nor shall demand any contribution from the Seller in relation thereto.

Unnecessary unless you are deliberately concealing or misleading them about something, and probably unenforcible if you are.

4. The Buyer shall raise no requisition of the Seller due to unavailability or loss of any keys or deeds relating to the Property.

there won't be ay deeds, and if there are, you have presumably already provided these to the solicitors and the buyers have raised any queries they have.
Keys are dealt with in the standard docs and yes, if you fail to hand them over that's down to you and you don't get to palm off the responsbility. If you know that there are any missing keys make that clear now.

Alternatively, of course, contact the solicitors, ask them for an appointment so they can go through this with them in detail, and explain that you understand this is not part of the standard work on the fixed fee so you will, of course, expect to pay them at their normal hourly rate for the time spent perparing for the meeting and meeting with you.

Ms_Sophia

I appreciate your responses (the tone of some of them could have been friendlier but that's fine). ☺
What I didn't appreciate in regards to the reply from our solicitors is that they didn't tell me that my points didn't make sense or were unnecessary etc and that's why they don't want to include them. What they told me is that they hadn't had the time to read them yet but it would be IMPOSSIBLE to include any points whatsoever cause the contract is standard etc. They didn't say it'd cause them to work extra so I'd need to pay more. Effectively, they lied - as it is possible to include some extra points into Special conditions. That's all I wanted to double check here.