Exchange contract deposit query

Blush2783

Hi we are meant to be exchanging on our property this week. We already own our new house and are therefore only selling ours before moving into our renovated property.

Our solicitors have contacted me today to say our buyers have said out of the blue after agreeing to buy our house back in June, that they cannot afford the 10% deposit on exchange and now only want to do 5%. They are not first time buyers and are selling their property. Our solicitor has advised us that we would then need to sue for the remaining amount if they pulled out before completion although did say that this was a rare occurrence. In all our time buying and selling we've always paid 10% so I'm a bit uneasy about this but obviously would rather not go through the whole putting the house back on the market again thing even though it wont affect us as we already have our new house.

I just wondered what other people think? I don't want to be awkward but it does seem a bit odd.
Thanks

G_M

It is quite a common arrangement, especially where they are selling a cheaper property and buying a more expensive one.

Obviously the 10% they receive on the property they are selling will not be as much as the 10% they need on their purchase.

It is common for people to agree a smaller deposit amount.

The risk of non-Completion is tiny. And if the worst happens, you still have 5% of ... whatever... even without suing, so the incentive is still on them to Complete.

Plus of course you can sue for other consequential costs on top of the 10% if they fail to Complete.

Oil the wheels and keep the deal on track......

davidmcn

If it helps put things in perspective, the normal deposit in Scotland is 0%, and it's still very rare for transactions not to complete.

Blush2783

Thank you both. I'll speak to the estate agents tomorrow and hopefully things will move forward.