Wow! Have you ever heard of anything like this? Advice please

barrydh

ok this is it in a nutshell.
the seller doesnt own the property thats why its gone pearshaped. He exchanged in October but never completed. He was obviously getting the flat cheap and tried jumping the gun and selling before he completed. For some reason he never did complete.
the buyers were told the sale is off by the agent.
the 6 month thing is what was told to the buyers by the agent.
The flat is not "off spec" new flat it is the ground floor of an 80 year old house.

my opinion is there is a dodgy deal going on. The owner, as it turns out now, is a work colleague of the man trying to sell the flat.

does that all make sense?

kinger101

davidmcn wrote: »

They can't sell to someone else while they're in a contract to sell to the middleman. Not clear whether/how long that's enforceable for though.



Should they? On what basis are they required to do this? As we know from other threads here, title deeds aren't always particularly clear to the layperson, so how far would this duty extend - would the EA need to seek independent legal advice to confirm the extent of the property and the ownership?

Meant solicitor rather than EA. Indeed, the rest of my paragraph refers to the solicitor.

My other point was specifically under the scenario the contract to the middleman had collapsed, such as when a notice to complete had expired. At which point the person who owns the flat can tell the middleman to do one.

OP's original post is somewhat confusing, as we probably have some important details missing. It does seem now this isn't a developer selling an entire block. Rather something else. Given the passage of time, what I have suggested might well be a viable option.

silvercar

He was obviously getting the flat cheap and tried jumping the gun and selling before he completed.

Perfectly legal and possible if the contract to buy is assignable.

Legal advice is what you need, ignore the estate agent. Your solicitor should inquire of the seller's solicitor if the contract is assignable. If it is, then they can assign their contract to purchase to you and you can buy. The lender may be happy with this given that the seller has never actually owned the property and therefore hasn't owned the property for less than 6 months as they haven't ever owned it.

LannieDuck

barrydh wrote: »

ok this is it in a nutshell.
the seller doesnt own the property thats why its gone pearshaped. He exchanged in October but never completed. He was obviously getting the flat cheap and tried jumping the gun and selling before he completed. For some reason he never did complete.
the buyers were told the sale is off by the agent.
the 6 month thing is what was told to the buyers by the agent.
The flat is not "off spec" new flat it is the ground floor of an 80 year old house.

my opinion is there is a dodgy deal going on. The owner, as it turns out now, is a work colleague of the man trying to sell the flat.

does that all make sense?

The seller doesn't own the property, and has been told his purchase of it is off... but he's trying to sell it anyway??


Did he exchange contracts with the OP (or the OP's family member), or is the whole thing still pre-exchange?


Edit: I agree with silvercar - see if the actual owner still wants to sell.

xylophone

Pear Shape exchanged contracts but did not complete on the purchase of a flat.

The flat in question is still owned by Patient Griselda (who seems to have done nothing about the failure to complete).

Pear Shape put "incomplete" on the market.

Mr and Mrs OP Friend ( in ignorance of the true situation) made Pear Shape an offer for "incomplete" and were accepted. They have spent money on legal fees and moved out of their previous accommodation to live with parents pending the purchase of "incomplete".

They can neither exchange nor complete because of the fact that Pear Shape does not own the property.

Patient Griselda cancels the contract with Pear Shape on the grounds of failure to complete and enters into a new contract to sell to Mr and Mrs OP Friend????

kinger101

That's my understanding. Solicitor should have details for Griselda from LR search. Probably just needs a new contract drawing. No new searches and surveys required.

G_M

So there are 3 options:

1) proceed with the purchase but from the actual owner, at the price agreed with the non-owner who tried to sell

2) proceed with the purchase but from the actual owner, at the price agreed by the non-owner who nearly bought from the actual owner (if a different price

3) walk away and write off the costs to date

4) walk away and claim the costs to date from the non-owner who tried to sell a property he did not own. Expect a long drawn out and expensive legal battle that has no guaranteed outcome.

(I really can't count!)

kinger101

G_M wrote: »

So there are 3 options:

1) proceed with the purchase but from the actual owner, at the price agreed with the non-owner who tried to sell

2) proceed with the purchase but from the actual owner, at the price agreed by the non-owner who nearly bought from the actual owner (if a different price

3) walk away and write off the costs to date

4) walk away and claim the costs to date from the non-owner who tried to sell a property he did not own. Expect a long drawn out and expensive legal battle that has no guaranteed outcome.

(I really can't count!)

None of them involve cake. Are you on a diet?