Buyers Solicitor advised them to pull out over loft conversion

littlerock

My sister is currently selling her 2 bedroom, semi detached, mid terrace house, where she lived for 20 years. It is in excellent decorative order, in a good location and competitively priced. It is currently empty ( she has moved in with her boyfriend), and is ready to move in. She got a potential buyer as soon as she put it on the market, who asked her to withdraw it from sale which she did.

Then the buyer's solicitor asked about the planning permission for an area of room space which is converted to a room to use as storage, with a velux and stairs from inside a cupboard. My sister said it was like this when she bought it 20 years ago and produced the paperwork to validate this. It was not an issue for her or the building society at the time and the loft is not being sold as bedroom or third room just as a convenient loft room.

The buyer's solicitor was still nervous, despite reassurances from my sister's solicitor who handled the original purchase, that it was already done then, and supporting paperwork. So she had a structural survey done, which confirmed it had reinforced joists, a correctly installed Velux and a fire door. She also offered to pay for an indemnity insurance. To obtain a quick sale, and because it would be the first home for the young female buyer, she reduced the price by £5000.

Eventually after 3 months of delaying, on the eve of exchanging, literally, the buyer's solicitor decided to advise the buyer to pull out due to the lack of formal paperwork surrounding the loft conversion. My sister's solicitor insists there is nothing to stop the sale. Now it is back on the market.

What is worrying her is that the buyer's solicitor is local and offers a bargain conveyancing service, which is apparently slow and difficult according to her solicitor and estate agent. But of course this solicitors get business from buyers wanting to keep costs down. She is concerned this is going to have an impact on her house's saleability as this local solicitor has basically decided not to handle her house for potential buyers. Any thoughts?

davidmcn

littlerock wrote: »

What is worrying her is that the buyer's solicitor is local and offers a bargain conveyancing service, which is apparently slow and difficult according to her solicitor and estate agent. But of course they get business from buyers wanting to keep costs down. She is concerned this is going to have an impact on her house's saleability as this local solicitor has basically decided not to handle her house for potential buyers. Any thoughts?

Tell agent to get bolshy with buyers who are proposing to use that solicitor?

eddddy

Out of interest, how do you know this?....

littlerock wrote: »

...the buyer's solicitor decided to advise the buyer to pull out due to the lack of formal paperwork surrounding the loft conversion.

Did the buyer tell you?

Buyers can sometimes use their solicitor as an excuse for withdrawing, because it's easier to do that than saying "I got cold feet", or "My mortgage application got rejected because I didn't tell the bank about my CCJ".

littlerock

Apparently their solicitor told her solicitor that was the reason. I did wonder if they were trying to use it as a bargaining ploy to get the price down but of course I have no actual evidence of that.

She says she will ask prospective buyers who want her to take it off the market which solicitor they are using and then say no if it is the one she just had dealings with.

eddddy

littlerock wrote: »

Apparently their solicitor told her solicitor that was the reason.

Even then, did the solicitor say something like "I have advised my client not to proceed because of the loft ..." or "My client has decided not to proceed because of the loft..."?

If it's the latter, the decision may not have been based on the solicitor's advice and/or the loft may not be the real reason.

MrsNubs

littlerock wrote: »

My sister is currently selling her 2 bedroom, semi detached, mid terrace house

How can a house be both semi detached and mid terrace?!

Crashy_Time

eddddy wrote: »

Out of interest, how do you know this?....



Did the buyer tell you?

Buyers can sometimes use their solicitor as an excuse for withdrawing, because it's easier to do that than saying "I got cold feet", or "My mortgage application got rejected because I didn't tell the bank about my CCJ".

Or "YOU may think your price is "competitive", but I think it is too much money for this house now that I have seen it" etc. etc.

Doozergirl

I think it was the buyer, not the solicitor. For their lack of knowledge about Building Regs, I would still expect a solicitor to understand that the loft is a loft, not being sold or marketed as having a loft conversion.

FTBs are notoriously jittery.

I'm sure your sister's next buyers will be fine. Just make sure that any reference to the loft in the sale particulars is just storage. Don't draw undue attention to it

DoaM

MrsNubs wrote: »

How can a house be both semi detached and mid terrace?!

I wondered the same. Of course it can be both semi detached and end terrace. But even that's just marketing BS.

littlerock

Sorry it is a small 19th century house at the end of a terraced row and sort of semi detached because there is a walkway between it and the house next door at ground floor level but the walls adjoin at first floor level....

gettingtheresometime

It may be that the solicitor won't be on the lender's approved list so have no impact on future buyers