Advice on long stop date - developer solicitor stalling

jarven77

Have not seen this topic so i hope it is a non issue, but just want to make sure as i get very poor feedback on it from my solicitor.

I am in a contract since 2014 to buy a newbuild flat in London and the development have passed the longstop date stipulated in the contract which was 31 May 2018. Through my solicitor we served the notice on the longstop date in beg of April. After that the seller solicitor refused to answer any calls or emails from my solicitor eventhough there is claims of multiple multiple tries. In beg june my solicitor then just got information back that the notice on the long stop date was not valid from the seller solicitor, without them giving any reason why it would not be valid at all. My solicitor then believed it was because the notice was sent to early and sent in the same notice on the long stop date asking to terminate the contract and refund my money. Since then now 2 weeks again no answers and no feedback from the seller solicitor. I am assuming they are stalling this and will come back much later again saying it is not a valid notice forcing me to purchase the property in the end. I know the laws extremely poorly and get very little feedback from my solicitor. So i am starting to assume i am being take for a ride here. Is this possible? Should this not be a standard procedure? Can the developer/seller and their solicitor refuse to answer and refuse to give reason why the notice is not valid like this? it is a big developer and i am really surprised by the unprofessional behavior. Does the notice need to contain specific wording etc to be valid? Anyone with knowledge on this, and can give advice on what i can do? Feeling extremely lost

davidmcn

jarven77 wrote: »

Does the notice need to contain specific wording etc to be valid? Anyone with knowledge on this, and can give advice on what i can do?

I presume your solicitor is confident that they've served notice in the correct fashion? Who is holding the deposit?

jarven77

Yes but then again the solicitor is unsure on why the first notice was not valid, hence i get worried on this. The developer has the deposit or the developers solicitor. Any other thoughts on the above?

davidmcn

jarven77 wrote: »

The developer has the deposit or the developers solicitor.

Who, according to the contract, is meant to have it? If the developer has it then they might have spent it. If it was agreed that the solicitors would be holding onto it then the money should at least still be there.

jarven77

ok, thanks. But on the notice to terminate. Should there really be any issues with that, as i assume it is a common thing? anything that makes it valid or not valid?

Can the developer/solicitor really drag this on by refusing to answer the notice and again saying it is not valid?

davidmcn

Yes, it is possible for a notice to be invalid, depending on how it was worded, when it was sent, where it was sent, what method was used to send it, etc. Either it's valid or it isn't, you don't need to wait for the other solicitor to agree that it's valid. They are possibly just playing for time if they don't have the money.

Are the developers still trading? Why haven't they built the development?

jarven77

ok, but my solicitor should know this? Anything i can do myself example doublecheck with another solicitor? It was sent by email if i understand correctly and hopefully by regular mail.

yes they are still trading, it is a big development and a big company.

You say i do not need to wait for the other solicitior to confirm it is valid, but that is exactly what is going on now. Long stop date 31st May, already 14 days later and no acknowledgment yet either way so how to push this?

TBagpuss

Ask your solicitor. The individual may be unsure, it's likely not something they have to deal with very often, but they should be able to refer to more senior colleague or even to their litigation department as necessary.

jarven77

Asking the solicitor alot of times but not getting feedback there either in a way that is satisfying, hence why i try to double check here...

davidmcn

jarven77 wrote: »

ok, but my solicitor should know this?

Yes, of course your solicitor should know this. That's why you're paying them to do it rather than doing it yourself.

Anything i can do myself example doublecheck with another solicitor?

Yes, you can ask a second solicitor if you don't trust your first one. And a third solicitor if you don't trust the first two.

It was sent by email if i understand correctly and hopefully by regular mail.

Which may or may not be sufficient depending on what the contract says. We can't tell from here.

how to push this?

If they now owe you the money, then in the same way as anybody else who owes you money. Letter before action and then raise a small claim (or possibly a large claim - you haven't told us how much money you're talking about).

jarven77

Thanks,


"If they now owe you the money, then in the same way as anybody else who owes you money. Letter before action and then raise a small claim (or possibly a large claim - you haven't told us how much money you're talking about)."


you mean by starting a litigation process?