Solicitors mistake on Mortgage

G_M

I too am unclear where the error lay exactly

rmeach wrote: »

We bought a house

No. You are buying. You have not yet Completed so have not yet bought.

and the solicitors gave us a breakdown off all costs.

when? Before Exchange yes? So not all costs would be known.

We doubled checked it and and asked them to check every figure was correct and confirm again in writing all figures for costs.
When you checked it, did everything add up properly?
If not, did you correct the error you spotted?

If yes, then presumably something has changed since then as happens before a purchase actually Completes.



This came through and we paid that figure. We again asked if we had now cleared all costs. We had and had it confirmed in writing that all costs are settled. We Exchanged last week and are now two weeks from completion.

Our solicitors today have said they put the wrong mortgage figure on the breakdown of the costs and now we owe "them" and extra £1800 not listed on our breakdown before completion....what total @#!%£
What exactly is this £1800?

Was the amount you are actually borrowing £1800 less than was shown on the statement, meaning you now have to provide the extra £1800 from your savings?
If yes, how come you did not spot when you checked that the wrong amount was shown for your mortgage?

Or was there an additional charge by the mortgage lender that was not shown eg insurance? Or application fee? Or Valuation/survey fee? or something else?
Again - you must have known the details of your mortgage product and the related charges and should have checked and noticed, and corrected any errors.


Considering we have it in writing twice the cost amount, asked them to check and exchanged contracts is there anything we can do? We are quite prepared to meet them 50% but do we have any options?
You appear to owe this money. You'll need to pay it.
You clearly have a responsibility to check your financial statements.


Once we are past this i will be reporting them to the SRA and generally leaving one star reviews everywhere but i assume this is after we are down another 2 grand.....

You are making the largest purchase of your life. You owe it to yourself to check everything related to the purchase.


That includes reading and understanding all the documents you are sent (survey report, Title information, lease, search results etc) in order to ensure the property is right for you. Yes, various experts will put these documents together for you, make recomendations, and, if asked, explain things to you. But ultimately it is your purchase and your decision and responsibility lies with you.


The same is true of the finance. It is up to you to ensure you can afford this huge purchase. You must understand how much you are borrowing, what costs you are incurring (legal, mortgage related, survey etc) and how much of your own cash is needed.


Yes the various professionals (mortgage advisor, lender, surveyor, solicitor etc) will detail their costs and charges, but ultimately it is your purchase and your decision and responsibility lies with you.


Now - if the solicitor had given you a quote at the start for their conveyancing charges, and now added on £1800 to their fees (rather than fees/charges outside their control eg 'disbursements'), that would be different.......