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Buying a house and completion is late - now I'm being sued by the seller?

Will95
Posts: 2 Newbie
I'm buying a house and completion was supposed to be on Friday (the 22nd), however this didn't happen. My conveyancer claims that HSBC were late sending the money, and as a result she couldn't get the funds the the seller's conveyancer. I had sent her all the funds for the deposit several days before, so this wasn't my fault at all.
She has said that she sent the funds today (the 25th) but that the seller's conveyancer refused to complete despite having the funds and using the funds onwards for their purchase.
Now I've received calls from my mortgage broker and the estate agent - their version of events is that my conveyancer made a mistake and hasn't sent the money, and is lying. They advised me that I'm being sued by the seller and will need to pay their costs incurred from not completing, which will be over £1k.
So my questions are:
She has said that she sent the funds today (the 25th) but that the seller's conveyancer refused to complete despite having the funds and using the funds onwards for their purchase.
Now I've received calls from my mortgage broker and the estate agent - their version of events is that my conveyancer made a mistake and hasn't sent the money, and is lying. They advised me that I'm being sued by the seller and will need to pay their costs incurred from not completing, which will be over £1k.
So my questions are:
- Can I be sued with someone I don't directly have a contract with (the seller)?
- If I did pay, could I sue my conveyancer for the money back?
- What is the precedent in cases like these?
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Comments
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Can I be sued with someone I don't directly have a contract with (the seller)?
Sorry to break this to you, however your contract is with the seller, when you signed and exchanged contracts, whilst it was done by your solicitor, the contract you signed and exchanged was with the seller.0 -
Your biggest problem is that your conveyancer has a very,very large amount of your money. Don't worry about the late completion costs for now. Worry about what the conveyancer is doing with the money.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0
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and please re-instate your original post.0
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- Can I be sued with someone I don't directly have a contract with (the seller)?
Have you actually exchanged contracts? I don't understand why the seller refused to complete.- If I did pay, could I sue my conveyancer for the money back?
- What is the precedent in cases like these?
You don't really need much of a precedent, you've got a contract saying you're meant to pay the price on the date of completion, and the seller isn't interested in why you haven't come up with the money on time. I suggest you speak to your conveyancer, rather than your broker or the estate agents, who are both at least one step removed from what's actually happening.0 -
and please re-instate your original post.
Buying a house and completion is late - now I'm being sued by the seller?
I'm buying a house and completion was supposed to be on Friday (the 22nd), however this didn't happen. My conveyancer claims that HSBC were late sending the money, and as a result she couldn't get the funds the the seller's conveyancer. I had sent her all the funds for the deposit several days before, so this wasn't my fault at all.
She has said that she sent the funds today (the 25th) but that the seller's conveyancer refused to complete despite having the funds and using the funds onwards for their purchase.
Now I've received calls from my mortgage broker and the estate agent - their version of events is that my conveyancer made a mistake and hasn't sent the money, and is lying. They advised me that I'm being sued by the seller and will need to pay their costs incurred from not completing, which will be over £1k.
So my questions are:- Can I be sued with someone I don't directly have a contract with (the seller)?
- If I did pay, could I sue my conveyancer for the money back?
- What is the precedent in cases like these?
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Nobody needs to sue anyone. Somebody should cover the additional expenses incurred by late completion. Ultimately, that's you, but you should establish if the conveyancer was negligent in asking for the funds too late. Each lender sets out when funds should be requested.
I'd ask the conveyancer to confirm in writing when they requested that money. I'd then ask the lender whether that was too late. If yes, follow the covenyancer's complaints procedure."Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius0 -
OP could it be that the bank held the money for further money laundering
checks?0 -
Had you previously exchanged or were you supposed to be exchanging and completing on Friday?
I assume you have spoken to everyone today - have you found out any more?0
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