Solicitor exchanged contracts before we have a mortgage offer

[Deleted User]

I am almost at the point of not believing this to be possible.  Ive certainly been part of transactions where completion has been missed but this just seems to be so far from the realms of competent work that it can't be possible. 

If they were new to conveyancing then a supervisor should have reviewed file before exchange, if they were experienced they couldn't have made this fault. 

Has davidmcn or richardwebster been here to comment?  I just can't understand how so many checks and balances could have been missed or ignored to get to this point

JakeHallAgain

As others have said, the immediate issue is temporary finance or changing the completion date. All your effort should be focused on that for the moment.

In terms of negligence, the normal practice with property purchases is for a questionnaire to be completed at the outset which obtains information on your circumstances. It's very hard to believe they do not use such a document and rely on verbal confirmations. It would be worth finding this and seeing what you selected. If you answered you need a mortgage, it doesn't matter that your girlfriend gave instructions to exchange. Your solicitor acts for the lender too so they should have been on top of the fact you have no offer and shouldn't rely on the instructions of only one party - that's such a fundamental piece in the process your solicitor would still be negligent. Furthermore, if they did not obtain instructions from you in writing/through such a questionnaire, then that's so far removed from normal practice (i.e. it's done precisely to avoid the situation you're now in where there's dispute as to your circumstances as a buyer) they would likely still struggle to argue they were not negligent.

I can only assume someone new and inexperienced was assigned the work or they had too high a workload and confused your circumstances with another client.

davidmcn

Although it's plausible that a purchaser might opt to exchange contracts before their mortgage offer has been issued, it becomes less so if there's only a week before completion, at least not with serious "are you really sure about this" questions being made.

ekeenan

Yes we completed an instruction form and a source of fund form - both indicated how much we would be borrowing in the mortgage...

Unfortunately, we never went into their office - just spoke on the phone as they said that would suffice. We have no idea how she would think it was privately financed - this was mentioned briefly when we first realised what had happened but they haven't brought it up since which makes me think she is getting us confused with another client. The hour after exchanging she called looking for the mortgage offer so she knew we were going with a mortgage....

For people asking about the chain. The seller is buying a new house and paying a developer (according to the estate agent). So there is not an extremely long chain.

Undoubtedly I am still worried and working to put pressure on everyone...

ekeenan

And for context - I am starting to think our conveyancer is someone very junior, inexperienced and overworked. She constantly complained about having no availability to call (and to only contact her on email) and was sometimes uncontactable for weeks at a time. Having done some research, it appears she's been licensed for a year. It came through a personal connection so we had trusted that we were in good hands.

I know there are some questions about the validity of this story but trust me, this is true. And for those in shock - are you in shock at the solicitor, the firm, the mortgage advisors or us as first-time buyers? Admittedly, I was surprised to hear we had exchanged but I trusted that our solicitor had done the checks and balances with the mortgage agents outside of our lines of communications...

ThePants999

When you've given them two forms (that THEY requested) both stating you needed a mortgage, and they go ahead without checking the mortgage offer, negligence is unquestionable. IMO, them having been given authorisation to exchange doesn't come close to undermining a negligence case.

Thrugelmir

ekeenan said:

 I trusted that our solicitor had done the checks and balances with the mortgage agents outside of our lines of communications...

Who were your mortgage agents? 

Doozergirl

ekeenan said:

And for context - I am starting to think our conveyancer is someone very junior, inexperienced and overworked. She constantly complained about having no availability to call (and to only contact her on email) and was sometimes uncontactable for weeks at a time. Having done some research, it appears she's been licensed for a year. It came through a personal connection so we had trusted that we were in good hands.

I know there are some questions about the validity of this story but trust me, this is true. And for those in shock - are you in shock at the solicitor, the firm, the mortgage advisors or us as first-time buyers? Admittedly, I was surprised to hear we had exchanged but I trusted that our solicitor had done the checks and balances with the mortgage agents outside of our lines of communications...

I don't think anyone disbelieves you, just that it's unbelievable. 

Shock is at the solicitor.  This sort of thing just shouldn't happen.  Even if your gf said yes, she isn't in a position to understand and there's several things been missed, not just one.  

I wonder of you need to instruct another solicitor from a different firm or whether it goes through a complaint process.  I think it might be worth a quick chat with a different one for advice.  

lisyloo

I am not a lawyer but your girlfriend is a layperson who isn’t expected to understand all the steps of conveyancing in detail. The solicitor is the professional who is not only meant to understand the requirements but is responsible for checking everything.
if the mortgage requirement was on the forms in writing then the buck stops with the solicitor.

Thrugelmir

After the offer was made for the property. What were the initial sequence of events?