Seller is pulling out after house auction

saifjaved511

Hi guys 

I hope your well

i have recently purchased a property At auction house where I met the reserve price, my deposit was taken out straight away, after A week I was informed by my solicitor that the seller does not want to sell the house as it was sold too cheaply, my solicitor had informed the sellers solicitor I am wanting to complete the purchase of the property but the seller won’t budge and do not want to sell, even though a binding contract has taken place, I was looking to fix the property where I have already paid a deposit to the builder as well as selling the house on for a profit I have been advised a court proceeding will take place to pursue this but I have to wait till after the date of completion date as the seller won’t sell, 

Any advice would be appreciated 

greatcrested

Once the Completion date has passed and assuming the seller does not Complete, your solicitor should serve a 'Notice To Complete'.

If seller still fails to Complete, court action based on whatever the contract says - we can't read it! But add on any consequential costs you've incurred.

Salemicus

Was it a traditional auction or "Modern Method of Auction"?

saifjaved511

Hi it was a modern method of auction, I purchased the property from Auction house my solicitor has told me he will “issue a notice to complete” reading the auction house terms and conditions it states “ Once the hammer has fallen, the sale is agreed and contracts have exchanged, and neither the seller or the buyer can pull out at this stage. On the very rare occasion where the buyer fails to complete in accordance with the contract, then a contingency process is followed and the buyer risks losing their deposit and incurring further penalties too“ 

if this was to go to court will the seller be told to complete the sale of the house with myself as well as paying for the fees that have occurred after the date of completion that was supposed to take place 

unkle

It's all down to the terms of the sale and the contract that is in place, Auction house and 'modern method' are a little different, From memory with them all you sign a memorandum of sale? Thats little different to what you get when having an offer accepted on a property on the open market.
I'd make sure your solicitor believes you have a cast iron contract that the seller can not get out of. Sadly I suspect that isn't the case. Have you actually exchanged contracts?

numbercruncher8

IIRC the modern method of auction sucks and can be used as a fishing expedition.
Winning the auction doesn't mean your offer is automatically accepted even though you have paid your deposit and fees. 

To me it's heavily loaded towards the sellers and the agents. You get a refund if they pull out, but the time wasted doesn't come back.

Doozergirl

numbercruncher8 said:

IIRC the modern method of auction sucks and can be used as a fishing expedition.
Winning the auction doesn't mean your offer is automatically accepted even though you have paid your deposit and fees.
To me it's heavily loaded towards the sellers and the agents.

I agree.  If the buyer has a problem, there's a contract binding them to lose the deposits if they don't exchange in time.  

If there's a problem with the vendor's side, they can do what they like.  

I do believe that with MMA, you haven't actually exchanged contracts, more signed a contract committing you to exchange.  But not the vendor. 

We were in a situation with one where the 'vendors' couldn't actually sell because they were younger relatives and didn't have POA and deputyship for the actual vendors.  After 10 months of waiting we eventually
pulled out and got our deposit back without much argument.  🙄

saifjaved511

I have been told by auction house since it was a binding contract the seller can not back out 

saifjaved511

The auction have told me they have all the relevant information where the seller have sighed to allow the auction to sell on there behalf so the contract is waterproof 

davidmcn

It's your solicitor you should be seeking advice from, not the auction house.

saifjaved511

Solicitor has advised he will issue a notice of completion and if the seller does not agree we will go issue a court proceeding