Panicking!! Exchange deposit

stillwaiting1

We are first time buyers and hopefully near to exchanging any time soon. We have got our mortgage offer in place etc which is a first time buyer 95 percent mortgage. I have been looking on this forum and come across a thread about exchange deposits being 10%. Why was I never informed of this by my solicitor? Would it be a problem because surely the solicitor knows I only have 5% on exchange has, if I had 10% I would have got a 90% mortgage with better rates. She has seen our accounts with our savings in so knows how much we have. Do you think she already knows we only have 5% for exchange day. The house we are buying has no chain, it is straight forward and already empty waiting for us to move in. This house buying process is quite stressful.

eddddy

Exchange deposits are usually 10% - but in these circumstances, a seller would normally accept 5%.

Ask your solicitor to get agreement from the seller's solicitor that a 5% deposit is acceptable.

GDB2222

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

saajan_12

stillwaiting1 said:

We are first time buyers and hopefully near to exchanging any time soon. We have got our mortgage offer in place etc which is a first time buyer 95 percent mortgage. I have been looking on this forum and come across a thread about exchange deposits being 10%. Why was I never informed of this by my solicitor? Would it be a problem because surely the solicitor knows I only have 5% on exchange has, if I had 10% I would have got a 90% mortgage with better rates. She has seen our accounts with our savings in so knows how much we have. Do you think she already knows we only have 5% for exchange day. The house we are buying has no chain, it is straight forward and already empty waiting for us to move in. This house buying process is quite stressful.

To clarify, the standard amount 'at risk' if you exchange and then fail to complete is 10% (as a min, or more if the seller's losses exceed this). That would likely remain the same. 
This is usually done by posting that amount as a deposit. However its also very common for the solicitors to negotiate and agree to a lower actual cash amount. So you could just pay the 5% upfront, and then the rest comes at completion. If something goes wrong (very very rare) then the seller would be chasing the extra 5%. 

stillwaiting1

GDB2222 said:

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

I haven't seen any draft contract yet. I've signed lots of paperwork but nothing that says anything about the exchange deposit. I might email my solicitor today and ask.

user1977

stillwaiting1 said:

GDB2222 said:

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

I might email my solicitor today and ask.

It would be more sensible than asking people on a web forum who aren't dealing with your transaction! If you haven't seen a draft contract then you might not be that close to exchanging.

stillwaiting1

user1977 said:

stillwaiting1 said:

GDB2222 said:

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

I might email my solicitor today and ask.

It would be more sensible than asking people on a web forum who aren't dealing with your transaction! If you haven't seen a draft contract then you might not be that close to exchanging.

Considering I posted early this morning, I couldn't really ask my solicitor. Plus they never answer the phone or reply to emails, so a lot quicker on here to get responses. I thought maybe someone had been in the same position so could advise. Thanks anyway 

stillwaiting1

user1977 said:

stillwaiting1 said:

GDB2222 said:

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

I might email my solicitor today and ask.

It would be more sensible than asking people on a web forum who aren't dealing with your transaction! If you haven't seen a draft contract then you might not be that close to exchanging.

And it was the person dealing with my case, the solicitor that said we aren't far from exchanging. It quite clearly says I am a first time buyer in my post so don't know the ins and outs of buying a property.

TBG01

It quite clearly says I am a first time buyer in my post so don't know the ins and outs of buying a property.

So why imply your solicitor has messed up? 

GDB2222

stillwaiting1 said:

user1977 said:

stillwaiting1 said:

GDB2222 said:

The standard deposit is 10%, but you can agree 5%.

 It should be in the draft contract. Have you signed that yet? If so, you must have seen what it said about the deposit?

I might email my solicitor today and ask.

It would be more sensible than asking people on a web forum who aren't dealing with your transaction! If you haven't seen a draft contract then you might not be that close to exchanging.

And it was the person dealing with my case, the solicitor that said we aren't far from exchanging. It quite clearly says I am a first time buyer in my post so don't know the ins and outs of buying a property.

People ask questions here about all sorts of things, many of which they could easily look up on the www instead, and some of the regular posters get a bit abrasive. Don’t take it to heart.

The best advice is to read all the documents extremely thoroughly and keep querying everything. Remember that the solicitor has never set eyes on the property. He is just working from the paperwork. It’s your job to check that what’s on the ground accords with the paperwork. There’s far less consumer protection buying a property than there is buying a bar of chocolate, so caveat emptor really does apply. 

GDB2222

Could I suggest that you spend a few hours reading the Standard Conditions of Sale.

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/property/standard-conditions-of-sale

They form the main part of the contract. These conditions are rather complicated, so you are better off reading them well beforehand.