Failed to complete house purchase after exchange due to mortgage lender not releasing funds

Woodsie81

MWT said:

Woodsie81 said:

MWT said:

Woodsie81 said:

And it wasn't clarified at the point of exchange, only just before completion

The lender doesn't really care too much about exchange, they have the right to ask further questions and repeat credit report reviews/bank statements etc. all the way up to completion and if they don't like what they see they can pull the offer.

It is frustrating for sure but it is at the root of all the advice on here about don't doing anything that could impact on anything the lender might look at between exchange and completion.

The water report is not a common one, but the same problems come up with regard to damp or structural reports more often, they need to be a current report to you, not an older report to someone else. 

OK. Well that explains why the mortgage lender is standing firm then. Do you think it's something the solicitor should have picked up on? The solicitor is not new or inexperienced.

I'm surprised it wasn't noticed, especially as the report was not even in the name of the seller either.

How old was it?

It is 3 years old. The only thing in addition to that is evidence of the water purification system being serviced last year but that doesn't count. The quality report was sent to our solicitors from our seller's solicitors in response to their enquiries prior to exchange. So the seller's solicitors also thought that would be good enough to demonstrate the water's quality, and it was good enough for their purchase to complete even though it wasn't in their name. 

MWT

So if you find an old can of salmon in the cupboard with a sell by date in 2019 you would assume as it was good then it will be good now?

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

Thrugelmir

MWT said:

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

Ultimately the lender is the one to decide what's acceptable or not. As they are the ones advancing the money. Perhaps something else, unrelated to this particular transaction, has subsequently come to their attention. 

MWT

Thrugelmir said:

MWT said:

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

Ultimately the lender is the one to decide what's acceptable or not. As they are the ones advancing the money. Perhaps something else, unrelated to this particular transaction, has subsequently come to their attention. 

True, but if a lender requested a damp report, can you imagine a solicitor saying it was OK to use one prepared 3 years ago for a previous owner?

It just feels more than a little odd for the solicitor to just pass along a three year old report and just wait to see it is was accepted or not...

Woodsie81

MWT said:

So if you find an old can of salmon in the cupboard with a sell by date in 2019 you would assume as it was good then it will be good now?

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

No I wouldn't.
The key difference is, there was no sell-by date on this particular can of salmon so open to interpretation :-)
If it's the name on the report that makes it invalid evidence, then I'm as puzzled as you are that neither solicitor advised us to obtain a new sample.

Thrugelmir

MWT said:

Thrugelmir said:

MWT said:

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

Ultimately the lender is the one to decide what's acceptable or not. As they are the ones advancing the money. Perhaps something else, unrelated to this particular transaction, has subsequently come to their attention. 

It just feels more than a little odd for the solicitor to just pass along a three year old report and just wait to see it is was accepted or not...

The real issue is why the the delayed request. Lender should have given the ok nod prior to exchange being effected which was some weeks ago. Makes you wonder if the application has been selected for internal audit. 

Woodsie81

Thrugelmir said:

MWT said:

Thrugelmir said:

MWT said:

I guess I'll just remain puzzled as to why neither of the solicitors thought a 3 year old quality report, that wasn't even in the name of either party, would be a problem...

Ultimately the lender is the one to decide what's acceptable or not. As they are the ones advancing the money. Perhaps something else, unrelated to this particular transaction, has subsequently come to their attention. 

It just feels more than a little odd for the solicitor to just pass along a three year old report and just wait to see it is was accepted or not...

The real issue is why the the delayed request. Lender should have given the ok nod prior to exchange being effected which was some weeks ago. Makes you wonder if the application has been selected for internal audit. 

Yes, I don't understand how it got this far down the line, and we have been allowed to enter into a legally binding agreement without anyone asking us for a new report. We're in the same jobs, our circumstances haven't changed, we passed all credit checks and (thought we had) completed all of the necessary paperwork...

From other comments, it seems that lenders can choose to withdraw an offer for any reason they like right up until completion so it's never really over until the funds have been transferred and the keys are in hands. Really scary.

MWT

Woodsie81 said:

From other comments, it seems that lenders can choose to withdraw an offer for any reason they like right up until completion so it's never really over until the funds have been transferred and the keys are in hands. Really scary.

Keep in mind that they need to lend money to make money, so it is not in their interest to withdraw an offer without a good reason, the risk is low generally speaking.

penners324

Can you get the survey / testing expedited? Find an acceptable (to the water company and lender) company to do it ASAP?

Woodsie81

penners324 said:

Can you get the survey / testing expedited? Find an acceptable (to the water company and lender) company to do it ASAP?

We have a test underway but spoke to several specialists and they all told us the same - it's a scientific process and takes 5 days to complete. They may be able to give us an indication before then, but won't be able to provide a report until the process is complete. Not something anyone can do faster, sadly