Is this normal?!

thegentleway

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

housebuyer143

thegentleway said:

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

Not how it works. Probably had someone more senior check the file before exchange as tends to happen and note that it's missing. Now they need to sort it. 

AFF8879

housebuyer143 said:

thegentleway said:

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

Not how it works. Probably had someone more senior check the file before exchange as tends to happen and note that it's missing. Now they need to sort it. 

This - in my experience, for some reason solicitors don’t always seem to want to be upfront/honest about missing things off their checklist. They won’t outright lie, but also won’t openly admit they forgot something unless pressed for an explanation. So they’ll often just word it as if some new requirement/issue has suddenly popped up. 

andy444

A work colleague was buying a probate property with no chain and her exchange of contracts was delayed by two days as it was only at the last minute that the solicitor sought to get proof that it's actually a probate sale. It's not normal but I suspect a solicitor has failed to do something which is delaying things for you.

Waunakee

thegentleway said:

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

Clearly abnormal and possibly some miscommunication somewhere along the line.

Aside from the issues with your seller,it would be highly unusual for your solicitor to have already received the advance from the bank so far ahead of the anticipated completion date as mortgage interest starts accruing from the date the funds are released to the solicitor.In addition lenders simply won’t allow unused monies to be sat with solicitors for more than a few days.

Is it not the case that your solicitor has merely requested the drawdown of funds?

thegentleway

Waunakee said:

thegentleway said:

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

Clearly abnormal and possibly some miscommunication somewhere along the line.

Aside from the issues with your seller,it would be highly unusual for your solicitor to have already received the advance from the bank so far ahead of the anticipated completion date as mortgage interest starts accruing from the date the funds are released to the solicitor.In addition lenders simply won’t allow unused monies to be sat with solicitors for more than a few days.

Is it not the case that your solicitor has merely requested the drawdown of funds?

I don’t think so as my solicitor said she would have to return the funds to the bank if the completion date is delayed. She explained it would take a few days for funds to re-credit to lender and then they need a few days notice to re-release them.

MaiTai

Your solicitor is correct but is relaying to you what happens if completion is delayed.
Funds are normally requested 7-14 days prior to completion with the money arriving with the solicitor a day or two ahead of the planned date.Timescales however do vary from lender to lender

However due to lender constraints it would be highly irregular for your solicitor to already have received any funds so early.Some lenders request funds are returned within one working day of a delay others allow as long as five with the remainder falling somewhere in the middle.

You need some clarification from your conveyancers as if by some very remote chance they do have the funds from the lender you will be liable for the interest due from the date of release.

I suspect that the reality is that your conveyancers have already requested the funds be released on a specific date and warning you that the unforeseen delay will result in them being returned according to the particular lenders rules.

thegentleway

MaiTai said:

Your solicitor is correct but is relaying to you what happens if completion is delayed.
Funds are normally requested 7-14 days prior to completion with the money arriving with the solicitor a day or two ahead of the planned date.Timescales however do vary from lender to lender

However due to lender constraints it would be highly irregular for your solicitor to already have received any funds so early.Some lenders request funds are returned within one working day of a delay others allow as long as five with the remainder falling somewhere in the middle.

You need some clarification from your conveyancers as if by some very remote chance they do have the funds from the lender you will be liable for the interest due from the date of release.

I suspect that the reality is that your conveyancers have already requested the funds be released on a specific date and warning you that the unforeseen delay will result in them being returned according to the particular lenders rules.

Thank you for explaining 

trakky14

AFF8879 said:

housebuyer143 said:

thegentleway said:

We were ready to exchange last week (all monies paid to our solicitor and they have the advance from bank) for completion on 19 Aug however the sellers solicitors suddenly said that they are awaiting their local search result for their related purchase (couple we are buying the house from are buying a retirement home) and that this is not due to be received until the 15 Aug. Seems crazy to discuss exchange and completion if they haven’t even signed the contract for the retirement home or is that how a chain works?!

Not how it works. Probably had someone more senior check the file before exchange as tends to happen and note that it's missing. Now they need to sort it. 

This - in my experience, for some reason solicitors don’t always seem to want to be upfront/honest about missing things off their checklist. They won’t outright lie, but also won’t openly admit they forgot something unless pressed for an explanation. So they’ll often just word it as if some new requirement/issue has suddenly popped up. 

This is totally our experience too!! 🤯