Legal costs house purchase fell through

gadget88

So my house purchase fell through and sale here. Had to pay a home report but no estate agent fee as never sold. I’ve been told im due no compensation and I owe none. Can anybody advise what % of legal fees I owe? Would it be much less than a complete sale? Reason I ask is I’ve been hit with lots of costs. My factor has billed me £200 as a leaving fee too. Could the buyer here chase me or compensation? So far solicitor has been quiet on costs was going to be 5k for a complete sale 

Devongardener

You will be liable for the cost of any work your solicitor has done, regardless of the sale falling through. 

Did you and your buyer get to the point of exchange of contracts?  If so then whoever pulled out of the process can be held responsible, but otherwise each pays their own costs, there is no compensation.
This happened to us 4 times in the last 2 years, 3 buyers pulled out and then the guy we were buying from decided literally minutes before contracts were to be exchanged that he didn’t want to sell!   At that point we had to pay £2K in solicitors fees as she had done most of the legal work.  The previous 3 lost sales were about £300 each. 

Ayr_Rage

@Devongardener I believe the OP is in Scotland, so a different system regarding contracts.

Hoenir

You are liable for whatever costs have been incurred to date. Never been any different. 

Voyager2002

Are you in Scotland? If so (or if you are elsewhere in the UK but had already exchanged contracts), you should be able to claim back most or all of your costs from the person who let you down. Take advice from your solicitor.

gadget88

Sadly it’s been a week and nothing back yet I’d be keen if they let me know costs 

Devongardener

gadget88 said:

Sadly it’s been a week and nothing back yet I’d be keen if they let me know costs 

How have you approached the solicitor to ask these questions?   Surely they could advise you if you phoned or emailed, even if only telling you the general rules for cases like yours, if they don’t have exact costs or likelihood of any compensation.

user1977

Devongardener said:

gadget88 said:

Sadly it’s been a week and nothing back yet I’d be keen if they let me know costs 

How have you approached the solicitor to ask these questions?   Surely they could advise you if you phoned or emailed, even if only telling you the general rules for cases like yours, if they don’t have exact costs or likelihood of any compensation.

They should in any event have sent terms of business at the outset, explaining what the fees for abortive transactions may be.

gadget88

They told me they will draft up a bill for next week 

sheramber

In Scotland we do not  ‘exchange contracts ‘.

We sign missives when ready to proceed and the sale is final. 

OP are you intending to continue to sell/ buy?

Your Home Report can be accepted by a lender for up to 3 months. After that time you may need a refresh.