Urgent Help Needed Mum signed for new flat and her buyers have pulled out b

aeu99184

my mum is at her wits end with this and I am desperately trying to find out a way to help her.


her situation is that she is moving from her current bungalow which is valed at 215k to a flat which she has bought and signed for at 175k.


she was cajoled into signing for the flat early so she gets the keys for the flat in 6 weeks.

the buyers of her bungalow have pulled out of the purchase leaving her with the real possibility of having to pay both mortgages..

does anyone know who the cheapest companies are offering bridging loans?

is there any alternative as an open bridge just seems like thousands down the drain?

she has a mortgage of 35k left on the bungalow so has equity of 180k.

is there any other option open to her except an open bridge?

p.s this is in scotland if it makes any difference.


i really want to try and help her as i feel powerless and she is a nervous wreck over it.

any help or advice is really appreciated.

jay11_2

I don't know a huge amount but a couple of things that spring to mind are:

Who cajoled her into signing early? If the solicitor was involved she might have a case for poor advice.

I also thought that a verbal aggrement to buy was binding in Scotland, (i.e. her buyers). I'd advise her to contact her solicitor for advice ASAP, this sounds too serious for an internet forum

aeu99184

it was her solicitor who phoned her up pushing for him to sign on her behalf. he was acting for both parties

played on the fact that she had her heart set on the house.

she would never have done it otherwise.

silvercar

She needs to price the bungalow to sell quickly. Get the best price she can in a short time and move on. Forget open bridging loans, they will cause sleepless nights.

Tozer

Solicitor acting for both parties? Did she consent to this?

Almost certainly she has an action against the solicitor.

minigirl

jay11 wrote: »

I don't know a huge amount but a couple of things that spring to mind are:

Who cajoled her into signing early? If the solicitor was involved she might have a case for poor advice.

I also thought that a verbal aggrement to buy was binding in Scotland, (i.e. her buyers). I'd advise her to contact her solicitor for advice ASAP, this sounds too serious for an internet forum

Hi there

Sorry I can't help with regard to the bridging loan but with regard to the solicitors thing:

I work in a Solicitors in England so I'm not sure if it is the same in Scotland but we can only act for the seller and the buyer in a case if they are both old clients of the firm and then they both must sign to confirm they are happy with the same. We are also VERY wary of signing on behalf of a client and will only do this in extreme circumstances. We also always explain the implications when someone signs on a purchase before their sale and are, again, very wary when they do not have the finances for the purchase (not depending on the sale) just in the case the sale doesn't happen. I think what the solicitor did was disgusting and if she feels she was taken advantage of and pressured into it I would make a complaint.

Hope this is of some help.

aeu99184

thanks for the replies.

my mum and the seller have both had this solicitor for some years and they both gave consent for the brief to act on both their behalfs.

she says she was informed of the risks a few weeks before by her solicitor.

doesnt look like she has grounds to complain then really.


does anyone know anything about these chain repair companies?
i saw one website where they buy the property at below the market rate and give you the cash. how much below I dont know but it may be a better option than an open bridge..

silvercar

chain repairers will knock 20% off the value. Better to sell it yourself at 5% below market value. As you are in Scotland, I thought things could progress quickly.

jay11_2

She should get independent advice from another solicitor ASAP, if she really was pressured/cajoled into letting her sol. sign for her, also r.e. the verbal agreement of her buyer, isn't the main point of the Scottish system that verbal agreements to buy/sell are legally binding?

aeu99184

no not until the missive are signed the buyer can pull out.


anything before that is known as a note of interest...

she has someone interested just now but she needs them to put in a proper offer before she can get a closed bridge loan as they want an entry date of Sept.

she is pushing to try and get them to commit fully.

at least if this is in place she can sleep at night and know its gonna get sorted out rather than having possible bankruptcy .....

Tozer

Hi again. I am a solicitor (England and Wales). The circumstances that you can act for a buyer and seller are MASSIVELY limited. It is for the solicitor to point this out, not the client. Please call the SRA (used to be Law Society) and get some advice on this point. Its really important.