Catastrophic Missive Fees

siowenson

3under3 wrote: »

OP, you have to decide if you want this new house or not? If I was in your shoes I'd work out the cost of each of your options and then decide from there based on making the best out of a bad job:

1. Cost of selling the flat at a discount and repercussions on the next mortgage or
2. Cost of pulling out of the deal altogether or
3. Cost of a bridging loan etc until first flat is sold.
4. Cost of letting the original flat and repercussions on the next mortgage.

I think I'll have to reduce the price of my flat even more to entice a buyer.

How do I get rightmove link? The flat is on the ESPC if that helps?
http://www.espc.com/Buying/257324.html

Generali

It might be that you can weasel your way out of the contract if this is seen by the court as an unfair term. Speaking to another solicitor would be a good start.

I am surprised your solicitor didn't point out to you the potential for this to be a mess. Could you borrow against your existing place to complete on the new one and rent out your old place for a bit to buy you some time?

Normally I wouldn't recommend BTL but most posters aren't in this sort of a pickle. Read the small print next time!

I'm not sure how the thing works in Scotland but the price seems very high to me. According to this the highest price for the building ever acheived is £125k. Is there a reason yours is so much more?

siowenson

Generali wrote: »

It might be that you can weasel your way out of the contract if this is seen by the court as an unfair term. Speaking to another solicitor would be a good start.

I am surprised your solicitor didn't point out to you the potential for this to be a mess. Could you borrow against your existing place to complete on the new one and rent out your old place for a bit to buy you some time?

Normally I wouldn't recommend BTL but most posters aren't in this sort of a pickle. Read the small print next time!

I'm not sure how the thing works in Scotland but the price seems very high to me. According to this the highest price for the building ever acheived is £125k. Is there a reason yours is so much more?

Ive seen that result from that webpage before. I know its inaccurate because I personally know people who have sold identical flats on my street
for £133k and £134k last November.

beecher

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-10375623.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

New builds in the estate are cheaper - you'r never going to get more than the stamp duty threshold in my opinion. £120,000 would seem to be about right.

BTW, I wouldn't be too ready to believe what people say they sell for - nethouseprices are very unlikely to be incorrect on 2 separate occasions.

barnaby-bear

siowenson wrote: »

Ive seen that result from that webpage before. I know its inaccurate because I personally know people who have sold identical flats on my street
for £133k and £134k last November.

Figures usually take 3 months to show up but can take longer, if sold to a business (some BTLers/developers hold flats in businesses) doesn't ever show up, the people you know may have been lying (no-one likes to admit they've lost money on a flat)... but a huge percentage of buyers use these sites to ascertain values and they don't know the someone you personally know so the publicly available info. is saying your block has a ceiling price of 125k to all your potential buyers.... November is a different market to now too, if you have evidence of higher sales you need to convey that info. to increase the value of your flat.

beecher

2008-03-177/24 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£133,000
2008-02-277/10 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£131,000
2008-01-167/16 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£125,000
2008-01-1018/1 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans, EH32 9FB£133,000
2007-12-107/16 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£127,500
2007-12-1018/18 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans, EH32 7FS£130,500
2007-12-0618/1 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans, EH32 9FB£132,500
2007-12-0527/16 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£132,000
2007-11-30 5 Mcgregor Pend, Prestonpans£130,000

Bad timing all round I think - prices have fallen by more than 10% where I am so £120,000 does sound pretty realistic to me.

merlinthehappypig

Yes the OP has been negligent, however, he/she is looking for some advice.

Most of what might be possible has been mentioned in various posts, but based on our own experience of buying/selling in Scotland this might help.

Firstly, our understanding of the legal position when missives have been concluded is that it isn't quite as black and white as it appears. When buying our solicitor made it clear that he would be able to find us a loophole to get out of the purchase even after missives had been concluded, if we wished.

When we sold, the missives seemed much more binding on us than on the buyer. In reality we didn't know for certain that it was going to go through until we had the money.

I'd talk to your solicitor first and, if necessary, get a second opinion.

I find it hard to believe that any solicitor would allow you to conclude the missives on a purchase without at least warning you of the potential consequences should your flat not sell, so I doubt you have any reason to apportion blame there. If he did that is a different matter, though you might have trouble proving this.

It's certainly nothing to do with the seller or the Government, or house prices for that matter

You made a commitment that you were not in a position to fulfill.

You need to sort this out. Simply not fulfilling your end of the bargain is not an option. Any standard contract will make you liable for the purchase price, fairly extortionate interest for any delay, the costs of the seller and, the biggest potential worry in this market, the difference between the price you agreed and the price the seller gets if they sell it elsewhere. They could sell it at a 20% discount and you will be liable for the difference.

IMO your best bet is some sort of legal get-out from a solicitor. If that isn't possible then it's down to negotiaitions with the seller.

Good luck. I bet you don't do this again..........

Neillgb

Surely your solicitor wasn't aware of your intentions prior to your signing with Persimmon. If so, amazing, 'professionals' my !!!!. If so take advice relating to professional negligence.

In addition to advice relating to contract 'get-out' etc I would advise you seek GOOD advice relating to protecting your assets.

Persimmon are hardly likely to let you negotiate your way out of the deal in a falling market. Perhaps in a rising one. They will probably try and screw you for as much as they can I'm afraid.

Good luck.

rainbowtrout

Has someone mentioned 1).auction 2)buy-your-property-quick [STRIKE]sharks[/STRIKE] companies yet? The OP takes a hit on both but at least he will know his liabilities quickly, instead of it racking up 50quid/day.

beecher

merlinthehappypig wrote: »

Firstly, our understanding of the legal position when missives have been concluded is that it isn't quite as black and white as it appears. When buying our solicitor made it clear that he would be able to find us a loophole to get out of the purchase even after missives had been concluded, if we wished.

When we sold, the missives seemed much more binding on us than on the buyer. In reality we didn't know for certain that it was going to go through until we had the money.

I'm not sure that this is the case and I'm really surprised at your solicitor's advice about finding a loophole. If someone who is buying signs missives and then pulls out they're liable to pay the seller a lot of money. My solicitor certainly made this very clear to me both times I've bought in Scotland.