November 18th, 2009 by admin
Hi
I’m in england. i am experiencing what must be another example of how selling your house can be one of the most stressful experiences. anyway. i’m looking for some advice.
we are now at the very end of the buying/selling process. literally we’re about to exchange contracts. my buyer has decided to pull out – however she is entirely untrustworthy and this could be a ruse to drop the sale price.
i’m wondering if the sale does fall through, is there is any way i can make her pay my conveyancing costs. we excepted her offer on the grounds that she was a first time buyer, with mortgage in place and £100000 in the bank. it turned out that she wasn’t. she has been lying from the onset. i doubt it’s possible – but does anyone out there know if there is anything i can do?
any serious advice would be gratefully received.
No related posts.
The chapter and verse answer is ‘No’ I’m afraid it is pure and simple as that. Under the English system there is absolutely no liability on the buyer OR seller to complete the sale up until exchange of contracts. It may well be a ruse to drop the sale price (gazundering) and in the current market this is going to be more and more common as buyers realise that sellers are desperate to sell almost at any price. The fact that she is not what she appeared to be may mean that you could perhaps have recourse against your solicitor who should have checked her mortgage offer and deposit. However action against her? Doomed to failure. It is now up to you whether to walk away or proceed with this untrustworthy buyer even despite this experience. nasty position to be in, but nothing to be done.
I am afraid the first person to answer is absolutely correct. In future you could try a solicitor firm that charges only if the deal completes – if you check on Google you will find them on there.
I know its no comfort now – but will give you some protection in the future.
It is about time this stupid law was changed to the scottish system – they dont have the hassles that we have in England
Sadly there is nothing you can do about this except learn from it for next time.