Hi all
My girlfriend was supposed to complete on her house
Sale last Friday but the buyers pulled out at the last minute saying they've found somewhere
They like more. Ok fair enough. But now my mrs has been hit with a £500 solicitors bill
For work completed. I think it's bang out of order I know the solicitor needs paying
But it's not my mrs fault the sale never completed.
Anyone else had his and views on it ? Law should change I think
Cheers andy
When we've bought/sold in the past I've had a contract drawn up that after a certain point, whoever pulls out is liable for the other sides fees. Never had to try and use it.
But your girlfriend has appointed the solicitor, they've carried out work. They are due payment, so I'm not sure who else you think could be liable of there's no prior agreement?
If the parties have exchanged contracts (before completion), then there will be penalties to pay for withdrawing. If not, then there aren't.
It's an unfortunate element of the rubbish English system that we've got.
Many of the conveyancing "factories" offer a no complete no fee guarantee other than for disbursements they have paid on your behalf. This came in use for me when the vendor pulled out of the sale less than a week after my offer was accepted.
I suppose an alternative would be to go down the Scottish system where an accepted offer is binding. However this means as a buyer you will have to. pay for your surveys etc and if you get outbid you're stuck with those costs.
I agree it is annoying and adds unnecessary stress
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The Spanish system seems to work; the buyer pays a 10% deposit on agreeing to buy the property. If the buyer pulls out then he loses the deposit. If the seller pulls out he refunds twice the deposit.
Maybe use the Russian method....
I agree she's liable that's not my point. My point is I think the system is wrong. Whoever pulls out should be liable in my opinionOriginally Posted by WarrenVrs
Not too much consolation for you but at least your failed buyer will have probably lost even more in fees + survey
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No consolation, but you got off lightly. Easy to double/quadruple that if you're buying and selling a chain and you have to sacrifice surveyors fees etc
Gazumpers/Gazuderers or those who just change their mind and a late stage can cause havoc.
Unfortunately under English law until contracts are exchanged you just have to suck it up
Last edited by noTAGlove; 28th June 2017 at 16:44.
Had no contracts been exchanged? Agree - it is very frustrating if they hadn't because the liability will be hers unless they had...
We bought earlier this year - but paid 3 sets of surveyors and 2 solicitors along the way :(
FWIW, the Spanish system isn't all that different to the English one. The biggest difference is that there are no chains - or if there are I've never heard of or seen one.
You make an offer on a property, you haggle a bit and then you agree to buy it (or not). You can still pull out or re-negotiate at that point. When you both think that the time is right, you sign a 'Contrato de Arras'. which is a contract between two parties agreeing to buy or sell any sort of asset, and a deposit is paid to show good faith. That's a bit like exchange of contracts here, and it obliges you to complete the purchase or sale of the asset. If you don't complete for a good reason - like for instance the seller of a property not being able to show good title - then you lose the deposit, and you get hit with a bill for damages and interest as well.
I suppose the reason that it seems a bit different to the English system is down to the absence of chains. Here, you hang around for months waiting for the other parties in the chain to get their acts together before you can exchange. In Spain, it's just down to how quickly you can come to an agreement with the purchaser / seller, and how fast you can get your lawyer to sort out the paperwork.
I don't think they had been exchanged. A completion date was agreed though
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